The University of Central Florida is a respected public research university in the heart of Orlando, Florida, a world-renowned tourist destination. But the 68,000 students who successfully navigated the UCF admissions process enjoy much more than proximity to Disney World. With a strong research focus and standout programs in everything from Psychology to Hospitality Management, the school offers a vast array of opportunities to prospective students.
If you’re planning to apply, then this guide to the UCF admission requirements will help you understand how to craft a standout UCF application.
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(click to skip ahead)How hard is it to get into UCF?
It is moderately difficult to get accepted to the University of Central Florida. The grade point average of people who get accepted to UCF are in the top quarter of their class. People who successfully get into UCF also tend to have moderately strong extracurricular activities and college applications essays (the essay is optional, though we generally recommend submitting).
UCF Acceptance Rate
The UCF acceptance rate is 44%, making it a moderately competitive school. Acceptance rate is an indication of how competitive a school is, but it is also an indication of how popular a school is. To get into a school like the University of Central Florida, you will need to perform well in most areas of your college application.
UCF Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, and Transfer Acceptance Rate
UCF doesn’t offer early action or early decision admissions, but it does offer rolling admissions. This means that while you can apply anytime between September 1 and May 1, the earlier you apply, the more quickly you’ll get your admissions decision. As we said above, UCF’s regular decision acceptance rate is 44%. This is because it received roughly 48,000 applications and accepted 21,661 students. UCF is a widely popular school to apply to, and is getting more popular with each passing year.
The Transfer acceptance rate is 62% because it received 14,489 applications and accepted 8,994 students.
UCF GPA Requirements
The GPA requirements for the University of Central Florida are between 3.5 and 4.0. You will need a very high GPA and will likely be graduating near the top of your class in order to get into UCF. It’s important to note that UCF recalculates your GPA based on your core academic classes, which may be different from how your high school calculates your GPA. If your GPA is lower than suggested at the time you apply, you may have to perform above average on your standardized tests. If your grades aren’t as high as they could have been due to life experiences or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
What GPA is required for UCF?
Applicants’ GPA when applying to UCF should be between 3.5 and 4.0 to be strong candidates. Having less than this likely will require compensating by increasing your SAT or ACT score.
| Unweighted GPA | Percent Accepted |
|---|---|
| 4.0 | 72.0% |
| 3.75-3.99 | 16.3% |
| 3.50-3.74 | 10.0% |
| 3.25-3.49 | 1.2% |
| 3.00-3.24 | 0.2% |
| 2.5-2.99 | 0.3% |
| 2.0-2.49 | 0% |
| 1.0-1.99 | 0% |
| Below 1.0 | 0% |
UCF SAT Requirements
The SAT requirements for UCF are a 1170 to 1340 composite score, combining the reading and writing, and math sections together. You will need a fairly high SAT score in order to get into the University of Central Florida. If your SAT is lower than suggested at the time you apply, you may have to perform above average on your other standardized tests or have spectacular extracurricular activities to compensate. If your grades aren’t as high as they could have been due to life experiences or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
UCF Average SAT Composite Score: 1259
| UCF SAT Distribution | Reading | Math |
|---|---|
| 700-800 | 20.2% | 17.8% |
| 600-699 | 60.4% | 51.5% |
| 500-599 | 19.0% | 29.5% |
| 400-499 | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| 300-399 | 0% | 0% |
| 200-299 | 0% | 0% |
What SAT score is required for UCF?
Applicants should score between 1170 to 1340 on their SAT to be strong candidates for admission to this school. Having less than this will require compensating by using a substitute ACT score or having an above-average GPA. Either an SAT or ACT score is required for application to this school.
UCF ACT Requirements
The ACT requirements for UCF are a 27 composite score combining all English, mathematics, reading, and science sections. You will need a fairly high ACT score in order to get into UCF. If your ACT is not what you’d hoped by the time you apply, you may have to make it up by getting above-average scores on the SAT and having an above-average grade point average. If your ACT wasn’t as high as you’d like because of difficulties or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
UCF Average ACT: 27
| UCF ACT Distribution | Composite Score |
|---|---|
| 30-36 | 22.6% |
| 24-29 | 64.1% |
| 18-23 | 12.7% |
| 12-17 | 0.6% |
| 6-11 | 0% |
| Below 6 | 0% |
What ACT score is required for UCF?
Applicants should score between 27 and 32 on their ACT to be strong candidates for admission to this school. Having less than this will require compensating by using a substitute SAT score or having an above-average GPA. Either an SAT or ACT score is required for application to this school.
