UF Application Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

<p>So, I hate to use this as an excuse.. and maybe it's not right.. but here goes.</p>

<p>So, my sophomore year, I had mono. I got it in about late march-early April, and my parents FORCED me to go to school!!! So, finally, one of my teachers noticed me getting more and more pale and losing more and more weight (I was already way too skinny for my height at 5'11 I was about 125 lbs.. maybe less).. and she complained to my guidance counselor after hearing that my parents forced me to go to school.</p>

<p>At the time I was put out of school, my grades had dropped and all of my teachers knew this. I didn't even turn in a couple assignments.. and that was completely unlike me. So anyways, way long story short, I got 3 B's my second semester of sophomore year. I am a Junior early graduate, so this was not too long ago.</p>

<p>Before those 3 B's, I had received straight A's in all three semesters of high school as well with FLVS courses and other outside of school courses.</p>

<p>So, while I was put out of school, I had a couple ER visits and several doctor visits. There was nothing they could do except wait, and no medication was working. A problem was my AP World exam. It was when my mono was almost at its peak in May (I had it until mid June) and I could have done the exam on a makeup day but I didn't think I would be mono free in a week so I just took it.</p>

<p>Despite A's in the class every exam and every marking period, I got a two. Kids who did and knew much less in my class got three's and a couple got a four. My World teacher is pretty disappointed and knows that I should have at least gotten a three. I don't remember nearly anything from the exam, and I don't think I tried my hardest.</p>

<p>Should I mention any of this, anywhere in the application? Or would it be good for one of my teachers to mention this in their reccomendations somewhere? I mean, I still worked hard and pulled off pretty darn good grades, but, it was hard. I was in the ER two days after my AP Test because my throat was so swollen it was almost starting to close. Steroids they gave me cleared it up.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long story, but, there it is. Many convinced me out of graduating early especially after getting mono, but, I'm a pretty persistent guy.</p>

<p>Also, despite UF loving diversity, would talking about experiences as being a Gay male in family or school life in some parts of the application, be a good or bad thing? Should I mention it?</p>

<p>If you can't tell, I love UF. It's my dream school and I am dying to get in. I'm borderline, and so getting in is dependent on my SAT/ACT retake and my application.</p>

<p>Thanks all for your help :)</p>

2

<p>in my sophomore year in high school i had personal problems and was teased/bullied. i was depressed and selectively mute and refused to give presentations. i got a D in chemistry during the first semester and a C in precalculus. the rest of my grades were mostly Bs. i didn’t mention it in my application…and idk…in my opinion, i don’t think that UF would give a ****. i mean, you’re thinking of explaining why you got 3 B’s instead of all A’s? that just doesn’t seem right. lots of people get ill. to go through years of high school while all the while feeling perfectly dandy and not having problems at home or getting a physical or mental illness is not that common. i think UF knows this. like i said, i didn’t explain my situation on the application, and i was accepted. and my SAT/ACT scores weren’t that great, and my essay was mediocre at best.</p>

<p>talking about being gay wouldn’t help you at all.</p>

3

<p>If you are worried about the two you shouldn’t be. UF doesn’t use AP scores for admission purposes.</p>

<p>Additionally, they are self reported.</p>

4

<p>First off… based on a lot of reasons I have a feeling that you are not a “borderline” applicant (this question however is borderline ridiculous). Second off… AP grades do not matter in admissions to this university. Third off… getting a couple of B’s instead of A’s in one semester of high school when you had already been getting straight A’s needs no explanation. There could be a lot of explanations and anyone can explain anything and tons of people DO. Is it really worth it? Did your low grades continue? Are your grades better now? It doesn’t sound like you have lost your work ethic because of one bad semester. </p>

<p>Grades speak for themselves. UF wont care about your explanations as much as you will want them to. For the most part, two things: They will look at your grades overall (GPA) and then see if there are any major grade trends present. We understand you got sick and it affected your grades but guess what… it happens. Fortunately it was a (relatively) slight case.</p>

