Ah, finals week.  This is a time for memorizing an obscene amount of information and guzzling Starbucks, in between scolding yourself for procrastinating so much this semester. The notorious stress of finals week can cause any well-rounded student to crack under the pressure.  Luckily, our university provides reliable resources and creative ways to support students through these tough times.   

All Work and No Play?

The week prior to final exams, known affectionately as “dead week” because of the ghost town of classrooms and zombie-like aura of students, is also a time of many events on campus. The Reitz Union and Division of Student Affairs hosted a De-Stress Study Fest to help students mentally prepare for finals.  Throughout this weeklong celebration, students participated in free stress-busting activities that ranged from hip-hop fitness classes to chair massages.  Smash Bash (on December 8) offered a variety of competitive inflatable games and giant board games. Arts and crafts, adult coloring books, and bowling were also available on site. 

Additionally, Library West offered a Finals Relaxation Week to make sure students didn’t “overdue” it (sorry, bad library pun).  Free coffee, doughnuts, and snacks were available in the library to keep students motivated as study time grew more intense. 

Gators never underestimate the power of play! 

Book It to Our Libraries

Our library staff really knock themselves out to be available to frantic study-goers.  With seven library locations, in addition to our extensive online collections, UF has one of the largest university library systems in the nation.  The great network of libraries on campus ensures that you won’t get bored of sitting in the same place.  There are enclosed study rooms available for hosting group discussions, as well as quiet spaces located on the higher floors.

Our most popular library branches, Marston Science Library and Library West, offer extended hours throughout finals week.  Marston Science Library is open 10am-3am from Sunday, December 4 through 6pm Friday, December 16.  Library West is open 24 hours daily, from Saturday, December 10 through 6pm Friday, December 16.  Fear not, the Starbucks inside the library lobby has matched its hours of operation.  Students can still get their Peppermint Mochas at 3 am, ensuring survival through long nights of cramming. 

Our best library tip: If you have not visited the beautiful Library East (Smathers), we strongly recommend it.  Studying at the wooden booths in the foyer of this ornate library will make you feel like a student at Hogwarts. We all know a little magic is necessary to make it through finals.

Some Extra Help

Free tutoring is available at the UF Teaching Center in the back of Broward Hall. Sessions are held for many of our popular math and science courses.  Our students benefit from a small teacher-to-student ratio, but if you need additional help outside the classroom, it can be easily found. 

UF has a variety of additional student resources, from test review sessions to academic advising opportunities.  Our new Writing Studio offers one-on-one tutorials and writing workshops to improve your end-of-term research paper.  The Counseling and Wellness Center has a wealth of academic support, ranging from support groups for those struggling with math anxiety to workshops that focus on improving coping skills.  During Yappy Hour, therapy dogs are available to stand in for your beloved Fido when you are away from home and just need a hug from a dog.  If you find yourself struggling with anxiety or fatigue, the UF Student Health Care Center is available for assistance. 

Here at UF, we encourage our students to think positively.  Finals week, though tough, is also temporary.  It is a rite of passage in college, so take it one day at a time.  And remember that at UF, you have everything you need to unlock your true potential. 

Keep calm and study on, Gators. 

Financial aid helps students and their families pay for college. The first step in applying for financial aid is the FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Remember these tips to receive the most, and best financial aid.

 

1. Apply Online at WWW.FAFSA.GOV

   Filing an online FAFSA is the fastest and easiest way to apply for aid. The online FAFSA will guide you through the application; click on the “Start A New FAFSA” button on the home page, and follow the directions on the screen.

2. Apply Early

   The FAFSA becomes available on October 1 each year starting with the 17-18 FAFSA. Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis so students should apply as early as possible to be considered for the most, and best aid. Remember to enter UF's Federal School Code – 001535.

3. Apply On-Time

   UF’s “On-Time” deadline to receive the results of your FAFSA from the federal processor is December 15, 2016. Apply well before December 15 to ensure that the federal processor has time to analyze and send the results of your FAFSA to UF Student Financial Affairs.

4. Apply Every Year

   Filing a FAFSA is an annual process - apply every year for every college student in your family.

5. Completing a FAFSA is Fast and Free

   Completing the FAFSA should take less than 30 minutes and you should never pay an individual or an organization to help you fill out the FAFSA. Help is available at www.fafsa.gov. The easiest way to complete your FAFSA with accurate tax information is by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool on the online application. In a few simple steps, most students and parents who filed a 2015 tax return can view and transfer their tax return information directly into their FAFSA.

Every college-bound student should complete the FAFSA because most students are eligible for some form of financial aid including grants, scholarships, loans and work study. Last year, UF students received over $500 million dollars in financial aid.

Remember to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1 to receive the best financial aid package. You’ll never know what funds you can get, unless you apply.

