The May 1st confirmation date is just a few days away and the Office of Admissions continues to remain busy with walk-ins and phone calls as we prepare for the class of 2021. We continue to receive lots of great questions from students admitted to all UF admission paths, but this week’s blog is devoted to students admitted to Pathway to Campus Enrollment (PaCE). Since PaCE is still a fairly new admission path, there are several misconceptions about the program. Today, we address the top two misconceptions about PaCE and provide a little insight from a current student in the PaCE program.

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Misconception #1: Students in PaCE will complete different courses and earn a degree that is different from residential students.

All UF courses, whether online or on-campus, are taught by world-renowned faculty members who are leaders in their fields. While the course delivery is different, PaCE students will still receive the same quality instruction as students who attend classes on-campus. However, PaCE students have the flexibility to learn anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. You could learn poolside, at your favorite Gainesville coffee shop, or in your pajamas in your bedroom.

PaCE students may transition to residential classes after completing at least two semesters in UF Online and a minimum of 15 credit hours through UF Online. Once a PaCE student has completed a total of 60 credit hours, they may seamlessly transition to upper division residential courses.

After a PaCE student transitions and completes all of their major and other requirements, it’s time for graduation! The diploma will still have the same University of Florida seal that all UF diplomas display. There is no distinction on your degree that you began your education through the Pathway to Campus Enrollment.

Misconception #2: Students in PaCE can’t take part in college student life since they don’t live on campus.

PaCE students who are interested in experiencing life as a Gator, whether that entails visiting campus libraries, joining a fraternity or sorority, or taking part in student organizations, may choose to move to Gainesville. To take advantage of various campus resources such as rec sports and access to student health services, PaCE students may purchase the optional fee package. With the optional fee package, PaCE students can also cheer on the Gator athletic teams at the student rate.

But where do you live if you move to Gainesville?
With only 20 percent of our student body living on-campus, off-campus life in Gainesville caters to all UF Students. The Office of Off Campus Life can assist with your apartment search, roommate matching and more. With the optional fee package, you can also get around Gainesville for free on the local buses.

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But don’t just take our word for it:
Jeana Fraser, a first year PaCE student studying Public Relations in the College of Journalism and Communications has loved her experience in PaCE. She is an active member in her sorority, a student ambassador for the Dean of Student’s Office, works part-time for the radio station on UF campus, and is on the board for the PaCE organization on campus. When asked, she explained that PaCE has been a great experience for a busy bee like herself because she is able to manage her courses on her own time rather than work around a set schedule. “I don’t feel any less a Gator, if anything, I feel more Gator than everyone else because I was able to do so much in just my first year since my courses were online.”

With the confirmation date slowly approaching, our office phones have been ringing with questions from students and parents. Some of the questions we tend to receive are about the Innovation Academy, SO, for this week’s blog post, we decided to showcase the wonders of Innovation Academy.

First off, Innovation Academy is a program developed for students who are, of course, innovative, but who are also driven leaders seeking more out of their traditional college experience. It is a leading-edge program designed to bridge the gap between ideas and reality by encouraging innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship locally, nationally, and internationally while maximizing the resources at the University of Florida.

Students in Innovation Academy are actively engaged in strategic advancement, creative problem solving, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. They have opportunities to work on real-life problems while taking part in co-curricular activities such as conferences, seminars, guest lectures, research, service learning and study abroad opportunities. IA students and the professional innovators are encouraged to foster creativity and an innovative spirit, which is the foundation of the Gator Nation.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here is the perspective of one of our current IA students:

To see what other students have to say about Innovation Academy, check out the IA website.

Walt Disney said it best that, “Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” We welcome you to take part in Innovation Academy where together your curiosities can lead to realities.

In the days following our decision notification, the UF Admissions Office celebrated with admitted Gators, whose dreams became reality as soon as their application status pages revealed that one magical word: “congratulations”. We commiserated (and yes, even cried) with applicants who did not receive the positive admissions decisions for which they desperately hoped. Mostly, we reflected upon the ways our university has inspired and motivated the up-and-coming generation of students towards higher education.

We are excited to announce that the academic and personal profiles of our incoming Gators are perhaps the highest achieved by any UF admitted class.

Middle 50% for the Class of 2021:

Academic Core GPA: 4.3-4.6
SAT: 1280-1430
ACT: 28-32

Although we reviewed and carefully selected applicants who demonstrated exceptional academic records, we also made it a focus to choose applicants who displayed a commitment to service, creativity, and progress. Our newly admitted students are leaders, dreamers, innovators, and visionaries.

This year’s applicant pool was by far one of the most competitive applicant pools we have seen. We received about 35,000 applications, a nearly 8% increase from last year, and granted admissions to 13,366 prospective Gators.

An additional 983 students were admitted into Innovation Academy, a cutting-edge program designed to foster creativity and innovation through interdisciplinary collaboration of over 30 majors across campus.

2,420 new students were offered Pathways to Campus Enrollment also known as PaCE. With limited physical space on UF’s campus, this program permits us to expand our admissions offers through an online program which provides a transition over to residential status after a minimum of two semesters. PaCE is great for students who have a desire for flexible class schedules while remaining a part of the UF community or for those who wish to study from a different geographical location.

