At a Glance
UCF admits 42.8% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Shown at in-state rates.
Debt at Graduation
39.6%
receive need-based grant aid
$21,003
average debt at graduation
UCF graduates carry an average of $21,003 in debt.
Merit Aid
3,277
students received merit aid
$3,637
average merit award
Getting In
UCF admits 42.8% of applicants.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 74% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 26% of the class submitted
33% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
University of Central Florida considers your essay Important — a strong essay can differentiate an otherwise average application. Demonstrated interest is Considered — showing genuine engagement with this school may help your application.
Student Life
26.6% of UCF classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At UCF, 26.6% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
26:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
From out of state (freshman class)
6.5%
Live on campus
12.3%
Men in fraternities
3.9%
Women in sororities
5.8%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
UCF's student body is 41.1% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
UCF graduates 54.2% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
UCF graduates 54.2% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
UCF
54.2%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $23,133*
* In-state cost of attendance. Out-of-state students pay significantly more.
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
77.9%
Overall 6-yr rate
74.8%
Pell recipient rate
There's a 3.1 point gap between overall and Pell Grant graduation rates. Worth asking the school about support resources.
Freshman Retention
93.3%
93.3% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
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. 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.
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.
The City
Major city
Orlando, FL
Best For
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
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 & 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
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
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 72.0% of demonstrated need, though only 30% of graduates borrow at all and those who do leave owing $21,003.