<p>IF UF is accepting OOS that have the same or even slighter better stats than in state students? Then this is totally unacceptable. In my sons case he was top 3% in a class of 780 there was never a doubt he was going to get into UF. But he had not been accepted? I would not have taken it well.</p>
<p>I suggest that if your child had the grades and you know in your heart they should have been accepted? Go to Gainesville and be heard. Especially if you are an alum as I am.</p>
<p>Due to the “Holistic” admission method used by UF (and many other colleges), there is a significant random factor that comes into play. That’s why it’s very frustrating for alumni, as it leads to legacy kids being rejected by UF that clearly have the grades/academics. </p>
<p>In fact, let me rework that last sentence.</p>
<p>That’s why it’s very frustrating for parents, as it leads to kids being rejected by UF that clearly have the grades/academics.</p>
<p>Parents, who are alumni, are even more frustrated, due to our connection with the school.</p>
<p>What would be helpfully is more transparency in the system. I would be ok, if UF told me my kid was rejected due to grades, class rigor, test scores, EC’s, essay,whatever. As it is now, you’ll be told they where well qualified, but it’s very “competitive”. </p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think UF is capable of telling us the reason for a rejection, due to the “holistic” method. I can see it now….some possible reasons for rejection…</p>
<p>“The essay just didn’t give us a sense of the real YOU.”</p>
<p>“Volunteering at the retirement center for two years was nice, but we would really prefer work at an orphanage…”</p>
<p>“Not enough leadership experience…you should have built an orphanage”</p>
<p>“Three years of tennis and golf are nice, but we would be more impressed by 1 year of football”</p>
<p>“Four years of football is nice, but we would be more impressed by 1 year of tennis and golf”</p>
<p>“We hate sports…wait a second…no….we hate chess clubs…we still like sports…unless it’s rowing…why the heck is rowing a sport?”</p>
<p>“I’ll give you an answer in a second, I have to grab my magic eight ball…Reply hazy try again…"</p>
<p>To clarify: my son did not apply to UF nor did I have legacy there or at any other US university (my husband and I are both foreign graduates). I am not advocating lowering the school standards but I do believe in the importance of legacies legacies and in giving preference to good Floridian candidates specially when talking about a state school like UF.</p>
<p>Here’s the deal. UF has around a 30% to 40% admit rate. This is considerably higher than the level it would have to be at to be deemed a “total crapshoot.” I mean, for the average, middle-of-the-road applicants, it may be a crapshoot, since there are so many people just like them. But, those who are way above UF’s admissions stats (i.e. students with 2100+ SAT) are such a small percentage of the applicant pool that they SHOULD be guaranteed admission. However, I have heard of many of these very qualified students getting rejected. No one can possibly know the reason why, unless you work in admissions. But there is speculation that it is to make room for out-of-state students, and even to create more demographic diversity in the student population. But, I hope this, along with the rejection of qualified legacies make many of you realize that “Gator nation” was and is a lie. UF cares about the money. Not the donors. You should have never given money in the first place. That money is better spent at another university or given to a worthy charity.</p>
<p>UF’s admit rate is 44%(2012-2013), but UF’s (and many other colleges, UF is not unique in this) Holistic method makes it hard to predict your chances to be admitted. </p>
<p>OOS only make up 4% of the incoming freshman class (foreign countries make up 6%), so 90% of the incoming class are Florida residents.</p>
<p>Public Universities will always make legacy status a secondary consideration, compared to merit (as the state school should be viewed as fair and serving the interest of the state and not the alumni). However, at UF, academics (GPA/Standardized Test/class rigor) only make up 50% of the holistic admissions process, while other stuff (ECs and Essay) make up the other 50%. There is no way to tell how this other stuff will be weighted by the admissions officer, which is why it’s thought of as a crapshoot. It’s way to random.</p>
<p>@gator88ne all of what you said is true. However, holistic admissions only statistically create a “crapshoot” scenario for middle-of-the-road applicants. Those in the middle 50% of gpa, sat scores, etc. Middle of the road ECs can be determined from chance and results threads on CC. Although this is always subjective. But, UFs 44% admit rate should statistically guarantee admission for students with stellar stats, so long as there are no red flags. But, this guarantee is notoriously nonexistent for UF. </p>
<p>However, I do share your disdain for holistic admissions. Especially for top-20 universities. America should move to the English model of admission that is based solely on objective stats.</p>