For more information about financial aid at the University of Florida, visit the UF Student Financial Affairs website at www.sfa.ufl.edu.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones, stuffing our faces with pie and watching football, let’s take a moment to reflect upon some of the best things about being a member of the Gator Nation:

1. A Strong Community: “In All Kinds of Weather We All Stick Together” isn’t just a fun phrase sung in the Swamp. It is a cohesive emphasis on teamwork and cooperation that Gators demonstrate every day. If this kind of loyalty that defines our Gator community doesn’t give you the warm and fuzzies, we don’t know what will.
2. Good Health: Recreation is a large part of student life, with over 60 intramural and club sports and some of the best facilities in the nation. With a multitude of fitness centers and wellness opportunities, UF is constantly developing health initiatives so that we can live long and happy lives.
3. Great Art: It’s what makes the world beautiful. We have so much of it here at UF, ranging from the impressive jade collection at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art to the bold graffiti messages sprawling across the 34th Street Wall.
4. Donning Orange and Blue: To show our school spirit, we get to wear complementary colors that never go out of style.
5. Cool Rocks: Who needs mashed potatoes, when we have THE Potato? Ok, not true. Mashed potatoes are arguably the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. Still, “The Potato” (actually a 30,000-year-old rock gifted to the geology department) is what makes Turlington Plaza such a cool meeting spot.
6. Our Athletic Teams: As we settle in for a post-turkey coma in front of ESPN, take a moment to appreciate and reflect upon our own university’s athletic prowess. Although it may fluctuate from year to year, our rankings are often something to praise, and our athletes are wonders to behold.
7. People Willing to Teach: Even those students who sit on Facebook all class period. Luckily, that doesn’t apply to us Gators, right? With our low student-faculty ratio of 25:1, there are so many opportunities to connect and learn from these wizards of wisdom.
8. Sunshine: It’s November and we are still wearing shorts. Relish in the envy of every resident of the Northeast tundra…they won’t see warm days like this ‘til after Groundhog’s Day.
9. Freedom of Speech: The ability to voice opinions without consequence or fear is priceless. Our campus’s Plaza of the Americas is the unofficial forum for individuals and organizations to present ideas in a safe space.
10. Good Music: The melodic chimes of our iconic Century Tower serenade us every day. Feeling stressed about exams? The soothing sounds of the cast-bell carillon will ease your worries in no time.
11. The Gator Good: Our university’s brightest minds are working hard to solve the world’s toughest challenges. With a dedicated community of so many innovative students, faculty and alumni, UF is leading the way toward greater global impact and positive change.
12. Diversity: Everyone can sit at our table. The diversity of our students and faculty creates a welcome mix of racial and ethnic groups, thoughts and ideas, backgrounds and experiences. This melting-pot mixture offers Gators the opportunity to experience multicultural understanding, engage in new perspectives and challenge biases.
13. Delicious Food: How did it take us so long to get to this one? Our campus offers such a wide array of dining options, it deserves its own post. The variety of cuisine that is available on or near campus makes the Freshman 15 an all too real possibility, even for those of us who are long past our first year. If you eat at one of our dining halls, here's one small piece of advice: just because there is an endless supply of cookies doesn’t mean you should eat them all.
14. Entertainment Galore: Gainesville’s culture is a lively one, with so much opportunity to experience theatre, music, dance, museums and historic sites. There is always an event going on, so Gators are never bored.
15. The Opportunity to Get an Outstanding Education. This is something that too many people across the globe don’t get the chance to experience. Not only are our students some of the most driven and dedicated leaders of the next generation, as a Gator you’re learning from the best mentors out there, too.

We could keep going, but what are YOU thankful for this holiday season?

Now that you have successfully submitted your freshman application to UF, it’s time to concentrate on the next step in the process. If you have not already done so, you will need to submit and link your Student Self-Reported Academic Record (SSAR) to your UF application by December 1. There are just a few types of students who are exempt from completing the SSAR. Please be sure to see if you are exempt from completing the SSAR on our website. However, for a majority of our freshman applicants, you will submit and link your SSAR.  If your SSAR is not received by our December 1 deadline, your application will be considered on a space available basis.

To successfully submit AND link your SSAR to your UF application, avoid these common mistakes.

Mistake #1 – Not reading the SSAR directions and FAQs. We know, you just want to skip ahead and enter your courses and grades. But, the directions and FAQs have important details that will help you complete the SSAR accurately. So read first!

Mistake #2 – Not entering your dual enrollment credit properly. If your dual enrollment course equals 1 full year or 1 unit of high school credit, you must enter the course TWICE. Enter the course in both the first and second semester. If your dual enrollment course equals ½ a year or ½ unit of high school credit, enter the course just once.

Mistake #3 – Not entering your course in the correct academic category. We may use different descriptors for subjects you completed in high school. If you have a question about what the academic category should be for a specific course, just contact us.

Mistake #4 – Not entering all of your courses to meet our minimum admission requirements. Make sure you have included at least four years of English, four years of math, three years of social science, three years of natural science, and two years of foreign language.

