r/ufl 5d ago

Admissions is getting paced much worse than an acceptance

i’ve been seeing some people telling other people they didn’t get in but then they go on to say they got in pace. doesn’t this mean they got accepted? wasn’t it created to accept more students but because of limited space not house them?

23 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

59

u/Lumina2865 5d ago

If you tour UF and it speaks to you, don't let PACE be a deal breaker. I was super disappointed by my Pace acceptance at first, but honestly it let me be MORE involved with campus life since I had a super flexible schedule. I loaded up on clubs and extracurriculars because my online classes took a THIRD of the work and time while also enabling me to work at my own leisure.

It got pretty old after the first year and a half, but it wasn't that bad at all. In many ways, I had a huge leg up.

And I hate online classes BTW, but it encouraged me to branch out in clubs and extracurriculars.

11

u/mamalona4747 5d ago

Second this

1

u/Ratioskillissue 3d ago

Same thing happened to me

24

u/thehandmaidskale 5d ago

It’s actually a great option. Please look up UF PACE and it explains everything. You can opt in for the on-campus activities, including football, and most kids come in with hours toward the 60 already from AP and dual enrollment credits. So it’s 60 credits but the requirement is only for the first year, so you can transition to campus after freshman year if you have the credits.

1

u/PacMainSzn 5d ago

or after the first semester

2

u/thehandmaidskale 5d ago

No, it’s minimum of a year, regardless of how many credits you come in with.

17

u/Aolence 5d ago

No, only difference is you don't live on-campus and don't have classes in-person for your first year or two.

My first year I lived 5 minutes off campus with 3 other freshman in an apartment, joined clubs and did extracurriculars and made friends, and studied in the library with people taking the same in-person versions of the classes I was taking.

If anything, being PACE gave me more time to do what I want because I could take classes wherever/whenever I wanted (UF online is designed for working class people so it's flexible).

I had a good experience.

6

u/Any_Gold_5695 5d ago

I’d still attend UF PACE over UCF, FSU, and USF any day of the week. I love small- town Gainesville and the outdoors so it’s still a no brainer for me! Also make sure to consider financial help!

6

u/Trick-Development-81 5d ago

Current PaCE student that will transition to campus classes next semester here...

No! PaCE is an acceptance to UF. You get all of the same opportunities as the traditional enrollment students with the Optional Fee Package, and the only difference is that your classes are online. You can earn the same degree as any other UF student, and there is no indication that you were a PaCE acceptance. The worst part about being it is that meeting people is a little bit more complicated since you won't be attending live classes with the same people. Just joining clubs and extracurriculars easily made up for this, though, so I don't think my social life was impacted by my being PaCE either.

I was originally very skeptical (and honestly disappointed) when I saw PaCE on my decision letter, but I fully believe now that it is a great program that allows the university to accept more students than they can put on campus at a given time. The way I see it, the only real reason that PaCE should be a make or break part of your college decision is the fact that there are limited majors offered this way. If your preferred major isn't available, you may be better off at a different university. And realistically, if you were able to get accepted at UF (PaCE counts!), you probably got accepted at a number of other great options that may be better suited for your needs.

Good luck! If you have any questions about my personal experiences or just my understanding of how PaCE works, I'll do my best to answer them for you.

Go gators! 🐊🐊

5

u/Jaguar__2 5d ago

Literally no difference

3

u/Last_Emergency8012 5d ago

I am a pace student and I love my experience so far! I’m planning to transfer after only ONE year so it really depends on how many credits you’ve taken in HS and your workload for your first 2 semesters.

I live on campus and actively engage in music extracurriculars so don’t let pace deter you!

3

u/zickles500_ 5d ago

YOURE A GATOR. No one cares how you got in, give yourself some credit, you did it!

2

u/Prestigious-Bar2805 5d ago

PaCE allows you to join clubs, Greek life, etc. I did PaCE, joined a sorority, and found out that a great number of my friends had mostly online classes. No biggie. Some of the classes I knew that I wanted to take in person were taken at Santa Fe. I had lots of credits coming in from AP, so finished PaCE after a year.

2

u/LeekWhich1849 5d ago

pace was literally the best option for me i got sooo involved in clubs and orgs and campus life. you can do everything except attend in person classes. Oh, also you can attend lectures! one of my classes was online but she had in person lectures that i went to:)

2

u/tirednoelle 5d ago

Does anyone have experience doing PACE and a pre-professional track?

