posted on LinkedIn February 2023

FAU, in tony Boca Raton, is the most diverse of all the 12 Florida State University System schools, according to Maura Flaschner, executive director admissions, who hosted a group of counselors on January 25, 2023. “We begin with the end in mind–graduation,” she said, so they look for evidence of the ability to succeed.

After adding the Common App to their application methods, FAU saw 15 percent more applicants this year, around 40,000 apps for the freshman class in a school of about 16K undergraduates. Their yield also increased, so they needed to house freshmen in two hotels because they didn’t have enough beds.

In the past seven years they’ve seen  a “huge jump” in the four-year graduation rate. Flaschner pointed out that Florida schools have the lowest in-state tuition in the country with the cost of attendance at $27K for Floridians. FSUS hasn’t raised in-state tuition in 13 years.

The nursing program is FAU’s most competitive program, with 1300 first-year applicants for 90 seats, a 7 percent acceptance rate. The low clinician-to-student ratio attracts students to the program. It’s the only direct-admit program at FAU and it is only for students coming directly from high school.

Business and pre-biology are popular majors, but FAU also has a very appealing five-year architecture program that does not require a portfolio submission. Starting in pre-architecture, students apply to architecture in their third year. If accepted, they spend the next two years in Ft. Lauderdale “doing architecture,” getting lots of hands-on experience in the field. The business college offers a degree in hospitality management and works closely with the historic Boca Raton Hotel. Architecture and engineering programs require applicants to be “college math ready,” so some form of calculus (including pre-calc) is recommended.

Ms. Flaschner said it’s best to think about post-graduation while still in undergraduate school: FAU has 30 accelerated pathways, including BS/BA/MS/MA/MBA. Every student belongs to a Student Success Network for all four years, with a financial aid counselor, career counselor, academic advisor, library liaison. New students are forced into career preparation from the start.

Undergraduate research is available across the curriculum. A university honors program is on campus in Boca Raton, but the 800-student Wilkes Honors College is 40 miles north in Jupiter. (See separate article on Wilkes.) If you want to be considered for Wilkes, apply directly to “Wilkes” on the Common App; those who don’t make it into Wilkes will automatically be considered for FAU.