Monday, January 2, 2017

FSU presents 13,000 freshmen with early acceptance



http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/12/27/fsu-presents-13000-freshmen-early-acceptance/95791624/

Second wave of applications are due in mid- January

Nearly 13,000 students applying to Florida State University for summer and fall next year received an early year-end gift with news of their acceptance.
Students were assigned an online portal where they could go to learn all about admissions and the next step in the process.
“We released our decisions at 4 o’clock on Dec. 8 and got our first admission deposit at 4:15 p.m.,” John Barnhill, assistant vice president for enrollment management, said.
Of course, not all of those accepted will actually enroll.
According to Barnhill, 22,207 students applied early for the fall enrollment and 13,000 were accepted. He expects another 20,000 applications by the Jan. 18 deadline.
From that additional 20,000 applications, he expects to accept about 4,000. Barnhill warned the second wave of applicants might be in for a tough response.
“It’s going to be slim pickings for that group,” he said.
Barnhill said the university always accepts more students than it can enroll. It’s not unusual for students to apply to several universities, hoping to get admitted.
Traditionally, Florida State and the University of Florida lead the State University System in receiving freshmen applications.
He said FSU will probably have about 17,000 students accepted, but he expects it will be about 6,400 actually enrolling for next year.
“Usually, we have an acceptance rate of less than 40 percent,” Barnhill said of students actually following through and making a deposit.
The number of early applications received is about 3,000 to 4,000 more than last year. The quality of applicants also is higher, Barnhill said.
“We had a pretty good group applying earlier,” Barnhill said. “It looks very strong. We’ve been on a pretty good roll in past years. It’s a little higher in GPAs and in test scores.”
For instance, he said, more than 50 percent of applicants had already taken calculus, or were enrolled in calculus.
Over 56 percent of the applicants had all A’s or B’s in high school, while 89 percent were enrolled in honors or advanced placement classes. The average GPA was 4.1, with the mid-range being 3.9 to 4.4.
“It’s unusual to see less than a 3.5 in a weighted GPA,” Barnhill said.
He said the average SAT score those accepted is 1,300, with 29 the average on the SAT.
But more important is the student’s academic success throughout high school. For instance, the university looks to see if students took courses each year in math, English and sciences.
And, while academic achievement figures heavily in the review process, Barnhill said the university also looks for students who explore outside the classroom. For instance, did they hold jobs and maintain good grades? Were they engaged in their communities?
“We look for kids who want to make a difference for the human condition,” he said.
Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahasseee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson

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