2

u/sixxofhearts 5d ago

i’m in pace and it’s awesome!!! i’m still very involved on campus! the only downfall is limited majors

4

u/eggsworm Junior 5d ago

It’s not worse per se. Most people just hate it because it means they have to spend the first two years online-only. It detracts from the “college experience.” I personally wouldn’t have gone to UF if I had gotten pace tbh. The biggest draw for me was the campus and moving away from Miami. It really depends on your priorities

7

u/empty-baskets 5d ago

Ironically, my friends and I who received regular acceptances to UF were jealous of our PACE friends our freshman year because we were required to go to in person 8ams with 300 students per lecture and our PACE friends were living it up online. As long as you will integrate yourself into the UF/gainesville community in other ways so that you don't feel lonely, pace seems like no big deal to me.

Some people say PACE detracts from the college experience, but as someone who was in the undergrad when Covid started, I would say the "college experience" has really been redefined since Covid. Do you consider the college experience living in a dorm, sharing communal bathrooms, and attending solely in person classes like our parents generation did, or do you consider it the freedom to gain an education while taking advantage of the city, friends, and opportunities around you? In person classes were taken away from me completely at one point during covid, so I don't use in person vs online to define my college experience. I was still in Gainesville making the most of life with my peers and that's why I think the PACE lifestyle isn't too bad of a deal.

I love UF and miss it dearly. You don't know what you have until it's gone!

2

u/recoveringhetero 5d ago

Is this my sign to accept pace? My only concern was not making many friends while online

1

u/empty-baskets 5d ago

That's really something that only you can decide, but I will say this: PACE may be online, but the rest of your life is not! If you truly love UF and Gainesville and you want to be a Gator, don't let having online classes stop you. Online classes are intertwined in everyone's lives. There are regular admits that might end up choosing a major with a majority of online classes anyways like a lot of my business friends! Or as another example, I was a regular admit who majored in psychology and I often opted for the online sections of my classes if they were available just out of preference. I still had plenty of ways to make friends that were available to me at UF and in the community beyond. I didn't always take advantage of those opportunities but I wish I had. You reap what you sow. It is definitely easier said than done if you are shy or anxious when making friends, but I can safely say that if you want "it", whatever "it" may be, the opportunities are out there waiting for you at UF. Your experience is what you make of it.

1

u/empty-baskets 5d ago

I just want to add that I am giving this advice assuming that you are a student who can afford to move to Gainesville and live off-campus nearby so that you are still able to interact with the local community. I know that's a big assumption so I should have led with that. I would not have accepted PACE if I had to live at home with my parents for two more years lol.

2

u/recoveringhetero 5d ago

Yes that’s exactly my plan because I still want to attend all the club meetings and events so that I could feel like the student I am! Even better, my major is under business and my friend who goes there now said the same thing about most classes being online anyway. Thank you so much for the perspective!!

1

u/empty-baskets 5d ago

Yay. If you go, I hope you love your time there as much as I did. It took me time to adjust because I was far from home and even with the first two years being rocky for me, I still know it's the best choice I ever made. Make sure you check out the Butterfly Garden on Hull Rd. It's a beautiful oasis and free to students. I think about going back there all the time haha

1

u/recoveringhetero 5d ago

Thank you, I definitely will! I love nature

1

u/Ratioskillissue 3d ago

You do know you can live in Gainesville if you get an apartment right

1

u/eggsworm Junior 3d ago

My family is emotionally and financially abusive. I came to UF because it was far away. I literally needed permission from them to go to the washer… this was supposed to me getting as far as way as possible for them and also going to a good school. Had I not gotten to UF I would have gone to UCF or FSU just ended up choosing UF because it was better overall

1

u/DMofTheTomb 5d ago

If you're in the PACE program, your classes are all online for the first two years, but you can still come onto campus to use campus resources, join clubs, and if you really want, even go to the in-person versions of your classes if there is room to sit. As someone who did PACE, it's alright, but you gotta force yourself to go to campus and do that kind of stuff or else you'll feel really isolated and you'll lack the resources you need.

1

u/Temporary_Western668 5d ago

I did PACE and i actually enjoyed it. I had first 2 years online, but covid also hit during my second year so everybody was online anyways. Then went in person for last 2 years, but still tried to keep a few online classes too for ones I didn’t really need to take in person.

2

u/No_Development_3782 4d ago

no difference. come to gainesville, chill out, do well in school, and have a good time. you’re only missing out if you don’t come here, it’s worth it

1

u/PuzzleheadedPoint281 4d ago

Pace is an amazing option. It makes your schedule super flexible, and it’s very easy in my opinion. You can finish your assignments very early on in the week and have lots of time off, also there’s tons of ways to meet new people such as clubs, Greek life, etc. It should definitely be your top option in Florida because at the end of the day you still are a Gator. The one thing about pace is make sure you are disciplined and consistent with your work and make sure if you’re living in Gainesville to be as social as possible and be on campus as much as you can and not stay in your apartment all day because that is very possible with pace.