What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$5,816 to $17,681 a year for in-state students, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate · in-state rates
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $23,133 a year in-state. Average need-based aid package: $12,764.Aid and debt
39.6%
receive need-based grants
$21,003
average debt at graduation
3,277
students got merit aid
about 5% of undergraduates
$3,637
average merit award
Getting In
A note for out-of-state applicants
University of Central Florida shares one out-of-state enrollment cap with several other public universities in Florida — the limit applies statewide, not to this school individually. If you're applying from outside Florida, your odds may be shaped by that shared, statewide limit rather than by University of Central Florida's own admissions choices alone.
Per BOG Regulation 7.006.
Key dates
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1220–1350 · 74% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 25–30 · 26% of the class submitted
33% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What they value
- Very important
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- GPA
- SAT/ACT scores
- Important
- Personal essay
- Considered
- Class rank
- Extracurriculars
- Special talent
- Character
- First-gen status
- Where you're from
- In-state residency
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Demonstrated interest
- Not considered
- Recommendations
- Legacy status
What this means for you
UCF rates course rigor as Very Important, and your essay as Important.
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Rigor means AP, IB, and dual enrollment carry real weight — make sure your mix of AP or IB courses is strong. A strong essay can differentiate an otherwise average application.
UCF rates demonstrated interest 'Considered' — it can tip a close decision, without being decisive.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
UCF just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-UCF essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
26.6% of UCF classes have fewer than 20 students.
26.6%
under 20 students
47.5%
20 to 49
25.9%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. UCF CDS 2025–26, I-3.
26:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
6.5%
first-years from out of state
12.3%
live on campus
3.9%
of men in fraternities
5.8%
of women in sororities
Who attends
- White41.1%
- Hispanic32.4%
- Black8.5%
- Asian8%
- Multiracial5%
- Unknown / other1.2%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. UCF CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
54.2% of UCF students graduate in 4 years.
54.2%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
77.9%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
93.3%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
74.8% finish in 6 years, against 77.9% of all students.
A 3.1-point gap: Pell Grant students finish less often than students overall.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Orlando.
The main campus sits in east Orlando, about 20 minutes from downtown and roughly 45 minutes from the Atlantic coast and the Kennedy Space Center.
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Orlando is a metro of nearly three million built on tourism, simulation and aerospace, and UCF sits directly beside a research park full of those employers. Most students commute, so the surrounding apartment corridors along University Boulevard function as the residential campus.
The City
Major city
Orlando, FL
Best For
Notable alumni
Notable Alumni
Nicole Stott
Flew two spaceflights as a NASA astronaut, spending more than 100 days in orbit across the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and was the first person to paint a watercolour in space. She took a master's in engineering management here.
Class of 1992
Daniel Tosh
Created and hosted Tosh.0, which ran for eleven seasons on Comedy Central, and tours as a stand-up comedian. He graduated with a marketing degree.
Class of 1996
Cheryl Hines
Played Larry David's wife across the run of Curb Your Enthusiasm, earning two Emmy nominations, and has directed and produced since. She took her bachelor's degree here.
Blake Bortles
Quarterbacked UCF to an undefeated Fiesta Bowl win over Baylor and was the third overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, going on to start for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He left after his junior season.
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
Traditions
Traditions
Spirit Splash
On the Friday of Homecoming week students wade into the Reflecting Pond in the middle of campus — the only day of the year anyone is allowed in — and try to catch rubber ducks thrown from the stage. It has run since 1995 and is the single event most UCF students name first.
Charge On
The two-word rallying phrase and hand sign that has become the university's shorthand, attached to Knightro the knight mascot and used at everything from football games to commencement.
The Reflecting Pond and Memory Mall
The pond and the long green running off it form the centre of a campus laid out in concentric rings, and they are where the university stages Homecoming, involvement fairs and the events that give a commuter campus a common place to be.
Weekend escapes from Orlando
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Orlando
Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast
About 45 minutesThe nearest Atlantic beaches, and the stretch of coast where launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are visible from the sand.
Orlando's theme parks
About 30 minutesWalt Disney World and Universal are both across town, and both are large local employers of students as well as places to spend a weekend.
Wekiwa Springs and the St. Johns River
About 40 minutesFreshwater springs, paddling and hiking just north of the city — the standard escape for students who want Florida without the queues.
Getting there and game days
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
About 25 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Orlando Magic NBAAbout 25 minutes away
- Orlando City SC MLSAbout 25 minutes away
- Orlando Pride NWSLAbout 25 minutes away
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFLAbout 1 hour 30 minutes away
Internships and jobs nearby
Career Proximity
UCF sits beside Central Florida Research Park, one of the largest university research parks in the country, and 45 minutes from the Space Coast — so simulation, defence and aerospace internships are local rather than a relocation.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Lockheed Martin
- Walt Disney World
- AdventHealth
- Siemens Energy
- L3Harris
- Universal Orlando
Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to campus; downtown Orlando about 20 minutes
Who thrives here
Who Thrives Here
UCF still requires the SAT or ACT — a score is part of the application here, not an option — and the middle 50% of enrolled first-years scored 1220-1350. It admits 42.8% of applicants, and the transcript matters at least as much as the score: 70.0% of enrolled first-years arrived with a 4.0, and the average high school GPA is 4.18 on the weighted scale Florida schools report. For the 91.5% of the entering class from in-state, the price is the headline: $6,368 in tuition and fees against $26,732 for everyone else. This is a very large university — 60,083 undergraduates — and it feels like one. Teaching runs at 26 students per faculty member, 26.6% of class sections have fewer than 20 students, and 346 sections carry 100 or more. It is also emphatically a commuter campus: 12.3% of undergraduates live in university housing, and Greek life is small at 3.9% of men and 5.8% of women, so most students build their lives in Orlando rather than on the quad. The student body reflects Central Florida rather than a national draw: 41.1% white, 32.4% Hispanic, 8.5% Black, 8.0% Asian. The outcomes hold up better than the scale suggests — 93.3% of first-years return, 77.9% graduate within six years, and Pell recipients finish at 74.8%, close behind. The trade-offs are the four-year timeline at 54.2% and aid that covers 62.0% of demonstrated need, though only 30% of graduates borrow at all and those who do leave owing $21,003.