<p>If you are planning on filling out a UF application soon then you should know how long your essays and free responses will be. Do you really want to waste the space explaining away the rest of your application? And then have your letters of recommendations, which UF will only read if they find you truly borderline and which are supposed to enhance and uplift your application, go back round to talking about the same thing? These should bring your application together; not have it be a Sum of All Parts. Remember that UF looks at you holistically. Outweigh your negatives with positives in other areas. Focus on what you have (not what you could have been) and make it look dazzling. </p>

<p>And say you DID explain a few B’s… what then? What do you expect them to do? Assume you were going to get A’s? Sorry, but that’s not fair. Its an unfortunate situation, don’t get me wrong, but you have to shift focus. There is a space, as far as i know, that allows you to explain a lack of extracurricular activities but I wouldn’t talk about grades there. I honestly would not address it at all. Not just because it is distracting but it is very difficult to do without making an adcom assume you are trying to gain unnecessary sympathy (some are quick to do so).</p>

<p>I am also the furthest ever from homophobic and am pretty aware of our diversity on campus and all but I am not going to stray from how I am… ill give this to you straight up. LGBTQ is diversity for sure, dont get me wrong, but it isnt the kind UF ‘looks’ for but it wont hurt you to mention it. UF wants to be able to report things like %'s and statistics when it comes to the racial and ethnic makeup of its classes and graduates. Unfortunately we are not at the point where it can report a statistic about %'s of queer students without controversy. This is the kind of unspoken “check in the box” diversity that plays a role in admissions today whether we like it or not. Nonetheless diversity goes beyond that and adcoms know that and if you can make it RELEVANT and purposeful, like it made you a better person and changed you etc, then I would mention it. Dont just throw it in or twist it into an essay and then expect brownie points.</p>

5

<p>lol i wish i only got 3 B’s in 10th grade.</p>

6

<p>Mysti? I am borderline because I have the GPA … just not the scores. But anyways, I don’t care if you think its ridiculous. Maybe you’re smarter than me. Probably are. I don’t have anyone to help me with admissions but thats ok… </p>

<p>Thank you all… for answering my questions :slight_smile: in the nicest way possibleee</p>

7

<p>Whatever happened in tenth grade, they will look at the rigor of the courses that you have taken throughout high school…Take a rigorous load from here on in.</p>

8

<p>mystifire: As far as I know, they don’t take LOAs anymore.</p>

<p>gpowsang</p>

9

<p>Unrelated question:</p>

<p>How long after I submit my application and get a UFID can I make a GatorLink account.</p>

<p>It has been 2 or 3 days and I still can’t check my status because I can’t make a Gatorlink account.</p>

10

<p>OP: Forget a few Bs. Your academic profile will say that you’re a great student who has received mostly As and some Bs - there’s nothing to worry about. As for your sexual orientation, I would opt not to mention it. Not because UF or I have anything against gays (I have several gay friends and am a proponent of gay marriage), but just because sexual orientation isn’t the type of diversity schools are looking for. Focus on writing a great essay and bumping up your SAT/ACT scores (if you need to) and the rest will take care of itself. Good luck!</p>

<p>Intangible Gator: I’m not entirely sure of the answer to your question, but if I recall correctly, it’s two weeks. Just try again in a week or so and see if you can set it up.</p>

11

<p>Yeah, they obviously don’t look at AP scores.</p>

<p>I reported scores to them for junior year AP exams. I got two 2’s and a 1…and A’s in the respective classes. lol</p>

12

<p>Don’t even worry about AP scores. I got accepted for Fall 2009. Before being accepted, I had taken 5 AP classes and hadn’t passed a single one of the exams… including a two in World. AP scores really don’t matter. They’d rather see that you tried and got the grades than to passing the exam. And my SAT/ACT was horrible compared to people who got accepted. I had the GPA, rank, extra curriculars.</p>