Just for a little bit of background, I go to one of the top private schools in the country. I am an out of state student. I have had family members who have attended the University of Florida for grad/undergrad school. Also something to note is that I am an out-of-state student. What are some things I should know about applying to UF in the future?
@ghostface163 The first thing you should know is that UF is not going to care that you think you go to one of the top private schools in the country (whatever that means). Your HS may be a feeder for many elite universities that know the school’s program very well, but don’t expect your school’s name to give you any edge over a student that isn’t lucky enough to attend that type of school.
As a sophomore, I would say that the biggest thing to look at is your PSAT performance next year. FL has opening its Benaquisito scholarship to OOS students that are NMF finalist, which I believe
Class rigor and GPA are considered most important by UF, while standardized test scores are only listed as important. Therefore, make sure you’re taking challenging classes (AP, IB, DE, honors, etc) and keep your grades up. I believe that UF weighs honors and AP courses equally, so don’t sacrifice courses that you are interested in in favor of an AP course that you don’t care for. Finally, find some ECs that you can get deeply involved in. I think that most schools are more interested in seeing committed involvement with a few ECs rather than a laundry list of clubs that required little to no time commitment.
Alright, thanks for the heads up!
I was in a similar position to you as a sophmore, and I think this is only advice I can give to you.
You will end up where you are meant to be. Its wonderful to have a plan (I am a huge planner) and let those goals guide you- but it’s okay to change your mind. Just have fun in high school and chances are, the fun and meaningful things you do will look exactly like that to colleges, and will help you get in without having to put in a lot of extra work that isn’t fun to you (I mean, still take school seriously, but take the classes you want to take/do the activities you want to do because you want to do them, not just because they will look good to colleges). Take it from someone whose been there- when I graduate in 64 days (not that i’m counting 
) I will have taken 12 AP classes and have gotten A’s in them all, and everything else honors (other than gym- as thats not a thing where I live). But there were some of them that were not for me. They were hard, and made me honestly dread school. And I didn’t have to take them. They don’t aline with my interests- I just took them because I wanted that GPA boost. They were not worth it. Do not fall into the same trap that I did. Maybe you don’t need to fill all your electives with AP’s. Maybe you don’t like politics and instead of taking AP gov, you could take a fun easy class like creative writing and be with your friends. Or maybe you don’t need to go off campus to take Calculs 3 at a local college and could take, IDK, life timesports, and have a blast, and still be a high schooler.
Don’t get me wrong- college is a big deal, and it does require work to get in and do well at. But your still in high school now, and don’t let all that fun pass you by. If your always working so that your future will be brighter, you’ll never have time to stop and enjoy where your at now.
Find what you love now- weather its tutoring younger students, being a volunteer at a local museum or charity, or being a member of a sports team, and pursue this to it’s fullest. This will show colleges commitment, and a passion; which is what they want to see. And who knows, maybe you’ll find your passion along the way :-).
All the love, and best wishes.
Thank you for the thoughtful response!!!
In general, it’s been about as selective with OOS as in-state students, with about the same acceptance rate. That may change, since UF has moved to the coalition app, and OOS applications are trending higher. However, it is not (yet) a similar situation to UVA, UNC-CH or Georgia Tech where it is much harder for an OOS student to be accepted vs in state.
UF admissions is based on 50% academic factors and 50% non-academic factors. It’s very “holistic” in it’s approach. Look at section C7 in UF’s common data set, to show the relative importance of each academic and nonacademic factor.
https://ir.aa.ufl.edu/media/iraaufledu/common-data-set/Main_cds2016-2017.pdf
The most important academic factors are course rigor and GPA (and that essay, it’s IMPORTANT at UF). They want to see that you’ve taken the hardest schedule and had a high GPA at YOUR high school. If your school only offers honor classes, that’s fine, if the best students are taking 6 AP classes, then that’s fine (you don’t need 12). Take what your school consular says the most rigorous plan, but don’t go crazy.
UF puts much less importance on test scores. However, you’ll need high test scores for any shot at a merit scholarship (and if you can do well enough on the PSAT, then it’s possible to get a full COA scholarship).
The other 50% is based on nonacademic factors. At UF, that’s EC’s, volunteering, work, etc. UF does not need to see a large number of EC’s, only a significant commitment to those you do have. It’s far better to work on the school newspaper for 4 years, than to be on 4 different clubs, for 1 year each. Spend your time and effort on those items you do like. They don’t all have to be school related, especially the volunteer work.
Now, your challenge will be finding the right balance between school (and rigor) and your EC’s. It’s not necessarily better to load up on extra AP classes, if it means you can’t participate on the schools cross country team, or volunteer at the local hospital. Find the balance that works for you, while still trying to have some fun in high school 
Of course, all of the things you do to help be admitted to UF, also work for getting admitted to any other selective school, especially those that use holistic admissions.
Good Luck!
Good to hear you have plans, that’s a great start.
Suggestions to be on track for UF:
. Take the pre SAT on grade 10 or 11
. Take PSAT NMSQT on junior year in order to get the chance to be National Merit Scholar, it could give you Scholarships, full rides, check the college board website.
. Take College prep scholar Program in junior year in Questbridge and National College Macht on senior year.
. Take AP, BI, AICE or DE courses on your next coming years, class rigorous is very important.
. Volunteering and EC are also very important.
Good luck.