Anonymous wrote:PP adding a few things, UF admissions can be a crapshoot because it’s very holistic. But to help chances your kid needs AP classes and solid extracurriculars.

Also, don’t sleep on UCF for math/engineering.

Can you please elaborate? My daughter wants to major in math and she’s having a hard time determining what schools have good math programs (besides the usual T30 schools that are unattainable for her).

Anonymous wrote:S/o from the USNWR rankings thread - I'm the poster who assumed Florida was a good safety school for my Florida resident kids and learned it's not! I've got a freshman and junior, 3.6 - 3.8 uwGPA's, junior has a 1380 PSAT score. Both are interested in math or engineering. We're a military family who needs the in-state tuition.

Ideas for them?

UCF would be a great option for a stem kid. Just focus on their sat score (average this past year for admitted student was 1332) and their gpa (average 4.25). They mainly admit based on stats.

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this up, because we have the chance to move to Texas in a few years. Would it better to establish residency there for a better shot at being accepted to UT, A&M, or something similar?

In Florida- you have the chance for Bright Futures- 100% tuition paid which it sounds like yours might qualify for. And STEM majors get a 50% refund on their upper level STEM classes as juniors and seniors. Plus any merit scholarships can be stacked to help pay for housing. If you’re after money, check and see if Texas is comparable. Because Florida is pretty amazing for in state college students and their families.

* some type of engineering field

I graduated from Florida Tech in the 90s and many of my classmates were Florida residents. They were able to get good merit aid for just living in FL. It’s a great STEM school with an amazing ROTC program. Most of my friends now work in some type of engineering school and a lot ended up at NASA, which is nearby. Take a look!
https://www.fit.edu/admission/scholarships--aid/university-scholarships-and-grants/

OP, I think the story is the same in most every state. In-state tuition is a major draw and students compete for limited seats. Some states require their public schools to take a larger percentage of in-state students compared to oos, but that doesn't reduce the competition. The bar for admittance will be higher from the strongest public school districts in the state as opposed to the weaker districts or maybe even oos students.

I suspect there are some states in the US where the competition plays out differently for a variety of reasons, but I've lived in 4 highly populated states (FL included) with strong public universities and have a kid in school in a 5th state with competitive public universities and the story is the same in each place I've lived. So I would say at first glance as a resident, no, it won't be easier to get your kids into UT or A&M than it would be to get them into UF or FSU - in either state, your kid would need to be one of the top students in their school.