PASCO COUNTY, Fla — It’s the culmination of years of hard work.
All three of these Mitchell High School students were among those accepted to Florida State University this week.
“As soon as I saw the acceptance letter it made my whole day. I was probably one of the happiest moments of my whole life,” said senior Caton Gantt.
This week’s early action acceptance at FSU is open for Florida residents only, and less than 40% of those who applied got in.
“When you go on to the portal and click view your decision letter it’s just a lot of anxiety. But when you see that it’s just very happy and very exciting when you get in,” said senior Hayley O’Ryan.
Standards at FSU, Florida, USF, and UCF have gotten tougher over the years, with average GPAs well above four and SATs in the 1300s and up.
Michelle Chamberlin is Mitchell’s Career Specialist.
“Schools that used to be fallback schools like USF and UCF are right up there with 4.1 or higher GPAs for admission and at least the minimum Bright Futures score of 1210 or 25. So, it really has made it a lot more competitive for mid-range students to get into a university,” said Chamberlin.
Chamberlin said there are many reasons why it’s tougher to get into some schools.
One is students using the Common App.
It’s a single online application to apply to several universities at the same time.
Social media is advertising what Florida’s have to offer to much wide audience.
Public universities in Florida are still relatively affordable, especially with the Bright Futures Scholarship.
There was also a baby boom 18 years ago that saw the largest number of births in four decades.
There are more and more applicants and a limited number of available spots.
“I’ve seen students that got into UF and then didn’t get into FSU or vice versa. Same scores. It’s so hard when the applicant pool is full of the same type of student,” said Chamberlin.
That’s why these teens say they did their best to stand out beyond just grades and test scores.
“I was in seven clubs throughout my high school career, two leadership positions. I was also doing a sport,” said Gantt.
“I’ve been very involved in the community. I have my own non-profit and I have worked a lot environmentally-based. I’ve done a lot of environmental cleanups,’ said O’Ryan.
There are more chances to apply in the months leading up to graduation.
“Just really want to do and really putting yourself out there in your applications defintely makes it a lot easier and just taking a deep breath because what’s meant to happen is going to happen,” said senior Sandy Mina.
Viewers have been contacting ABC Action News after receiving suspicious text messages from numbers that claim to be the United States Postal Service. We spoke with a U.S. Postal Inspector about what to do if you receive this text message.
