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Highlands Today

University Admission Not A Given Anymore

BUDGETS, TIGHTER ENROLLMENT CHANGING COLLEGE PLANS

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By MARC VALERO | Highlands Today

Published: June 2, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Graduating seniors are finding that admission to a state university is getting tougher as budget cuts force the four-year colleges to reduce or limit enrollment.

"We know of many students who had planned to or intended to go to one of the universities, who because of their [admission] restrictions, are coming here first," South Florida Community College President Norman L. Stephens Jr. said Monday.

The University of South Florida will freeze its freshmen enrollment at this year's level – 3,700. The Tampa university plans to reduce class offerings and increase class sizes.

The University of Florida will cut its undergraduate enrollment by 1,000 students a year for the next four years.

But community colleges are open-door institutions.

"We don't limit our enrollments," Stephens said. Among the state's 28 community colleges, SFCC probably has the highest percentage of local graduates. About 80 to 81 percent of college-bound seniors in Highlands County go to SFCC.

Enrollment at SFCC usually goes up during difficult economic times, Stephens said. That's why enrollment increased about 11 percent last year.

"We are seeing that continue – our summer enrollment is up more than 5 or 6 percent over the year before," he said.

Lake Placid High scholarship coordinator Esther Gill is pushing her juniors to apply early –– by late fall –– to improve chances of getting into a university and if they are seeking financial aid. Deadlines for financial aid at most colleges is March or April, she said.

"I really encourage the juniors to take as many upper-level classes at the high school as they can because they are in competition with all the other students who are applying for college admission," Gill added.

With a graduating class of about 180 students, Lake Placid High had 11 students accepted to USF and five accepted to the University of Florida, but one of those students decided to go to Georgia Tech.

Avon Park High guidance counselor Russell Sharp said with college admission standards going up, students may have a difficult time getting accepted unless they take rigorous course work such as advanced placement and dual-enrollment courses.

Students with high grade point averages and good college entrance exam scores are getting into UF and USF, he said. But, SFCC is recommended for students with lower grade point averages.

Some students fail to adapt to the rigors of a four-year university, Sharp said "so it's a good plan for many of our students from this community to attend a community college for two years and get their AA degree ... and then transfer to the university."

University admission administrators note that if students meets the curriculum expectations of a community college, then they should be successful at the university level, Sharp said.

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