Family Making the Grade

Making the Grade

Florida colleges and universities are increasingly difficult to earn admission

“A ll information in the applicant’s file, academic and non-academic, is considered in relation to the size and strength of the applicant pool.” The University of Florida admissions office cuts straight to the point when addressing graduating high school students hoping to be accepted.

“Few students are admitted purely on academic merit. While the potential for academic success is a primary consideration, UF’s comprehensive holistic application review also considers personal essays, academic awards, extracurricular activities, family background and home community.”

As one would expect at a highly regarded institution of higher-learning like UF, the path to entry is a challenge. And that challenge is becoming increasingly difficult at many Florida universities and colleges. The bar for acceptance is much higher than it used to be. Long gone are the days when completing a bunch of forms and sending in a $30 check for the application fee was the hardest part of applying to a Sunshine State college. No, the University of Florida received more than 52,000 applications for admission into the class of 2025. Less than 30 percent of those who applied were accepted (In the year 2000, the acceptance rate was 63%). While it is more difficult to get in if a student is not a Florida resident, only about half of in-state hopefuls were admitted into the class of 2024. That same year, less than one-quarter of out-of-state applicants made the cut.

According to the UF, the demographics of the undergraduate student body is heavily tilted to Florida residents—88% are state natives, 12% come from another state or country. Nearly half of the international students are from China. As for academics, among first-year enrolled students, more than 80% ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. The average GPA for a freshman in the class of 2025 was 3.88 unweighted (39% of students had a 4.0 GPA) and the mean SAT score was 1392. Outstanding grades? Yep, you’re going to need them.

An exemplary high school academic record is now required at most Florida universities and not just the 2,000 acres that make up the campus in Gainesville. In addition, UF, like many other schools, considers a variety of factors when selecting incoming students. According to its Common Data Set, evaluations also are based on things such as high school course rigor, extracurricular activities, the application essay and special talents and abilities.

sity, the office of admissions says its application review process is selective and holistic, where no single criterion guarantees acceptance. In Tallahassee, the review process is centered on three core values—Vires, Artes, Mores (Latin for Strength, Skill and Character). For Vires, the “focus in this area is rigor, grades, and courses taken while in high school. Each applicant is evaluated based upon the performance within the context of student’s academic environment.”

The second “torch,” say admissions officers, is Skill. “We want to see how students use their out-of-classroom time, whether through sports, clubs, organizations, family responsibilities, employment or other achievements.” When it comes to Mores, FSU sums up what its looking for this way. “We are taking the information students have shared with us to learn who they are, any formative experiences they may have had, and what their life goals may be.” The school does this through consideration of the student’s application essay and overall resume. According to FSU, the summer 2022 admitted student profile featured a 4.0-4.4 academic core GPA, 12101310 SAT, and 25-29 ACT scores (Note: these marks represent the middle 50% of students).

So, how does the Florida higher-education landscape compare with other states? Data from the National Center for Education Statistics, a part of the Department of Education, measures a large swath of information collected by bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities—including which schools are most difficult to get into in each state. Some have comparatively easy admission levels, others not. For example, the University of Alabama had an admission rate of 77% in 2021. The University of Arizona accepted some 85% of applicants. In California, the school with the highest acceptance standards was the California Institute of Technology, where only 6.7% of applicants passed the test. Applying to Duke in North Carolina? About 92% of applicants will receive a “thanks, but no thanks” letter.

Closer to home, those acceptance numbers get squeezed by the most sought after addresses. For the coming year, the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg is anticipating an acceptance rate of approximately 27%, with an SAT range for 1140-1280. The University of Miami and University of Central Florida come in at 33% and 45% acceptance, respectively.

Of course, getting into college is just the first step. Graduation is a long process full of freshman anxiety, late-night study sessions, intramural sports and spring break road trips. Attend for four years and the expenses will add up quick, perhaps only being bested in one’s personal finances by the cost of a home. Will it all be worth the price and effort? That all comes down to the school and the student. u

Dive Right In

Jules Verne’s timeless novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is nearly 150 years old. Despite being a classic work of literature, Verne’s themes of wonder and discovery are as relevant today as they were when he penned the fictional story in 1872. Using a collection of props, interactive settings, touch screens and other exhibits, the new traveling show at the Museum of Science & History (MOSH), Voyage to the Deep captures some of the undersea world and raises it to dry land. “Jacksonville is a coastal city with a rich nautical history,” says MOSH CEO Bruce Fafard. “Voyages to the Deep takes our guests on a journey to explore what lies beneath the ocean as close to home.” The exhibition is on display through January 8, 2023.