When you mean other college, do you mean other college within the University? I thought once in PaCE one cannot switch majors… or is that you can5 switch while doing online portion.
We are in the exact same situation. Freshman scholarship at FSU for Fall and PACE at UF. So unexpected! My daughter has also changed her career goal since applying, and it is not a PACE major. Have reached out to the advisors to get more information, but it’s looking likely she will attend FSU.
I mean that she can ask for a transfer into a different college/degree within UF. It is not guaranteed and they would like to keep many students in their original tract, but it would be similar to a non-UF student applying as a transfer. At least that is what we were told by the Assoc. Director of PACE. Regardless, she can still achieve her goals with a BA in the Health Education and Behavior school and then apply to PA schools.
With respect to everyone who is trying to play up any advantages of PaCE, I have to say this feels like a money-grab by UF, made worse by the fact that there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to who gets in, who gets PaCE, and who gets denied. Thankfully, UF was not my kid’s first choice, however it was among the top three. She applied to 7 schools total, and got accepted at the other 6. Five of the other six are out of state for us (we’re in NC), and she received merit awards at each to more than make up the out-of-state costs. UF was the last school we heard from, and we were expecting an acceptance, though not any merit award because we’d done our research and knew that UF doesn’t give out much. We were quite baffled to receive the PaCE acceptance. Seriously, who wants to go to college, but not really go to college and get that experience? It’s made more puzzling by the fact that others with lesser qualifications – in some cases, far lesser qualifications – got in. If you can talk yourself into believing PaCE is a good thing, have fun with that. We’all take the scholarship and the real college experience elsewhere. Congrats to those who got in, and good luck to you PaCErs.
I respect your opinion, but what is your definition of a “real college experience”, is it living in a dorm?, walking to class?; going to actual classes? All of the above? Let’s address each item: there are a handful of living resident halls that are available that are evon closer to library etc… than regular dorms, plus a little nicer. Ie. central air. Most non PaCE students spend freshman year in a dorm… after that majority want to get an apartment. So … a PaCE student would miss about 7-8 months in the first year of not being in a dorm… that’s not as nice. Most kids can’t wait to get out!
Second, many first year classes are online anyway form non PaCE students. . and since many PaCE kids have Dual Enrollment /AP/AiCE prior credit some transition their sophomore year. It’s all in what you make of it.
Also a PaCE student has full opportunity to have a college experience by joining Greek life. Club sports etc… no difference.
PACE and Innovation Academy primarily exist because of the lack of resources to accommodate all those additional students on campus at the same time. The university dresses them up as creative programs and sells them as benefits (which I don’t blame them for trying), but the reality is, they just don’t have the space, resources etc. to meet the demand. I assume they select students for the different programs based on some rational consideration of who they feel has the best chance to be successful within the program, but college admissions can be so subjective it’s hard to put your finger on it. It does seem odd to me, per @JoeinNC 's point, that a kid would be interested in these alternative tracks just to be a gator when they could have the full college experience (without any restrictions) at many other fine universities, including FSU. It’s almost like the school just doesn’t want to say “no”. I know they do reject many others so why not a line in the sand like most colleges. They have room for X, so enroll X, not X plus several thousand. Kind of the point of being a flagship. You accept the very top students in the state (think UVA, UMichigan, UCB). Kid doesn’t get in, he goes to the next rung (FSU, USF, UCF, etc.) Has to have something to do with revenue to UF and the whole formula that drives state dollars and research money tot he school. I know several kids that chose it and /or the Santa Fe CC path that guarantees admissions into UF after basic studies are complete. So those kids live in the area, rent apartments, etc. so they can have access later. Don’t know why they don’t just go to their local CC and save the living expense cost and transfer later. If they can’t get in, they can transfer to another school. That Gator allure is strong!
Agree with many of your points, especially about either you are in or out. However, IF a person/student feels that having a resume saying “ university of Florida graduate” then who cares how you received it. It’s a big picture, long term goal, with the end result of having a four year degree from UF, which is a pretty big deal. It’s like many players in the NFL. Not all players were five star recruits and superstars to start, many had injuries, played at a JC, transferred etc…it’s not how you start, It’s how you finish that matters.
It will be interesting to see how technology changes the whole college paradigm with Massive Online programs. WIll it be “worth” going to Harvard or will the future of higher education be about taking Harvard courses on line anywhere in
the world? What will that do to admissions and selectivity? In other words, what will happen to the “value” of the degree. I still like “belly to belly” . Important relationships work best that way. But maybe I’m a dinosaur.
Excellent post, it will be interesting.
