Banking on in-state tuition at a top Florida public university for your kids?
It might be time for a Tim Tebow-style motivational speech when it comes to hitting the books.
With applicants skyrocketing, acceptance rates at Sunshine State universities are dropping.
Just ten years ago, 27,107 high school graduates vied for a spot at the University of Florida and 12,618 were admitted, an acceptance rate of 47%.
Those days are long gone in Gainesville. The school drew 65,375 applicants last year — more than double from a decade ago. A total of 15,690 were admitted for a sobering acceptance rate of just 24%.
It’s a similar story in Seminole land. In 2013, 29,579 kids applied to Florida State and 16,803 got in, an acceptance rate of 57%.
Last year, the school drew a staggering 74,038 applicants and admitted 18,510 for an admission rate of just 25%.
Jacksonville’s expanding University of North Florida has also seen demand soar in recent years, with applications jumping 103% since 2013.
Despite the deluge, the school has actually increased its admission rate numbers over the last decade, going from 53% to 62% last year.
Orlando’s University of Central Florida has seen a 90% increase in applications since 2013 and a 9% dip in admission rates, while
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee boasts the highest percentage increase of applicants over the last decade, jumping by 350% from 5,029 to 22,713.
The hike has dropped acceptance rates by 23% over that span, from 45% to 21%