<p>I prefer the holistic admissions system. Grades and test scores are only half of the equation in admissions, so you can’t claim acceptances of students with high stats inconsistent without mentioning any of their extracurriculars. I know a few people that had much higher gpa’s and sat scores than mine who didn’t get accepted, but all they did was sit around and study in high school, so I honestly wasn’t even surprised. Admissions will find good qualities in a variety of students, but there is a limited number of students they can admit.</p>
<p>Also, I have heard that legacy does play a role in admissions, but I don’t think it should guarantee anything. If it did then those students would essentially be buying their way into UF through their parents donations…and c’mon this is a public university.</p>
<p>Holistic admissions was never intended to be a fair or non-discriminatory system. It was created by Ives to keep undesirable types of students (that had good academic record but were from undesirable races) from attending elite schools (just google it). Holistic admissions basically means that the school will promote or demote any student based on the need of that school or on the perceived “fairness” of society. Is our system “fair”? Asian kids have to score 100 points more on their SATs while URM have to score much less. Holistic is just fair to the “flavor of the month” in my opinion. We have to come up with a better system to measure you is actually fit and deserving to attend college but also we have to prepare them well so we do not have to fudge numbers at end to let them in. Sorry, I guess went off topic, lol.</p>
<p>A system that’s built to be ambiguous (Holistic admissions) will create a lot of frustrations. Since admissions isn’t based solely on objective stats, admissions officers usually can’t give you a reason for rejecting an applicant.</p>
<p>The history behind holistic admissions (as ddahwan has noted) should make anyone a bit critical of the process. I would hope UF is using it to include folks and not to exclude anyone (though by including someone, you have to exclude someone…but that’s admissions).</p>
<p>We’re not about to change UF’s admission process, so I think the whole point of this discussion (as it related to the ops subject) is to let other parents (alumni and not) know it’s ok to be frustrated with the admission process. If your academically over-qualified child’s been reject (or may be reject in the future), you may never get a clear answer why from UF. All you can do is move on.</p>
I have a friend who has around same credentials as you, maybe a little higher gpa. He got rejected from UF, but he got into Vanderbilt and currently goes there. UF makes some stupid decisions.
The anger from this old thread is probably why UF added the Innovation Academy, PaCE and other similar programs. Children of alumni now have other paths to graduation from UF if they can’t get in during regular or summer admissions.
Also, the comments regarding OOS students taking in-state slots are comical. UF has one of the lowest percentage of OOS students in the country, and the state as a whole exports more college students than it takes in.
The 2016-2017 Freshman Profile:
The Middle 50 percent of admits
GPA: 4.2-4.5
SAT (New) Scores: 1290-1440
ACT Scores: 28-32
Last year it was:
GPA: 4.1-4.4
ACT Scores: 27-31
The trend continues!
Back in 2013, I really disliked holistic admissions (going through it for the first time with my DD14), but now I realize that many of the other options (like Texas’s top 10% rule) are much worse. Look at the challenges for an in-state student to get into an “impacted” major at UC-Berkeley or UCLA? Or schools that REALY recruit OOS and international students, like UIUC or even Georgia Tech.
Entrance requirements to UF are much higher, but I’ve gain a new appreciation of it’s admissions process.
Original poster here! It’s fun to see my old thread revived. My daughter was heartbroken to not be accepted to UF in 2013, but she ended up at Auburn “the other orange and blue school in the SEC”. She has thrived there and is a senior now. She’s working on PhD applications now and will submit to UF. Maybe she’ll be a Gator after all…
D17 is applying to colleges now. Her GPA and test scores are higher and is more likely to be accepted than D13. The thought that both could be at UF next fall is exciting!
@MomofThree95 That’s Fantastic! :-bd
I am going through much the same thing. I’m very upset with UF at this point. My son has dreamed of being a Gator for years. Similar to what others have stated, he went to Gainesville for games over the years, etc. He is an IB student with a 4.6 GPA, top 3% of his high school class (which got him an automatic guaranteed admission to UCF if he applied, which he did), extremely hard working and dedicated to his studies, no drugs or alcohol ever, with many AP classes under his belt. His SAT was 1100, a bit low, but well within the range and I felt he had a solid essay. My mother was a Gator, myself, my sister, my uncle who died while home on break from UF and my grandfather set up a scholarship in my uncle’s name at UF when he passed. My son is also a volunteer at our local Gator club and was likely to receive their scholarship had he got in. To say we are devastated is an understatement. I’m have been a minor contributor and a member of the alumni association for over 20 years, a diehard Gator, but I don’t think I’ll feel the same about UF anymore unless he becomes a Gator at some point. I certainly will not be sending anymore money that way anytime soon. Very sad to treat dedicated alumni families this way.
