J.R. Mulhall was in the middle of filming a high school project — a staged game of Scrabble — when he opened his UF acceptance letter.
“I'm like, did I get in, or did I not get in? I was a little confused,” the 18-year-old media production, management and technology freshman said.
Instead of traditional admission, Mulhall had been accepted to Pathway to Campus Enrollment, or PaCE, a program offering students a different starting point to their UF degrees.
In the PaCE program, students begin their UF education online before transitioning to in-person classes after completing certain requirements. Students take UF Online courses, earn the same degree as traditional students and can move to Gainesville, but they are not eligible for in-person classes or on-campus housing until they transition.
PaCE students typically are required to earn 60 credits, including at least two semesters and 15 credits with UF Online, before they are eligible to transition to campus.
Launched in 2015, the program was designed to expand UF’s undergraduate enrollment without increasing physical campus capacity.
The program has grown immensely each year. According to UF’s Institutional Planning and Research department, PaCE started with only 258 students in 2015. As of Fall 2024, the PaCE cohort had grown to over 2,800 students.
For many students, this structure creates an experience defined by flexibility.
Sidney Todd, a 20-year-old UF sport management senior, said PaCE provided a smooth academic transition and allowed her to develop stronger self-discipline.
“There’s definitely a lot of flexibility that comes with it,” she said. “It was a natural transition for me, and I think it was just a part of my story.”
Because her classes were fully online, Todd could choose when to watch her lectures, complete assignments and organize her days around campus involvement.
Todd moved to Gainesville her freshman year and quickly learned how to build structure into her week. The experience was “what you make of it,” she said. Getting out of the house by joining clubs helped her avoid sitting in her room all day.
The independence, she said, ultimately paid off.
“You have to be very self-disciplined in order to really excel in an online program,” Todd said.
While her academic performance improved once she transitioned to campus and studied with classmates, she credits PaCE with giving her a strong foundation.
“It allows you to get that same quality of education, but you also get to choose your own schedule,” she said. “You can be wherever you want in the whole wide world.”
Anna Price, a 22-year-old UF business administration senior, said that flexibility gave her extra time to get more involved on campus.
“I would just set up my own schedule of when I would watch the lectures, when I would do the homework,” she said. “Sometimes, I would just watch my lecture by the pool.”
During her first year, she built a routine around studying in places like libraries and coffee shops, while also working and staying involved in campus organizations, such as a business fraternity and her sorority.
PaCE students have access to student organizations, campus study spaces and research opportunities. They can also choose to opt into the Optional Fee Package, allowing them to participate in Greek life, campus health services, fitness centers and sporting events.
According to Price, access to these campus resources made a significant difference in her experience.
“I wouldn’t say it [PaCE] kept me from doing anything,” she said. “I still did my workout classes, I went on campus, and I went to all the sporting events.”
That sentiment was echoed by media production, management and technology freshman Mulhall, who spends much of his time with UF’s student-run radio station, GHQ, and uses the PaCE-provided flexibility to deepen his involvement. As a first-year student, his courses are still fully online.
“I can crank out basically my whole 15-credit load in three hours, even with watching the lectures and stuff,” he said. “That gives me more time to work at the radio station.”
While his first week in Gainesville felt uncertain, Mulhall said finding community quickly changed his experience. Now, he sees PaCE as an opportunity rather than a limitation.
“We’re real students too,” Mulhall said. “We’re taking the same classes … just on a computer.”
He said PaCE opened his eyes to a new type of college experience he hadn't considered before, one that has many benefits and is just as valuable as the traditional admissions path.
“If I went back to that Scrabble game, and I got the email from UF … and it said, ‘Would you like to be admitted to PaCE or as a traditional student?’ I think [back] then I would choose traditional student,” he said. “But now, it would be a harder decision.”
Hailey Kon is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
