Is this a waste of time/money?

Applying to College
1

Hey guys, so obviously college apps are going to be due soon and I was looking for some advice regarding where all I should apply.
Basically, my current plan is to apply to UF and then a bunch of other schools (MIT, Stanford, etc.)
I got a 1530 on the sat and a 33 on the ACT with 800s on Math IIC and Chem.
I was confident that I was going to get into UF as a backup of sorts, but after reading some stuff online I’m starting to get worried that I might randomly get rejected.
Do I need more safeties, or am I safe to rely on my admission to UF? I just don’t want to waste hundreds of dollars on applications to schools I don’t even want to go to.
UF is an incredible school and even if I get denied from all of my top picks, I would love to be a gator.
Thanks

2

UF is a backup but not a safety. Are you a Florida resident?

3

@TomSrOfBoston I didn’t know there was a difference between the terms “backup” and “safety.” And yes I am

4

Back up means you would go there if you didn’t get into your more favorable colleges.

Safety means you’ll get in 100% no doubt about it and you’d be more than happy going there

5

Personally, I’m applying to two safeties in case of random rejection. Don’t spend tons of money applying to many schools, but do a little research and find one or two other schools you like. Good luck!

6

I’ll probably apply to FSU too then. Thanks! @greenteen17

7

FSU would not be a safety either. University of North Florida would be a safety.

8

Another safety is community college with guaranteed transfer. I think Florida has such a program but not sure exactly how it works there. If that is something you’d be happy to do, then that can be your safety.

9

By “safety” I meant “backup.” I didn’t understand the difference between the terms

10

Keep in mind, “safety” as well as “backup” means not just you know you’ll be admitted but also you know you can afford to attend.

11

A safety is a college that meets all 3 of the following criteria:

  1. It’s a school you’re sure to get into.
  2. It’s affordable for your family.
  3. You’d be happy to attend if nothing else works out.
12

UF uses holistic admissions, with about 50% being based on GPA (most important), class rigor, essay and test scores (least important), the other 50% is based on EC’s, work, volunteering, leadership, etc. That tends to make UF a bit random at times. With your stats, UF shouldn’t be a problem, unless you’re weak in EC’s, etc.

FSU should work as a safety (they are not nearly as holistic and assuming you have the GPA and like FSU), but you may also want to apply to one of the schools that would give you significant merit, like UCF, USF, UNF, etc. The early the better, before they start running low on merit funds.

Good Luck!