Mistake #5 – Not submitting AND linking your SSAR. Once you have submitted your SSAR, you must check your status, logging in with the same username and password you used to submit your Coalition application and look for the SSAR link on your status page. From there, you will click on the SSAR hyperlink to link your SSAR to your UF application.

Avoiding these common mistakes will aid in successful submission of the SSAR. As always, we’re here to help. Good luck!

For those of you who haven’t submitted your freshman application to UF, there's still time! The deadline has been extended to Friday, November 4. While you may be known as a procrastinator whose best work is completed under looming short deadlines, don't despair. Many of us in the admissions office also are motivated by deadlines, and we are here to provide support. These are a few last-minute tips to help you submit a successful application to UF.

Tip #1 – Be sure to review our application checklist. The application checklist will outline all that is required to be considered for admission to UF. For instance, while just your application is due on November 4, do not miss the steps to submit your SSAR by December 1 and your test scores from the testing agency by December 15.

Tip # 2 – Make sure you tell us how you’ve been staying busy outside of the classroom. Whether you’re the captain of your team, president of your club, shift leader at your job, served your community, or watched over your younger siblings, let us know what interests you. The application will provide you with plenty of space to help us learn more about your interests outside of the classroom.

Tip #3 – Tell us about what you’ve accomplished in the honors section. Have you been the top student in class? Did you win a science fair? Did your team win a championship? Go ahead and brag about your accomplishments.

Tip #4 – If you’ve just started working on your essay, we only require approximately 400-450 words. The best essays show rather than tell. In your writing, show us how you’ve accomplished a goal, overcome a challenge, or whatever makes you special.

Tip #5 – Carefully review your application before you hit the submit button. You are not able to make changes to your application once it is submitted. So make sure you’ve accurately completed your application.

Tip #6 – Go ahead and submit! You’ve dotted all of your I’s and crossed all your T’s. Be confident in your application submission. Keep calm and carry on until Friday, February 10, when UF releases admission decisions.

Good luck! We look forward to learning more about you in the weeks to come through your application.

As the setting sun turns the sky from a bold blue into a fiery-orange inferno, echoing the colors of Gator pride, hundreds of visitors gather to peer into the evening air.  The chirping sounds emanating from the UF Bat Barn and Bat House complex grow louder and on-lookers’ anticipation increases. This “colony chatter”, a sophisticated form of interaction between members of the group, fills the twilight.

Located on the north side of Museum Road by Lake Alice, the structures on UF’s campus are home to the world’s largest population of bats to be found under one roof.  Campus is widely known for its resident alligators, but should also gain fame for its impressive bat population.  The estimated 400,000 occupants of the UF Bat Houses consume several billion insects nightly.  Their enormous contribution to natural pest control makes them invaluable resources in our swampy habitat of Gainesville. 

The bat house experience is a must-do on the Gainesville bucket list.  It has become a ritual for many UF students and creates a welcome reprieve from the normality of daily life.  Children and adults of all ages marvel at the sight of the evening emergence.  The spectacle is a popular attraction year-round, but the opportunity to get close to these incredible creatures is appropriately festive during this time of year. 

Bats have become the unofficial mascot for the Halloween holiday, gracing everything from decorations to cupcakes. Often misunderstood, bats have become associated with darkness and fright for reasons that are unclear.  Have no fear, though, the bats living on campus are not of the Vampire variety.  They will not suck your blood…but do beware of falling guano. 

Each evening, in the fading light, a few brave souls will emerge first, spiraling through the air and into the surrounding landscape.  Then, after the sun sets, a colossal cloud of bats pours out all at once.  As the bats perform their phenomenal exodus in one large mass, one is reminded of the quintessential Gator motto, “in all kinds of weather, we all stick together.”

For more information, visit: https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/index.php/bats/home/

…And so It Begins!

Greetings from Gainesville and Welcome to the Office of Admissions!

It's Great to be a Gator

We are your director, admissions officers, and student body and we would like to welcome you to our Admissions blog. This blog is an open door to the Admissions Office at UF. All the major questions about our admissions process will be addressed as well as some tips and tricks to submitting a good application. We will also provide highlights of the University of Florida because, hey, we bleed orange and blue too. We encourage you to subscribe and feel free to comment and post questions that you may have and we will be happy to respond!

It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through the fall semester which means November 1st is quickly approaching. It’s very exciting and humbling to see all the application submissions even with our switch to the brand new Coalition application. As we begin to look over the applications, it looks like we will have our work cut out for us. It is clear that you all have put in a lot of effort in your applications which is exactly what we are looking for. If you haven’t submitted an application yet, you have 12 days, including today so get to it! In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 352-392-1365 to speak with an admissions officer.

Quick word of advice from our Orange county Admissions Officer, Chelsea: “Don’t wait until the last minute! We expect a rush of applications the last week before the deadline. Applications take about 24 to 48 hours to process and if for some reason there is an error that occurs with your submission, we will have time to work with you to rectify it and get it resubmitted by or before November 4th, so DON’T WAIT!”