Our university’s goal to become the leading research university in the nation is bolstered by the strength of our new incoming class of freshmen scholars. As UF President Kent Fuchs proclaimed, “Floridians deserve a university that is truly the greatest.” We are inspired by and impressed with the students who plan to join our Gator nation and cannot wait to see the ways they will contribute to the betterment of our community and classrooms.

Congratulations to our incoming Class of 2021! We look forward to showing you why it truly is “Great to Be a Florida Gator”!

If you haven’t heard, today is Decision Day!

Today’s Decision Day is a long-anticipated one for the UF Admissions Office. After many months of getting to know our applicants through their applications, today is when we applaud our new freshman class. Applicants who applied by our November 4th priority deadline and submitted all required supplemental material on time are able to review their admission decisions today at 6:00pm on the “Check Your Status” page of the UF Admissions website. Log in using your Coalition username and password (or the same username and password used to submit your application).

If you are admitted to UF, congratulations! We encourage you to check out our FAQ pages for residential and PaCE students on our website that provides details on each admission decision. Our website also provides enrollment checklists for students admitted to both our residential programs and PaCE. We urge you to review the appropriate checklist information, as the steps ensure an easy transition to The Gator Nation.

For those students who are denied, we realize how disappointing this decision may be. Our office is still rooting for the success of every single applicant, and we urge you to review your other options to determine what will be the best fit for you. Naturally, denied applicants might have questions such as “Why was I not admitted?” As an Admissions Officer for UF with a few decision days under my belt, I encourage you all to visit the FAQ for Denied Students page. After reading it once, spend the rest of the weekend doing something you enjoy with positive people.

Our office is closed over the weekend, but we will open again on Monday, February 13th at 8:00 am to answer any questions or concerns.

Best wishes from our Admissions Staff and congratulations to our new class of 2021!

5 days and 6 hours

It is almost decision time.

On February 10th after 6:00pm, applicants who applied by our November 4th priority deadline and submitted all required supplemental material on time will be able to review their admission decisions on the “Check Your Status” page of the UF Admissions website. A “Check Status” button will be at the top of the website’s home page. Log in using your Coalition username and password (or the same username and password used to submit your application).

After years of experiencing the rush that is decision day, our Admission Officers and Director have compiled a few words of advice to our many applicants.

1. “Check your application status BEFORE February 10th to verify that your username and password still work.”
   Every single year, applicants call our office after hours because they weren’t able to log in to the “Check Your Status” page to see their admission decision. In order to avoid having to wait until Monday, February 13th or Tuesday, February 14th to receive your admission decision, check your application status BEFORE the afternoon of February 10th to verify that you are able to log in. Since the application was hosted through the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, we do not have access to your username and password. You will need to do a password reset through the login page in order to regain access to check your status.
2. “Do not make checking your admissions decision a public event.”
   This year we received thousands of incredible applications and unfortunately, we are unable to admit every well-qualified applicant. Many outstanding and talented students will not be admitted to UF. Friends, teammates, and fellow classmates may not receive the decisions they had hoped for, so we recommend checking your status with a family member or close friend, but not with an entire party.
3. “Your admissions decision to UF (or any institution) is not an evaluation of your value to society.
   Many times, it doesn’t matter what college you attend, but what you do wherever you are. Thrive where you are planted whether it is at UF or another institution. Get to know your professors. Get involved on campus. You don’t become successful just by attending a particular school. You become successful by utilizing the opportunities given to you no matter where you attend.
4. “Take a deep breath.”
   We know that some of you have been waiting for your admission decision since all the way back in August. Naturally, we expect many of you to be anxious about your decision. Just take a deep breath. We look forward to welcoming our newest members of #UF21!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2017 and welcome back to school! We hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday break. Our first day back was on Tuesday, January 3, and we were pretty busy with phone calls, emails and lobby traffic. It was a great start to a hard-working 2017.

Guess what?

It is exactly one month until “D day” otherwise known as “Decision Day,” which occurs February 10. For applicants, it is either the most wonderful or most dreadful day of the year. Our admissions officers have been hard at work travelling, recruiting, reading and reviewing in order to help compose UF’s class of 2021, and our office couldn’t be more appreciative.

So “D Day” means what to those who applied?

Students who submitted an application by November 4th and their supplemental materials such as the SSAR and official test scores on time will receive their decision online at 6:00 pm on Friday, February 10th. Your decision will be available on the “Check your Status” page at: http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/appstatus.

If you were moved to the second round due to late materials, your decision will be available online by the end of March. You can find out whether or not your application was completed or if you have been moved to the second round on the “Check Your Status” page.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions. We are finishing up the review process in the next few weeks and will have our admitted class ready by February, so make sure to get any last minute questions to our office!

First off: Congratulations to all of the recent graduates who received their doctoral, master’s, specialist and bachelor’s degree in Fall 2016! The Office of Admissions is proud of every single one of you and it was amazing to see you all graduate in the newly renovated Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Our office is getting ready to close for the holidays in preparation for the upcoming spring semester. With the spring term being our most popular time for campus visits, one of our Admissions Officers created an interactive map of the 12 “must-see” spots on the UF campus for you all to enjoy during your holiday break.

For those of you who do not have the opportunity to visit the University of Florida campus, or if you are wondering which areas to check out while you are visiting our campus, this interactive map provides the location and details about our 12 “must-see” locations while on campus.

Here is the “The 12 Days of the Gator Nation”