Hey guys. First of all, congratulations to those who have been accepted to the Gators class of '19 this past weekend!
Unfortunately I was denied a spot in that class. UF had been my first choice school since sophomore year of high school and it bummed me out that I was rejected. My friend at school suggested that I try to make an appeal to the admissions office as a last resort but I’m not sure how to go about doing so. I was thinking of mailing a letter to them or maybe calling them.
I’m in the IB program at my school but am in the top 10% of my class. I have a bit of a lackluster unweighted Gpa of 3.27 with a weighted Gpa of 5.9. 1810 on sat and 30 on the ACT.
Also, I’ve heard that appeals rarely happen so my other option is to either go to USF (which I’ve been accepted to) or Santa Fe and get an AA and transfer over to UF. I plan on majoring in computer science if that’s relevant.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
There’s no harm in appealing, if you want to go for it. If still denied, I’d personally choose Santa Fe. In highschool I got denied from UCF and chose to go to Valencia College (nearby community college) and am very happy with my decision.
At first I felt embarrassed to tell my highschool friends where I was going, and felt kind of like a loser because all my friends were going to universities while I was just going to go to “some lousy community college”, but now looking back…
-With top bright futures, Pell grant, etc, I see significant refunds every semester, while my friends take out loan after loan
-Class sizes are much smaller, and teachers are more accessible which helped me way more than I would have thought
-Much more flexible class times, and not as hard to switch majors since you’re just getting an AA and your “major” is essentially just making sure you take the right pre-reqs
-I actually have a shot to attend UF now, something I never even thought about in highschool because I knew I’d be denied
I don’t know if you were considering transferring from USF to UF, but universities also give preference to community college transfer students over university transfer students
It does suck to have to wait it out for 2 years at a community college while your friends are at universities “living the college life” but to me it’s worth it because in the long run you’ll be going to UF
Thanks for the advice. I was planning on getting an AA at USF and transferring over.
I’m mainly leaning towards Santa Fe because I really want to get out of Tampa. I don’t know if that’s a silly reason to choose one college over another but despite Gainesville being a small, college city, I’d like a break from Tampa asap.
I agree that you should try the Appeals process, the worst that happens is you are in the same boat as you are now. Best case scenario, you are admitted.
As I was reading about colleges I saw one piece of advice I thought was particularly helpful- you shouldn’t go to a college with the intent of transferring to another one because you will never give yourself the chance to appreciate the University you are at. That is not to say you can’'t or shouldn’t transfer to UF, but you shouldn’t bank on that because if that doesn’t happy you should be content at your current university.
If you go to USF will you live at home? If so, then it’s not cheaper (or that much cheaper) to go to Santa Fe because you will not be paying for housing if you live at home; the cost of housing could offset the decreased tuition at a CC.
I don’t quite understand how you calculated your GPA, but have you considered USF Honors? To be admitted you need a 3.8 gpa, I assume this is weighted (0.5 additional weight for pre-ib or honors courses, and 1 additional weighting for ib/ap/aice/dual enrollment courses), and a 29 ACT. Your ACT qualifies you, and if you have the minimum GPA this seems like a great opportunity for you. You would get the small class size that @BlackMetal mentioned, while getting the atmosphere of a University. If you are admitted to the honors program you also receive a scholarship (assuming you apply before the money runs out), which would help offset costs even if you live on campus.
Another thing to consider is how many credits you have already accrued through AP/IB exams. If you already have 30 credits+ (or thereabouts) , it might be worthwhile to go to Santa Fe and complete a year there, and then transfer with your AA.
Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. I actually was offered admittance to USF honors. And if I were to go to USF, I honestly would want to live away from my house.
I haven’t taken my ap and ib exams for this year (my school decided to give the ib seniors 5 mandatory ap classes…) so hopefully if I do well enough, I can transfer in a year like you mentioned.
Also, if that DOES happen, how does that work? Would I transfer in a year to UF with my AA then start UF as a Junior within a year?
How is your weighted gpa 5.9 and your unweighted 3.27 im aware Ib students tend to have way higher weighted gpas but thats mathmatically impossible unless your on a gpa scale that is 7+. If you really really wanted to go to UF then Sante Fe is a no brainer especially if you have a decent amount of credits from AP/IB. Did you apply to UCF or FSU? Those schools might help you escape your house and offer great education
Based on what I have read on this forum, my understanding is that the UF appeal process has a success rate of less than 5%. Importantly, the appeal process is not a re-consideration of your existing application, but rather a consideration of new facts, such as recent SAT/ACT scores, ECs not disclosed in the original application, etc. In other words, the appeal is not a venue to argue the merits of your application as submitted; UF already looked at that.