I am in total agreement with @JoeinNC in every point. For those of you who have other options, why even consider this program. Is there anything special about it? We are out state as well and UF was the last school we heard from. with much better options in place prior to this notification. Extremely baffling why anyone is even considering this . Sounds like a money making BS from UF.
For those of you in Florida, I would think attending UCF, FSU, USF, or any other school is better than an Education from the PACE program.
Most PaCE kids are in-state students. They likely will enter the program with 30+ college credits, as many Florida high schools offer plenty of AP courses, duel enrollment, IB and AICE programs (all of which UF has to accept, due to a dictate from the state legislature, which funds Florida’s AP/DE/IB/AICE programs). A lot of in-state kids are only looking at being in the online program for a year or up to 3 semesters at most.
Next, UF has far more “appeal” to in-state students, than most OOS students. A lot of kids grew up as Gators, had parents, uncles, grand parents, cousins, etc, that graduate from UF. Putting up with online courses for a year or so, doesn’t seem like that high a price.
I think I saw somewhere that about 10% or a bit less, of the students offered PaCE end up enrolling in the program. So it’s not for everyone, but some families do prefer it over UCF/UNF, etc.
“I think I saw somewhere that about 10% or a bit less, of the students offered PaCE end up enrolling in the program”
Sounds like a big fail. But then again, when it does not cost UF much of its resources to offer it, then they will continue to do so…Other than the State of Florida, and maybe some areas of the Southeast, does UF hold the same “badge” as say Wisconsin, UCLA, UNC, Michigan, and maybe even Ohio State? I get that Florida is moved down and its ranking this past year, but is there such a following around the country? Not trying to bash (other than this PACE program) Florida, I very fine school, but just wondering if its that prestigious.
How does one measure “prestige”?
If anything UF, and Southern schools in general are underrated. The recent jump to 9 from 14 in the US News ranking was manly driven by an increase in it’s peer survey results. UF is the public “flagship” of the 3rd most populated state, with one of the fastest growing economies in the nation. Demographic trends will continue to help fuel UF’s rise. Based on outcomes, such as research spending, degrees awarded (of all types), graduation rates, etc., UF is already a top comprehensive university.
In ten years? It could very well be a top 5 public university. That’s not likely to happen with Wisconsin or Ohio State.
I honestly think that people who have not looked into the Pace program really shouldn’t judge something they know little or nothing about. And I am not “playing up the program” for something it’s not. My daughter is having the same experiences as other non-Pace students, minus the large lecture hall classes. She still meets in small groups, meets with the professors and has regular labs on campus. Everything else is exactly the same. Sorry you are “baffled” by it. And yes, graduating from UF is a big deal, if you aren’t already aware.
Personally, I never felt that Wisconsin or Ohio State had all that much “prestige” to begin with. UNC is a bit of a joke - even they admit that they owe their standing in part to OOS students with superior stats that get denied due to the fact that NC requires 80% of the admits to be in-state students. Michigan and some of UC’s have prestige, but not enough for me to ever consider them to be worth $65K/yr. All are fine schools, and all can offer tremendous opportunities for students that seek them out.
When you consider the fact that UF’s full OOS COA is half that of UM or the UCs, it’s very easy to see UF continuing to rise in the rankings and gaining this “following”.
I personally view Florida as similar to Wisconsin , Ohio State, Maryland. and Texas or in the second tier of schools. Michigan, UNC, UCLA, and UVA in the first tier or Public schools. I just can’t imagine someone giving up another opportunity to attend UF and Pace. If someone got into Pace, chances are that they also got into of the other state schools in Florida as well as outside of Florida. The idea of spending on room and board in order to take online classes seems like a waste of money. Does this sound like a great education?
I was going to leave this topic in the past and move on, but …
First, we were not “baffled” by the PaCE program. We were baffled by the fact that my daughter already had received six acceptances to very good schools and got money at each of the five out-of-state schools, but was not admitted as a traditional student at UF. That was made more puzzling, as I said, by the fact that others with lesser qualifications – and in some cases, far lesser qualifications – got in as regular admits. I understand that UF is a good school and graduated from there is a “big deal.” That’s partially why she decided to apply there. With her stats (3.94 UW, 4.49 W, 34 ACT, 1510 SAT), extra-curriculars, athletics, and volunteer work, she believed getting in would be a shoo-in. But alas … well, lesson learned. At least the decision-making process became a bit clearer.
