University of South Florida (USF) vs University of Central Florida (UCF)

Nestled in the vibrant cities of Tampa and Orlando, the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) stand as prominent beacons of higher education in Florida. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, they offer distinct experiences shaped by their unique characteristics. USF boasts a diverse student body, a wide range of academic programs, and a strong focus on research, while UCF is known for its competitive athletics, vibrant campus life, and emphasis on undergraduate education. With acceptance rates of 48% and 53% respectively, both universities welcome a substantial number of students each year. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into the details of each institution, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to discover the university that best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of Central Florida	University of South Florida
Overview
Location	Orlando, Florida	Tampa, Florida
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	90.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	36.4%	49.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	1170 - 1350	1140 - 1330
ACT range	25 - 30	24 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	73.0%	70.0%
Students submitting ACT score	27.0%	30.0%
Total number of applicants	48,929	50,352
Total number of admissions given out	17,797	24,863
Admitted students who chose to enroll	7,090	6,279
Yield rate	39.8%	25.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,036 Out of state: $40,135	In state: $21,812 Out of state: $32,726
Average net price	$11,575	$11,419
Tuition	In state: $4,478 Out of state: $19,810	In state: $4,559 Out of state: $15,473
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,670 Meal plan: $4,360	Room/dormitory: $8,328 Meal plan: $4,240
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	90.0% Average amount $10,078	98.0% Average amount $9,965
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $5,240	20.0% Average amount $6,281
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $14,272	2.0% Average amount $11,370

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	59,996 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	38,011 Men 43.2% Women 56.8%
Graduate students	10,314 Men 40.3% Women 59.7%	11,697 Men 38.6% Women 61.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	8.5%	14.9%
International students	4.5%	9.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	8,182	7,468
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Georgia New Jersey Pennsylvania New York	Florida New Jersey New York Illinois Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies	Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Engineering Business Education
Students to faculty ratio	30:1	22:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	74.9%	74.6%
Dropout rate	9.8%	13.4%
Transferred out	12.0%	10.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $120,252 Year 3: $135,111 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,940 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $105,950 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,081 Year 2: $76,041 Year 3: $82,681 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,266 Year 2: $63,817 Year 3: $80,838 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,188 Year 2: $67,420 Year 3: $76,084 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,467 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $74,706 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,873 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $73,491 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,142 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $71,339 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,872 Year 2: $58,092 Year 3: $68,273 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,767 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $66,145	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $105,372 Year 2: $111,992 Year 3: $120,368 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $95,164 Year 2: $109,459 Year 3: $115,008 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,251 Year 2: $97,850 Year 3: $102,723 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $100,013 Computer Systems Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,308 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $99,399 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,147 Year 2: $84,100 Year 3: $90,501 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,332 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $82,432 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,033 Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $81,165 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,306 Year 2: $68,727 Year 3: $79,275 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,711 Year 2: $66,566 Year 3: $79,114

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.