UF Admissions Formula

It is well known that UF has “holistic” admissions which can produce some interesting decisions that leave applicants scratching their heads. The following came from another UF forum, and was wondering if anyone could comment on how accurate or inaccurate it is. If accurate, and blind essay reading is indeed such a large component of the admissions process, it could explain some of the variability in UF admissions.

First, I have no special insight into UF’s admissions or affiliation with the school. However, I can share what I’ve been told by AO’s (in tours/recruiting conferences), back-up with what UF has published in the common data set.

This is slightly off. As I’ve been told, UF puts more weight on Grades, Class Rigor and Essay ("Very Important in the CDS) than test scores (“Important”). If you look at the list of accepted students, you’ll see some with fairly low test scores (1700’s, while the average is 1900+).

Also, Academics make up "50% of admissions. The other 50% is Nonacademic items, like ECs, Leadership, volunteer, working, etc.

I get the sense that GPA/Class rigor is king, and that the Essay is disturbingly important.

You can’t even submit a letter of recommendation. It’s really not considered.

Class rigor is important, and UF thinks highly of IB (and AICE) programs. They did some research on how AP, IB and AICE students did at UF, all three groups excelled.

Will write a bit more later…time for X-FILES!!

We know UF would like more OOS students, but we can’t tell how much (if at all) an advantage it is to be OOS. The acceptance rate has been a few % points less for OOS students, but that may just reflect that in-state students have slightly better stats/ECs/etc. than OOS students. The AO’s will say it’s no disadvantage to being an OOS student.

Some schools (with large rigorous programs) send lots of students, while other schools will only send a few. Rigor seems to play the determining factor. UF does ask for class rankings. This is the first year the CDS states that UF will consider class rank, but it’s only “considered”.

Colleges do not have a direct role in freshman admissions. Freshman Students are admitted to the University, not to a college. The only exception for freshman, are those that have 60+ credits, usually through dual enrollment; in that case, they also need to apply to a college, and would enter as Juniors.

Yes and no. UF accepts a lot of transfer students, and SFCC is the largest feeder CC for UF. However, some majors may be very difficult for transfer students to get into, based on capacity. For example, most of the programs within the college of business and several engineering majors are difficult to get into. They also would have little chance getting into the Biomedical engineering program.

I thought I heard one UF admissions officer whisper this to another…(or maybe it was the mushrooms…killer mushrooms…)

“The first rule of UF Holistic Admissions is: You do not talk about UF Holistic Admissions. The second rule of UF Holistic Admissions is: You do not talk about UF Holistic Admissions. Third rule of UF Holistic Admissions: If an UF admissions officer yells stop, goes limp, taps out, then your application is over. Fourth rule: only 13,600 students get accepted.”

This is a bit off, in that playing volleyball for the school, which involves a significant amount of time (say playing for 3 or 4 years, a semester each year, practicing 5 or 6 days a week) and then becoming the team Captain is worth a lot in the EC/Leadership category (which is described as “50%” of the holistic admissions process. UF likes to see a time and effort commitment, as well as leadership. Have a few ECs like this would be worth more than, say 100 points on your SAT or a point on your ACT.

UF doesn’t consider your financial situation in admissions. It also doesn’t promise to met 100% of need. However, with it’s fairly low in-state tuition and bright futures, have any financial information on the students. On average, the percentage of need that was met of students who were awarded any need-based aid was 99%.

UF does consider if you’re a first generation (it’s labeled as "Important in the CDS info), which makes it more important than having an alumni relation, or perceived “level of interest”.

That is disturbing. Students spend three years taking class and being graded for the GPA and class rigor. Standardized tests provide the only unbiased method of comparing students from different schools at different times, and most students take more than one.

On the other hand, essays take the shortest amount of time to prepare, and are the easiest of the three to game. It is relatively easy to find editors who can spruce up an essay, and it is probably not that difficult to find someone who will write one substantially from scratch. Moreover, unlike a GPA that is product of many tests and graders, or a national test that is standardized for everyone, essays are subject to the whims of a small handful of graders.

Berkeley and UCLA was well known for using essays as a method to circumvent California’s restriction on affirmative action. UF does not seem to use the essay the same way, but if they do indeed place so much emphasis on it, the essay is likely the reason why UF’s acceptances approximate a lottery.

Since essay quality is not something that USNWR, Forbes or other grading services can possibly use to rank universities, UF is shooting itself in the foot if they do over-rely on the essay. Dr. Fuchs has talked about elevating UF to be among the top 10 public universities in the country. Perhaps if they placed less reliance on the essay and more on items that can be quantitatively measured, the university would be in a better position to achieve that goal.

@Zinhead

I’m fine with GPA/Class Rigor (as compared to your peers in high school) being the most important academic measure, while still using test scores. I’m more of a GPA person than a test score person, as it’s a bit more likely to forecast success in college. I’m not a big fan of the essay being so important, for all of the reasons you listed.

We may be projecting more importance on the essay, than is really the fact, at least that’s what I hope. Still, UF holistic admissions really starts to seem more and more random once that all important GPA starts to drop below, say a 3.8 (UW), . Maybe that’s due to the “50%” non-academic weight on ECs and such…or maybe it’s the essay or both.

UF’s process is successful at recruiting a very diverse group of students, but it drives us crazy trying to figure it out.

Edit: I’ve been trying to read the holistic tea leaves since 2013, when my DD was applying to UF. Even being in the top 25% for GPA/Test scores, I still stressed over it. Same when my son applies in the fall…being in the top 25% isn’t a guarantee it seems. #:-S