Just got back from the UF Tour. What an incredible place! The campus was so active with all the students back to class, so many clubs advertising their programs and the tour guides were so knowledgable! The admission officers in the Welcome Center were so helpful and willing to answer questions. It is no wonder why UF is our flagship university. Go Gators!
When I went with my daughter two years ago, I experienced the same thing. The tour certainly doesn’t make the school, but I found the UF tour to be a notch above the other state schools that we visited.
@GatorDad305 did you also go during the semester? I ask because we went over the summer and were underwhelmed. I wonder if it would be worth returning when the students are there.
@VryCnfsd we went in the summer two years ago. Things were not terribly busy on campus. I’m comparing it to tours at USF, UCF (twice) FIU, FGCU and Poly. I felt like the UF tour was better all around. Better hype video. Well organized tour. Better briefed guides. Just one guys opinion and I’m also a biased alum but my kid wasn’t yet in. I do believe that when you attend has an impact. Two years ago, we went to UCF in the spring and it was bustling. My daughter loved the vibe. We visited gulf coast in the summer between sessions and the campus was more than dead. She later said it had no energy.
We will be back in Gainesville in October for my sons tour. We are Gators so we know the drill and what UF is about but it gives the kid a chance to ask questions and hear the pitch firsthand.
@VryCnfsd It definitely makes a difference visiting while classes are in session. The feeling/atmosphere one gets from a visit is so much more important than the information you get during the visits. You really don’t learn much that you couldn’t get from their website. A big reason for the visit is for the student to see if they can picture themselves spending 4 years there. Hard to do that when you don’t see what it is really like.
We took a college tour last spring break to visit 6 schools in GA, NC, VA and DC. The one school that was on spring break while we visited had no chance to compete with the others that were lively and energetic. It quickly feel to the bottom of the list…
@GatorDad305 @fl1234 thanks for the responses. it’s far for us to visit, so maybe we’ll wait and see if D20 is accepted. if so, then we’ll try to schedule another visit. on paper, it looks like a great fit for her.
@VryCnfsd Did you take the official tour on your visit? It’s a bit of a mercenary point, but it helps the application (not sure exactly how much) if you have shown interest and taken the official tour. That would be the only reason to visit again before decision day. I’m working to schedule visits to schools that are only a couple hours drive away and it isn’t easy. If your daughter gets admitted, it would make a lot of sense to visit at that time. It’s a great place to go to college, but no school is a match for everyone.
Yes, @GatorDad305 D20 did take the official tour, though I am not sure whether she got credit for it because we showed up morning of and didn’t sign up in advance.
We had been to campus several times for football games which were amazing visits! It was great to see what a day if classes looked like. The students were hustling to class, library was packed, got to see flyers for club events and witnessed the importance of getting a scooter! We had a chance to speak with students and learn more about academics.
@GatorDad305 we visited and they made it clear demonstrated interest is not considered for UF? has that changed because they say it doesn’t matter… We did an official tour… How do they know you did a tour ? how does it get linked to your profile or app? is there a section on the common or Coalition which asks if you toured the school? how does that work… anyway they are saying demonstrated interest does not matter??
@jhmoney the most recent UF common data set says that level of interest is “considered.” Perhaps that has changed. I have heard that it is a positive to go on the official tour as they do track it and somehow link it to your application. I also heard that they can track how long you spend on the application.
I have not stood in front of an admissions person and asked that question but i will add it to my list for October.
This I do know: i would leave nothing to chance if UF were my first choice. I would do everything I could to show them that if admitted, I will attend. Will leave it at that.
@GatorDad305 agree why take chance… my daughter official visited Feb of her junior year… She also attended University of Florida Youth leadership Conference 9/10/11 grade on campus for 3 days each year. the is run by the Student Gov… thats on the resume for sure… so I am sure that shows interest as well… still not sure how they tie it to the application? my daughters email changed since her visit by the request of the school superintendent for all the kids to have professional emails… so we made her change it…
@GatorDad305 not sure how long you spend on the common app will matter? I mean my daughter adds stuff every week as she goes along… in the middle of SAT studying, school studying and sports etc! 
@jhmoney These are all nuanced points which may not come into play for a lot of kids. But as I have stated before in this hypothetical: If a UF admissions officer is looking at two seemingly equal candidates and one states in their application that UF is their top choice and that they definitely will attend if accepted, and the other does not state any such thing in their application, which one do you choose? I know who I would pick.
I have heard, again nothing official, that UF weighs 1/3 gpa, 1/3 scores and 1/3 everything else. I have also heard it weight gpa and scores 1/2 and the other half everything else. UF may see 45,000 applicants this year with the addition of the common app, and may only accept 33%. In my opinion, every little bit helps if you want your best shot and to avoid heartbreak at the end of Februarty.
We visited the UF campus in February and managed to get into the admissions presentation and a tour without being pre-registered. The woman working the podium asked my son to fill out an information sheet and told him to be certain to include his email address. This may have been simply for sending follow up information, but I think they are very interested in keeping track of those students who are very interested in UF. Our college counselor, who has been at this 25 years, is the first to tell you that demonstrated interest always matters, even if you’re told it doesn’t matter.
Hello! I’m curious about the necessity of another tour. My child attended one of UF’s summer institutes and they started the week with a tour. UF is her top choice as it’s the only agriculture school in the state (well, public anyway). We are trying to figure out when we could make time for a tour this fall; in the spring and summer, we were unable to carve out a day or two to go up to Gainesville due to many other obligations (hers and ours). I know many students attend these summer institutes, and staying a week is a pretty decent introduction to campus life and school resources. But is it considered “showing interest?”
Thanks!
Shellrose
I think that shows great interest. Tons of options and she selected uf.