I’m going to hijack this thread to put in my two cents. I am an admitted student for the class of 2021. I noticed this thread arrived on the front page again and I felt that I had to say something. I understand that parents who are from the “UF Family” are upset about the rejection of their children at this school. I get it, seriously. At the end of the day however, one thing is true, at least in my eyes.
Legacy does not mean anything. Honestly. While I respect the disappointment of parents and families out there, I find it pathetic that you groan about your child’s “betrayal” or supposed mistreatment. Just because you went to UF, or have a relationship to the university, does not mean your child deserves a special consideration. That’s like saying it would be ok for someone to receive a job offer over you because the person is the CEO’s relative. While I can acknowledge that the majority of parent posts in this thread are made out of momentary anger and stress, I find it incredibly immature that fully grown adults would suggest their students were betrayed.
Surely parents are aware of the fact that alumni payments are entirely optional, and ultimately provide you no significance. Overall, each applicant to UF is reviewed based on a number of different qualities and accomplishments. This may be partial to UF, but the school is arguably the strongest public school in the state of Florida. The competition is impressively fierce, and a vast number of students have the qualifications for acceptance. Even in the student threads, it’s annoying to see the numerous “list of qualifications posts” where people whine over not being accepted to the university. I see it in threads for all of the colleges I applied to.
At times, it leads me to question CC as a forum because the levels of entitlement are insane. I’m no expert or prodigy myself, but I can say one thing: I worked my butt off to get into the schools I was accepted to. EVERY student did. When all is said and done, UF doesn’t care about the special qualifications that should have granted you better treatment or prevented this alleged “betrayal.” You also shouldn’t belittle those who had different stats from your kid. The university has a reason behind every acceptance and every denial. For some, it may be closer than they think. For others, it may be an SAT score that lies below the 25th percentile of all applicants (COUGH COUGH).
Anyway, tl;dr, legacy is worthless and your kid isn’t entitled to anything. Nobody betrayed you.
@VeloxS -
If that were true, then UF should not list “Relation with Alumnus” as a factor considered in admissions. In any case, if many of these legacy kids really want to attend UF, there are several options available other than direct Fall admission. UF Online, PaCE, AI, Santa Fe CC or another community college come to mind.
@Zinhead My point is that legacy as an admissions factor is quite small. It only gives so much of a lead. In addition to that, it’s unable to cancel out any major downsides of an application. It surely is a legitimate factor, but it shouldn’t be treated as a priority, although some parents feel that way.
@VeloxS I agree. The most recent person complaining about how her son got rejected should realize that a 1100 is way below average for UF and not within their range like she believes. The 25th percentile for them this year was 1290 or 1300. That’s probably the reason why he got rejected, though I have no real idea. There would be no real reason for legacy status to cancel out the SAT score. I doubt they ever compare two equally qualified students and say “Hey, this kid’s parents went to UF but this other kid’s parents didn’t, let’s reject him instead!”
@VeloxS & @sushipanda - If parents whose kids were rejected want to vent, let them. Really, most of these parents are not really suggesting that UF or any school should give their child preferential treatment if that child does not deserve it. But one day, you too will have children. As proud UF alumni, you too will dress them in orange & blue every Saturday in the fall and for many other occasions including a multitude of baby pictures. You too will teach them “We are the boys” and buy them Albert & Alberta stuffed animals. As they grow and start thinking about their future, you too will start to dream about them attending your alma mater and loving it as much as you did. In the hopes of that happening, and also to support the place you hold dear to your heart, you too will donate a sum of money every year and support the alumni association. If, in the end, UF doesn’t choose your child, you will be hurt. You will pull away. You will probably stop donating every year. You will mourn the loss of your dream. And in time, you will heal.
This is not unique to UF. It is true of most schools around the country that have loyal alumni. Parents hurt when their kids hurt. And yes, if the place you hold most dear to your memories is the cause of that hurt, you feel betrayed. I am thankful my daughter was just accepted, but I can empathize with parents whose children were rejected.
Go Gators!!!