USF Wait List Reaches Record Length

In its most competitive admissions season ever, the University of South Florida placed a record 1,300 prospective freshmen on a wait list for next fall.

Most don't have to wait anymore, however. The university recently denied admission to nearly two-thirds.

There are more high school seniors vying for fewer college freshman seats throughout Florida this year, a trend that fueled USF's current acceptance rate to a record low 45 percent.

Multimillion-dollar budget cuts have cost schools instructors. As the state economy continues to sour, colleges plan to cut or freeze their enrollments. And admissions directors say they are likely to be just as selective next year while state analysts project even more high school graduates.

"We're still going to have a small freshman class next year, which means we'll be very cautious in admitting students," said Janice Finney, admissions director at Florida State University, which is cutting its upcoming summer and fall freshman enrollment by 1,100 students.

That caution may lead to bigger wait lists, which this year merely delayed the pain of rejection for many.

USF, for one, was close to filling its freshman class before May 1, the nationally accepted deadline to commit to a college or university. It never planned to go deeply into its wait list.

USF offered summer admission to wait-listed students majoring in engineering, visual and performing arts, nursing and athletic training, as well as admission to USF St. Petersburg to those who originally applied to the Tampa campus. Nearly 240 took those options, said Robert Spatig, the university's undergraduate admissions director.

Others gambled on fall admission, but they faced long odds. Spatig said last week that the university drew only a relative few from the wait list and dumped 816.

"As long as the economy is in such a shape that we're not able to grow, at least next year will be the same," Spatig said.

Early this year, the state university system's Board of Governors ordered its schools to cap, and in some cases cut, enrollment to stave off the effect of millions in budget cuts. Tax revenue is dropping across the state, and the aid to public education falls with that.

For universities, the effect of these budget cuts is higher admission standards.

USF recently cut 170 vacant faculty positions to help deal with a loss of $35.6 million in state money. That leaves fewer available seats for students.

Demand was higher for this fall, however. USF received a record 25,800 applications for fall admission, preliminary figures show. The university offered admission to just 11,500, or 45 percent. Officials anticipate enrolling 3,700 from that pool.

Just five years ago, USF admitted nearly 70 percent of its applicants.

FSU has to close a $31.6 million shortfall from the state, and could cut 118 faculty jobs.

The university offered 2,000 prospective freshmen spots on its wait list, a record for the school, Finney said. While FSU enrolled as many as 6,300 freshmen last summer and fall, the target for the next school year is 5,200.

Admissions officers found spots for about 200 students on the wait list, Finney said. They released the rest. "We're done," she said.

The University of Florida has no wait list, but its acceptance rate has never been lower.

UF, the state's flagship school, also received a record number of applications, 28,121, nearly 4,000 more than last year, admissions director Zina Evans said. It accepted only 10,600 - a 38 percent acceptance rate, down from 42 percent last year.

The freshman class size will remain frozen at about 6,600 students, Evans said. With budget cuts, however, that could get smaller. The university plans to reduce its total enrollment - which is the largest in the state at 52,000 - by 1,000 a year for the next four years.

"The class size has been holding, but the number of applications has been going up," Evans said.

Despite the grim news, there is some relief on the horizon.

Demand for university seats may lessen after a couple of years. Based on state projections, the number of high school graduates is expected to decline starting in 2009 and won't rebound until 2012.