Though the number of UF admissions applications rose by more than 1,000 since the last school year, the number of students accepted to the university went down.
Out of more than 32,000 applications, only 7,000 were accepted (about 22 percent), said Paul Bernard, a promotional copywriter at UF. The average GPA is more than 4.0 in the class of 2020.
Jaime Gresley, the director of new student and family programs, said UF is home to about 50,000 students, and it’s important for them to feel a sense of community.
She said the key to bringing students together is Preview, the university’s mandatory orientation for new students that will end Aug. 18.
“You can’t make a small campus big,” she said, “but you can absolutely make a big campus small.”
Brittney Leasure, 17, and Emily Tatum, 18, began classes at UF on June 26.
The freshmen are roommates at the Springs Residential Complex, and both said they supported each other throughout the 6-week Summer semester.
“The first week I felt really disconnected,” Tatum said. “I didn’t know who anyone was or where anything is, and I was freaking out.”
Leasure attended Preview on May 11, which helped introduce her to the campus, she said, but it was also about $200 more she had to spend as a new student.
“Look at how much money college is already,” she said.
Tatum said part of the Preview experience includes scheduling Fall and Summer classes.
“It was kind of tough because so many were already taken,” she said.
New students find their sense of community in different ways, and Tatum and Leasure said they found theirs at the residence hall.
Now they are looking to the future, which they imagine will include football and new hobbies.
“I want to find more clubs in the Fall,” Leasure said. “You’re just automatically friends with those people.”
The associate director of new student and family programs, Mickey Howard, said 54 academic advisors and 45 students make up the Preview team.
“We’re not just administrators who sit in ivory towers,” he said. “We’re administrators on the ground who meet with students every single day.”
Preview begins and ends in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom, with things such as tours, class registrations and information sessions in between, he said.
Taylor Ouelette, a Preview staff member and a health education and behavior senior, said freshman year was a tough transition.
Ouellette said she now offers support to more than 450 students and follows up with them through email.
“I want to reassure them,” she said, “validate how they are feeling and encourage them to really put themselves out there.”