What does UCF look for in students?
UCF has stated itself that these are the three most important factors it considers when looking over applications: Rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and standardized test scores. The application essay is listed as being “important,” but not quite as important as those three academic components. So while making a strong case in other parts of your application for your UCF admission, understand that a strong academic background will be the most important factor admissions officers are looking for.
But as we said, the application essay is an important component, too, even if it is technically optional. So if you’re interested in applying to the University of Central Florida, you might consider checking out our step by step guide to the college essay to ensure you’re writing a strong personal statement. We think a key component of an effective application essay stems from a clear communication of your values. One way to make sure your personal statement stands out to schools you’re interested in applying to (and maybe more importantly, to be sure that you think you’re a good fit for the school), is to convey how your values overlap. How do you learn about a school’s values? Any number of ways, but one easy way is to look at the school’s mission statement. In the case of UCF, each undergraduate school within the University has its own mission statement, but UCF’s board of trustees did publish one for the school as a whole. Here it is:
UCF is a public research university invested in unleashing the potential within every individual; enriching the human experience through inclusion, discovery, and innovation; and propelling broad-based prosperity for the many communities we serve.
Things that immediately jump out from that mission statement are “inclusion,” “innovation,” and “communities.” You might consider if these are values that you hold yourself, and what specific examples from your life could demonstrate this alignment to a reader. You may consider utilizing some of those examples as you craft your essays.
How else can you demonstrate that you and UCF fit together? Think about your answers to these questions:
What communities have you served in the past? Maybe even through your extracurricular activities?
Where have you demonstrated innovation in your education? Have you ever made an academic decision that was a bit of a risk, or outside the norm?
Where have you demonstrated your intrinsic interest in learning? What’s sparked your curiosity and made you want to discover more?
UCF Application Deadlines
The UCF application deadline for regular decision for the fall semester is May 1. It’s important to note, though, that UCF offers rolling admissions, meaning that you can apply well before May 1, and hear back about your admissions decision more quickly. Below is a table showing the deadlines for each of the steps of the UCF admissions process.
UCF Early Decision, Early Action Policy
UT Austin does not have an Early Decision or an Early Action admissions process. It does, however, offer a priority deadline. Applying by the priority deadline enables applicants to receive their admissions decision one month sooner than those who applied by the regular decision deadline.
UCF Supplemental Essay Prompts
To complete UCF’s supplemental essay requirements, applicants can respond to a few optional prompts. It’s important to note that although UCF accepts the Common Application, it does not require you to complete the Common App Personal Statement. That being said, they advise that “an essay can assist the Admissions Committee in knowing you as an individual, independent of test scores and other objective data“. Here are the prompts:
Why did you choose to apply to UCF?
What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community?
UCF Essay Tips
Here’s some good news: these essay prompts are fairly similar to prompts for many other schools. For example, #1 is a classic “Why Us?” prompt, and #2 is a prime candidate for a Diversity Essay approach.
You can check those guides for specific examples and analysis, but here are some general tips for essay writing:
Consider paying particular attention to the, “What does UCF look for in Students?” section of this post (above): Supplemental essay prompts are perfect opportunities for you to showcase how a different aspect of who you are fulfills something the school looks for.
In particular, a lot of schools use supplemental essays to get a sense of how you and the school “fit” together. This is especially important for things like “Why Us” essays, but you can demonstrate ways you and the community and academic programs fit together via other supp essays.
Any time a school has multiple supplemental essays, be sure to use each to focus on a different aspect of what you value and what you bring to the campus and community. Linked to that, try to avoid repeating anything covered in your personal statement—use these prompts to help the readers see new sides of you.
Though you’ll want to be mostly focusing on specific examples of yourself and your life in these essays, having a clear understanding of UCF’s mission and vision will give you a direction for your reflections in your essays. (Semi-pro tip: for any school, just search for “[school name] mission and vision” and you’ll quickly find what you’re looking for)
Special thanks to Nick for writing this blog post.
Nick Muccio
Rather than candy, Nick (he/him) went searching for people’s vacuum cleaners when trick or treating. He’s since found other ways to help people clean, usually involving their essays (though he has great ideas on carpet maintenance, too). He earned a degree in Psychology from Bates College, where he rowed boats and acted in plays. Teaching high schoolers English for seven years taught him about the importance of presence and knitting sweaters. He sweats a lot, usually on purpose, and usually involving running shoes, a bike, or a rock climbing harness. His greatest fear? Heights. His greatest joys? Numerous, though shared laughter is up there.