Second, we are fully aware and deeply versed in the PaCE program. We spent many hours Friday night and over the weekend exploring PaCE. And we still see it as a money-grab. To us, there is no allure to being an online student at Florida just for the sake of saying you are a Gator. Yes, graduating from there should be a feather in your cap (and congratulations to your daughter, it seems like she’s well on her way and I’m very happy for her that she’s getting what she wants out of college life), but the same can be said of the other schools to which my daughter was accepted. It felt like she was told, “You’re welcome to come here, but you can’t come all the way here. Here are some other obstacles you must jump.”
Third, a tremendous appeal to college life for her – and this is for any college, not just UF – is, in fact, the first-year experience. Some of the best friends that I have are those random guys I met on the hall freshman year in 1987. My wife has the same experience. There’s just something to be said about the bonding that happens in that first year. Potential for that kind of experience is much less with the PaCE program and no dorms. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but it’s much less likely.
I’m glad you’re making it work for you. But my daughter has options, and UF no longer is one. And with that, I’m done with the Florida boards.
I was going to leave this topic in the past and move on, but …
First, we were not “baffled” by the PaCE program. We were baffled by the fact that my daughter already had received six acceptances to very good schools and got money at each of the five out-of-state schools, but was not admitted as a traditional student at UF. That was made more puzzling, as I said, by the fact that others with lesser qualifications – and in some cases, far lesser qualifications – got in as regular admits. I understand that UF is a good school and graduated from there is a “big deal.” That’s partially why she decided to apply there. With her stats (3.94 UW, 4.49 W, 34 ACT, 1510 SAT), extra-curriculars, athletics, and volunteer work, she believed getting in would be a shoo-in. But alas … well, lesson learned. At least the decision-making process became a bit clearer.
Second, we are fully aware and deeply versed in the PaCE program. We spent many hours Friday night and over the weekend exploring PaCE. And we still see it as a money-grab. To us, there is no allure to being an online student at Florida just for the sake of saying you are a Gator. Yes, graduating from there should be a feather in your cap (and congratulations to your daughter, it seems like she’s well on her way and I’m very happy for her that she’s getting what she wants out of college life), but the same can be said of the other schools to which my daughter was accepted. It felt like she was told, “You’re welcome to come here, but you can’t come all the way here. Here are some other obstacles you must jump.”
Third, a tremendous appeal to college life for her – and this is for any college, not just UF – is, in fact, the first-year experience. Some of the best friends that I have are those random guys I met on the hall freshman year in 1987. My wife has the same experience. There’s just something to be said about the bonding that happens in that first year. Potential for that kind of experience is much less with the PaCE program and no dorms. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but it’s much less likely.
I’m glad you’re making it work for you. But my daughter has options, and UF no longer is one. And with that, I’m done with the Florida boards.
I agree that with those stats it could be surprising your daughter was not admitted. I assume your daughter is OOS which always adds an element of uncertainty to the process. The only other item that could have had an impact is course rigor. After attending countless presentations by admission personnel from UF, they stress that their number one criteria is course rigor. Taking many AP or IB classes. Your daughter’s UW GPA shows almost all As. With that record her UF weighted GPA ( 1 point extra for AP, .5 extra for Honors), would be 4.7 plus if she took 4-5 AP and the rest honors freshman through junior year. If she took less than that, combined with being OOS, that I think could explain why she was not offered traditional entry as you refer it. Additionally UF, for whatever reason, does not put great emphasis on standardized testing which your daughter had truly stellar results. You can see this reflected in the UF Common Data Set criterion ranking. In regard to comparing to other OOS schools she was accepted to that can be a bit of apples and oranges comparison. There are some schools like Indiana, Alabama and Penn State that are actively seeking OOS students ( (look at percentage OOS in those schools) vs a school like UF that has been hard pressed to admit all the qualified in state kids and has not in the past ( although this could be changing ) sought good OOS students. It would not be unusual for FL resident students get into those 3 schools but not get into UF, much less an OOS student. The important thing is that it sounds like your daughter has a number of great choices and likely will be happy and thrive wherever she chooses …good luck
Your daughter has outstanding credentials which shows she is clearly capable of the rigor that lies ahead regardless of the setting. She also has excellent choices so she will have a great college experience. I would simply explain it as the very unpredictable college admissions reality. I can empathize as it happens to a lot of kids whether it be OOS for flagship or highly selective private. You compare their stats with those reported on CC and you scatch your head. Especially when your kid did have great ECs and essays, etc. In one form or another, it happens to most of them. The good news is most will get very excited about their actual choice (once they get over the initial disappointment) and go on to have a great college experience and get a great degree. That’s what’s important at the end of the day.