My cumulative weighted GPA is currently a 4.5, and I’ve gotten straight A’s throughout all of high school, no B’s. I take mostly honors, AP, and dual enrollment. I am a very good essay writer (at least that’s what my teachers have told me) and I’m planning on writing my essay on my life-changing experience with playing the violin for nursing home residents. I’m in NHS, SNHS, Tri-M, Key Club, and am very involved with my high school orchestra. I’ve won numerous awards (almost all music related though). The only problem is my SAT is a 1280 (710 in english an 570 in math) but I’ve been practicing the math a lot and am taking 2-3 more SAT’s so I’m confident that I can bring it up by at least 50 points. I know that UF is very competitive but would this be enough to get accepted?
What is your class rank?
Disclaimer: I’m an incoming First-Year at Brown University who declined his admission to UF, but my advice should still apply.
Your GPA is definitely within UF’s ranges, so there are no worries there. According to UF Admissions (admissions.ufl.edu) the ranges for the freshmen class entering in 2020:
GPA: 4.4 - 4.6
ACT: 30 - 33
SAT: 1320 - 1460
While your SAT score is below the 25th percentile for UF, that still means that 25% of those admitted to UF submitting the SAT had a SAT score at or below 1320. As UF does require the submission of the SAT/ACT (correct me if I’m wrong,) I would personally recommend that you try taking the ACT given that the Math section is harder for you than English. I took the ACT and found it to be much easier than the ACT as long as you’re good at reading and can answer questions (that aren’t as in-depth as the SAT) quickly. The math concepts tested are harder (up to pre-calculus instead of algebra I believe for the SAT,) but you can utilize a calculator for all of the questions (which are all multiple choice yay!!) The ACT website (act.org ) should link to some free practice exams, so I suggest taking one of those to see where you are and work from there.
However, test scores/GPA are not everything, I’ve learnt over the course of my college admissions journey that while academics open the door, it’s up to the rest of your application (namely the essays) to get you through it. Once UF Admissions is confident that you can handle their coursework, they look to your essays to get a feel for how you’ll fit into the freshmen class, and how you’ll utilize the university’s resources (by looking at your essays and how you’ve utilized your high school’s resources.) So make sure that every word on your essay counts!
Hope this helps! Good luck with admissions!
Who knows how things will be changed by the pandemic. In a normal year, I would say that you know what you need to do to improve your chances, which is to improve your test score. If you can take the ACT, I would recommend that. My son did markedly better on the ACT than the SAT – more than 100 points better.
If the ability to take SAT/ACT continues to be impaired by the virus, then I think UF will either declare it “optional” or just remove it from the equation.
Regardless, start working on your application as soon as it comes out. Spend time on it and the essay. Good luck.
@GatorDad305 I assume if they have no other choice they will go test optional. Its obvious that the Board of Governors wants scores, considering the fact that they haven’t budged so far. What makes you think they would consider removing it from the equation?
@flprepaidmom I don’t have any inside information. I know that they just cancelled some test taking days where I live – another parent was upset about it. If kids don’t have equal access to take the tests because the SAT or ACT cancel the tests due to Covid, I’m theorizing that they might decide to not count it. But going “optional” is probably a better bet. Again, just basing on what seems reasonable to me.
I would recommend that every kid do their best to schedule and take the tests if they can. And feeling lucky that mine are already in college.
@flprepaidmom Interesting development in California. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/us/university-of-california-sat-act-trnd/index.html
@GatorDad305 I saw that! Since I have a kid with a strong score, I still hope its test optional in FL. But if she didn’t have a score yet, I m sure I would feel differently!