FSU admissions and Physic notes (ignore idiotic UF reporting)

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-college-applications-soar-20180423-story.html

The surge in applications was even more staggering at FSU, which received nearly 10,000 more applications this year compared with last.

FSU has “never had an increase this big,” said John Barnhill, assistant vice president for academic affairs, who’s worked in admissions there for 40 years.

He chalked it up to several factors, including the relative affordability of the state’s university system, state “pre-eminence” funding that has allowed FSU to hire new faculty and the decision to accept the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success application. More than 140 other schools, including UF, accept the same forms and essays from that system.

Like their rivals in Gainesville, a growing number of out-of-state students want to become FSU Seminoles: 14,782 non-Florida residents applied for summer or fall admissions, up 35 percent from last year and 359 more of them received acceptance letters.

More Florida students wanted to bleed garnet and gold, too. FSU received 34,611 applications from in-state students, up 18 percent from last year. Of that pool, 13,861 were accepted, 185 fewer than in 2017.

The admitted out-of-state students had, on average, slightly lower GPAs than their in-state counterparts, with comparable test scores. However, the acceptance rate for in-state students was higher: 40 percent, compared with 24 percent for non-Florida applicants.

Other reasons for why applications are soaring, university officials say, also could include the Legislature’s decision to permanently expand the top Bright Futures scholarship to cover 100 percent of tuition, providing a bigger lure for high-achievers to stay in state. And the pool of potential applicants also grew slightly, with 203,022 seniors in Florida public high schools, up about 3 percent from 2017.

First-time freshmen are submitting more applications, with 35 percent submitting seven or more applications in 2016, up from 18 percent a decade ago, according to a report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Gone are the days when most students applied to two or three schools, said Lauren Vosburg, a counselor at Oviedo High School. She estimates her seniors applied to an average of six to eight schools this year — though she knows one who applied to 20.

Today’s teenagers often find lots of information about colleges on their own, she said, and often tailor their searches based on their interests, narrowing the field to say, the schools with the best mechanical engineering programs.

“The internet is huge,” Vosburg said. “You don’t even have to go set foot on a campus to see a campus anymore.”

Online research was important for Savion Jean-Pierre, who said he always dreamed of going out of state, and decided to apply at 13 schools, many sight unseen. Using common applications made it easy to add more schools to his list, he said, and he didn’t have to pay fees because he’s from a low-income family.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2018/03/24/opinion-fsu-vs-uf-science-programs-worth-looking-closely/453890002/

During the next few months, a few thousand fortunate high school seniors and their parents will be deciding whether to attend Florida State University or the University of Florida to prepare for careers in science, engineering or health professions.  

While making those decisions, they should pay careful attention to the starkly different visions the two universities have for the future of science instruction.

For a decade, FSU’s administration has supported the development of its Physics Department’s Studio Physics Program, in which students build relationships with each other and with instructors in a physical classroom designed especially to encourage engagement. Many years of research on how students learn show that leveraging social interactions in this way dramatically improves student learning and opens career opportunities to students who might not be able to learn with understanding in a traditional lecture course.  

In contrast, UF is staking its future on online instruction. In fact, UF’s Physics Department is now featuring its online laboratories – apparently intended to allow its students to avoid the inconvenience of coming to physical laboratory classes and talking face-to-face with other students or instructors.  

While FSU’s Studio Physics initiative focuses on improving student learning using an approach proven by research, UF’s online approach will magnify the shortcomings of the traditional lecture course by further isolating students and narrowing the population that can succeed in earning bachelors’ degrees in engineering, science and health fields.

Students and parents should pay close attention to these developments. Most Florida parents and students reflexively believe that students get a better education in science, engineering and health fields at UF. But FSU has made tremendous strides in STEM education recently. 

In 2016, a national task force recognized FSU’s Physics Department as one of five model undergraduate programs in the nation – and one of only two at major research universities. That distinction was based in large part on the department’s focus on personally engaging students.  

FSU is also making important strides in improving the education of students in other engineering, science and health fields.

Students – and particularly parents – should take a careful look at what each institution is emphasizing. Don’t just settle for generic admissions tours. Ask about the classroom environments in which students learn science. Ask about how to access undergraduate research opportunities.    

Even in science, engineering and health fields, student engagement matters. Students and parents should keep that in mind as they decide on their next steps.   

Paul Cottle is a professor of physics at Florida State University and past chair of the Forum on Education of the American Physical Society.