Alex Wicks, an Olympic Heights Community High School senior, has his heart set on attending UF. But as excited as he is for his possible acceptance, he’s not going to let UF’s choice to release admissions decisions on Valentine’s Day ruin his romantic day.
The 17-year-old is waiting until Saturday to check so he can spend the evening at dinner with his girlfriend and then take her to the beach.
In previous years, UF has released its decisions on Feb. 12, 13 and 15, but never Valentine’s Day.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said UF has released decisions the same Friday in February the past couple of years and saw no reason to change it this year.
“I never even heard a conversation about it,” he said.
Seniors see it differently.
“It’s kinda weird because it’s sort of like a happy day, and it could be a big bummer if you don’t get in,” Ethan Taylor, an 18-year-old Wesley Chapel High School senior, said.
But he said it also makes him glad he’s single. He can just focus on logging on to UF's site.
Nick Rogner, a 17-year-old senior at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, said UF releasing its decisions on Valentine’s Day “gives single people something to look forward to.”
But truthfully, it doesn’t matter that it’s Valentine’s Day, he said. Everybody will be happy if they get in and sad if they don’t, no matter the date.
Some students are less casual about the choice of date. Amber Paez, a 19-year-old UF English freshman, and her boyfriend Erik Reichert, a 17-year-old G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School senior, said they hate it.
Paez said the 6 p.m. release time clashes with Valentine’s Day dinner plans, which takes away the enjoyment of the night.
“I’m going to be just as nervous as him,” she said.
Reichert, who already refers to himself as a Gator, said if he gets accepted, the couple will share a few dinners and watch Game of Thrones together — all through video chatting.
His possible acceptance means the couple could spend their next Valentine’s Day together in person.
“We can actually have a date that doesn’t require FaceTime,” Paez said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 2/14/2014 under the headline "UF announcing acceptances on Feb. 14 a first"]
