University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida in Orlando is HUGE. With just under 60,000 undergraduates, it’s one of the three biggest universities in the country (the other two are Texas A&M and Arizona State). But it honestly didn’t feel much bigger than other large public universities I’ve visited, probably because not everyone is on the 1420-acre main campus in East Orlando. But UCF is big enough to have its own police and fire departments, canine unit and bomb squad. There are shuttles bringing students around campus, to off-campus housing, and to shopping areas. Students don’t need a car to get around, but all students, including freshman, may have one.

There’s an enormous amount of school spirit here, and the students seem genuinely happy. There are 48 affiliated Greek organizations and 12 of them have houses on campus, but only between 4 and 8% of students are involved, so it’s just not a big part of the culture. There’s always a great turnout for the big game, but if that’s not your thing, not to worry:  there’s an entomology museum on campus with a half million bugs, there are paddleboards to rent (watch out for the alligators!), and there’s an annual Universal night for UCF students, when Universal Studios shuts down to the public and tickets are discounted. I can’t imagine you’d run out of things to do here.

UCF was founded as an America’s Space University to support the Kennedy Space Center 35 miles away, and aerospace engineering remains a very strong program. Engineering in general is very strong here; UCF students actually developed the T-bar restraint still used today in Space Mountain seats at Disneyworld! In the huge atrium of the engineering building, there are round whiteboard tables where students congregate to solve problems together – the tabletops are literally made of write-on/wipe-off whiteboard material. I love that! Hospitality Management is also very strong here, and some other unique majors include Exceptional Education, Nonprofit Management, Emergency Management, Photonic Science and Engineering, and Actuarial Science.

US News and World Report ranks UCF in the top 5 for Most Innovative Public Universities in the US, and Forbes, Kiplinger, and Princeton Review all rank UCF as a Best Value institution. Do keep in mind that students must submit the housing app right away if admitted – which is no small feat, as more than half of admitted students are in the top 10% of their high school class!