The first stats are out…
For comparison, here are last years stats…
Keep in mind that we still have a group of students, HS grades who have earn their AA degree, that are still waiting on acceptances. The 36% number is likely going to go up a few percentage points over the next several weeks.
That is the lowest admit percentage that I can recall. I went back 10 years and still couldn’t find a percentage that low. The apps increased significantly …almost 16%. In addition recent year admits were in the mid 13,000s…the current admits are about 10% higher even though their enrollment goal is still mid 6000s…previous year stats did not include HS students who will have AA degrees so the above is an “apple to apple” comparison …
OOS apps are likely driving the increase in overall applications. OOS apps have a much lower yield rate than in-state apps/students. Hence why the number of acceptances are up, but the yield target of 6,400 is actually a little lower than last years number of 6,500.
More applicants but essentially the same stats for accepted students. More selective will equal a better ranking. Anyone know how PaCE and Innovation Academy effect admission statistics? Do they count as admitted students in the total numbers game? My guess is they don’t which would be quite clever on UF’s part. Collect revenue without the same resource drain AND remain more selective for admissions purposes. If they don’t already, other large Us might want to look into this model. I still think they ought to simply accept or reject without these hybrid approaches. Maintain the essence of being a flagship while the state provides great alternatives at other fine state schools. Think UM vs. Mich St. Mich St. is a fine school but most wouldn’t confuse it with UM. No need to blur the lines.
@Collegemom123 @Gator88NE Thanks for sharing. I’m not surprised that they admitted more kids. With such a huge spike in applications from the coalition app, they must expect a lower yield.
Why were some admitted Summer B and others for Fall? (I know one student who was admitted Summer A??!) If you requested Fall, but got Summer B…does that mean your application wasn’t as strong?
Curious as to the Out-of-State (non-resident) admission rate.
@Gator88NE As a high school student who is earning their AA degree this Spring and was admitted to UF for Fall 2018 as a Freshman, I am curious as to why all the people in my situation I have heard from were not accepted as Freshman also? I even checked on the Coalition Application that I was a high schooler graduating with an AA. Is it a bad thing to be accepted as a Freshman?
@carolynelizabeth No freshman should have been accepted to Summer A.
I believe (and I have no insider info), that UF has multiple pools of students it’s trying to “fill”. In the case of Fall and Summer B, it places accepted students that request Summer B into Summer B. It then fills the allotment of Fall students, and then finally, it fills Summer B. The stronger students tend to be offered Fall. These are the students that make up the 6,400 enrollment target.
At UF, there isn’t much of a stat difference between the Summer and Fall admits, since UF has so many strong candidates applying. If you look at the other public colleges in Florida (who all do Fall/Summer B) there is a significant stat differences between Fall and Summer Admits. .
After filling Summer B, it then starts to make PaCE offers to those students that just missed out getting into UF.
@Publisher eventually they post the state applications/admissions/enrollment data I remember seeing it recently for last year. Last year the admissions rate was pretty level between OOS and IS, but so few out-of state apply. The complete opposite of say UNC. I’m going to see if I can find it.
@Ella582 Freshman at UF are admitted to the University and not to their college (College of Business, College of engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, etc). The colleges don’t play a roll in freshman admissions decisions.
However, since you’ve earned your AA degree, you have to be placed into your college. The college now has to make an admission decision.
I think I read somewhere that some students with AA’s are admitted through the freshman process, but others have to go to the college. One advantage of going to the college, is that it’s not limited by the freshman enrollment targets, and while you may not have been accepted as a freshman, you could very will be accepted as a “junior” by your college. Think of it as a 2nd chance at admissions.
@publisher Page 28 is that data I was talking about. http://cloud.flipb.com/university-of-florida/2017AdmissionsAnnualReportREV/mobile/index.html?doc=67C3C5A84F731BDACA8BE4FDC758FD62#{“docid”:“67C3C5A84F731BDACA8BE4FDC758FD62”,“page”:28}
Note that the admissions report has a typo on the “Non-Florida” stats. It should be 3,265 admits and not 777, and it should be 777 enrolled and not 6. Yes, last year more than 6 OOS students enrolled. 
http://www.alligator.org/news/article_3d1ce0be-1076-11e8-a8ab-130135ee031d.html
A bit more data…
2021 Mid 50% GPA: 4.3 to 4.6; Mid 50% SAT 1280 to 1430; Mid 50% ACT 28-32
2022 Mid 50% GPA: 4.2 to 4.6 Mid 50% SAT 1300 to 1440; Mid 50% ACT 29-33
Essentially the same student profile.
I think UF is closing in on its goal of becoming an alternative to UNC. It’s certainly making faster strides than UGA and has been aggressive in recruiting OOS high stats kids (through the changes in Benaquisto) while maintaining instate intake in numbers and quality. Compared to Georgia or South Carolina, which have used different strategies to increase their national and regional standing, Florida is helped by its broad secondary school offerings (whereas SC in particular has weak secondary funding and options, and Georgia doesn’t have nearly as many quality options as Florida does). Florida is noticeable in how widespread AICE, IB, free dual enrollment, and free virtual school have become, and making them free levels the playing field (despite socio economic and ethnic disparities) compared to other southern states where k-12 funding and offerings are dismal. Having a very strong pool to choose from is good for UF.
So not harder to get in, but increase in applications likely means there are more “similars” to compete for spots. They’ll also be a lot more applications that fall short of the benchmark. I would like to see the state move to a clear cut tier system. UF is the flagship, then FSU, USF, UCF, then FGCU, UNF, UWF. I assume FAU and FIU are in the second tier. Remove the hybrid programs (PaCE, Innovation). They already have online. Be a clean, clear cut pecking order. Many states with great flagships do it this way. There’s no confusion regarding who is a good candidate. Just like there is really no point in applying to highly selective privates and “elites” if you have less than stellar stats and /or some amazing interesting skill. No kinda sort of admitted. It cheapens the brand.
Remember this:
Florida public University and State College (CC) system is setup to give a lot of control to each school. There is an overall “State University System Board of Governors”(BOG) that sets high level goals (in partnership with the governor and state legislature), but it’s the individual universities Board of Trustees (BOT) and school administrations that set the strategic goals (in line with the BOG), determine financial priorities, set OOS tuition, determine admissions policy/goals, etc.
This flexibility has really worked for each of the universities.
How does this impact admissions?
Lets use USF as an example (someone other than UF). USF has three campuses, each with a different student profile. They also have been asked (by the BOG/legislature) to increase graduation rates, lower cost (to earn a BS), and compete for the performance based funding. USF also knows that if it reaches certain goals, it can be a Preeminent" university and win a substantial increase in funding from the State.
For this reason, USF is trying to become much more selective in admissions, as that will lead directly to an increase in graduation rates (a key metric for “Preeminent” as well as the rankings). On the other hand, it doesn’t want to decrease the number of freshman enrolled.
The USF BOT is free to come up with it’s on strategy. They have kept OOS tuition rates low ($17K a year, the lowest, or near the lowest of any Florida public university), offered generous merit based scholarships (for In-state and OOS), and is raising standards for admissions (but carefully watching the results).
I could look at the other 11 universities, and they all would have unique strategies and plans. Each university has enough independence to be able to succeed and grow their universities.
For that reason, I think admissions policy should be left up to each school, and not dictated by the BOG/legislature.