My GPA is 3.9 but I’m not sure what it is recalculated, and my SAT is a 1010. So my stats are EXTREMELY low for UCF which is one of the reasons I applied for summer term. I really want to go to UCF, but unfortunately with family issues and COVID-19, I wasn’t able to have the same opportunities for testing SAT as I wish I could’ve. I have a good resume as I am a dancer and I started a club my sophomore year, I’m Senior class president, over 100 community service hours, etc… I wouldn’t even mind starting in the Spring of 2022 If they could accept me then… I know community college is an option, I just feel I want to be challenged and UCF is again my top school! Any advice?
I would say your stats are a little low for UCF, but not extremely low.
It’s also hard to know what UCF is looking at this year because so many students had only one try at the SAT/ACT tests in 2020. Test scores don’t typically go up a great deal on subsequent tests, but 2020 is an incredibly weird year to figure out…for a lot of reasons.
One thing to understand is how UCF calculates weighted GPA. They do NOT count every class you took. They count only the core courses required for graduation from high school in Florida. The effect of that is you don’t get bonuses for any elective honors or AP courses you took. For some students that’s no big deal, but for my daughter it was a very big deal because her HS offered only honors and AP classes.
UCF does look at extracurriculars, and you have some very good things there. You have not only extracurricular hours, but you have a club that you founded, and leadership positions. Leadership counts far more than just a certain number of hours. I also think extracurriculars will count more this year because so many students had only one test opportunity (some had none).
I have seen people say UCF looks ONLY at test scores and GPA, but I personally don’t believe that. And I especially don’t believe it this year.
A couple of other points.
On Summer admission, I’m sure UCF is looking almost exclusively at Fall applications right now. I suspect they will offer Summer to some students who don’t quite make the criteria for Fall, but I doubt if they are looking at Summer-only applications yet. So I would not be that concerned with the delay you are dealing with.
I would also call undergrad admissions again. It sounds like you got someone who wasn’t trying to be helpful, and that’s unusual for them. I’d give that another shot and see if you can get any guidance from them.
The other thing I would do is decide whether you WANT UCF or not. Look closely at the reasons you want to attend UCF, and see how important UCF really is to you.
If it’s a preference, but you’d be fine with other schools, don’t get so worried about UCF. If you are looking at Florida state universities, there are a LOT of good ones…plenty of good choices.
On the other hand, if you really WANT UCF…go to UCF. Start in the summer if you get accepted. Start in Spring 2022 if you get accepted then. Go to community college and start in Fall 2022 if that’s what it takes. The end result is the same no matter when you start.
And most of all, understand that you are going to be fine no matter how all this turns out! Right now, the pending college application is the biggest thing on your plate. Five years from now, you won’t even remember it, lol. So keep that perspective – you will be fine.
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Wow thanks! Who knew they wait for UF/FSU. Great info. I also had no idea they wait a bit fir summer decisions.
It’s weird because FAU FIU USF (all schools my son got in) gave him fast summer decisions. But UCF is his #1 so it’s causing anxiety. 
I"m not positive about the summer admissions, because my daughter applied for Fall, but got offered Summer. But it stands to reason that the big push right now is Fall 2021 admissions.
She also applied for FIU as a safe school (and also because she had done an amazing biomedical research internship there during her Jr/Sr summer) and she got admitted right away there. She didn’t apply for FAU, not sure why. She also applied for FGCU and USF, and got both of those before she got UCF.
We don’t know much about FGCU or FAU. The only thing I know about FGCU (one friend there) is that they have a pretty low freshman retention rate, which is not good.
We have close friends at UF, FSU, USF, and FIU, so we know all four of those schools are really excellent…as is UCF, of course.
FWIW, my stats are lower than yours but the rest of my resume is (my opinion) super strong and my strength of schedule has been as strong as it could be throughout HS. I applied to UCF, USF, FSU, FAU & FGCU. Obviously, haven’t heard from FSU yet. (next Thursday). But to give you something to compare to…I also applied in October to all. USF denied me pretty quickly. FGCU accepted shortly thereafter. FAU deferred in December, then with no additional contact from me, just accepted me last week. UCF I didn’t hear from for what felt like a really long time (though it must of been late December) when my status said “deferred/low test score.” However, again without any additional information from me, they updated my status to waitlist.
My point in sharing is just to give you a comparison of someone else with not super strong stats (test score), but good resume, and an example of just hold tight and see…I think unless you have been outright denied, a lot can still happen between now and May 1 with all the schools.
Have you heard back from UCF? And what are your stats? If I end up having to go to a community college I will, I just prefer to start at UCF. My resume is strong and so was my essay so hopefully they look past my test scores. I also know I can appeal their decision… does anyone have any information on how to go about that?!
Two things everyone needs to understand about UCF admissions are:
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Weighted GPA calculation, which I explained above. Very important, and UCF’s weighted GPA will probably be lower than you think.
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"Superscored" SAT/ACT tests scores. This is where a lot of students are going to really get hurt by the inability to take more than one SAT or ACT. UCF (and many other, but not all, schools) takes the highest score for each part of the SAT and ACT. So if you’ve taken the SAT multiple times, they will use only the highest component scores and that may give you a higher score than you made on any one test.
My son got waitlisted and they asked for an official transcript. That almost sounds like a yes pending transcript verification but who knows.
FYI on last year’s waitlist thread apparently April 15 was a big but not final waitlist decision date.
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What are his stats? I know FSU decisions come out today so maybe UCF is releasing some decisions as well.
Now that FSU is out and UF comes out Friday, you should start to see UCF sending more decisions as kids decline their UCF acceptances.
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I still haven’t heard anything back from UCF. I applied in October, and my current status says “ Your application is currently being reviewed by our admissions committee for the Summer 2021 term” it has said that since November. What should I do? Should I wait it out or call them?
I don’t see any problem with calling them, but you need to be patient…and you need to be careful.
Whatever you do, do NOT push them for an expedited decision, because if you do you will most likely put them in a position where the only answer they can give you is “No.” You don’t want that.
I would call them and ask for their help. Explain that UCF is your dream school, but you don’t understand what the info on your Student Self Service means, and you don’t know whether you have a chance of admission or not.
When you call, try to figure out what the person on the phone is like. If they are helpful, let them know how you feel – that you REALLY want UCF, and that your GRADES and extracurriculars show that you will work hard enough to succeed (regardless of your test scores). College success is really much more about persistence and consistency than about intelligence. It’s about doing the work. UCF weighs test scores heavily, but they are not the only thing UCF considers.
If the person does not seem helpful, thank them for whatever info they give you and end the call without going into great detail. You might be able to get a sense of their helpfulness even before you give them your identifying information, so if you end the call they won’t know who you are.
Good luck.
Thank you I will definitely call next week! How long do you think I should wait before I expedite my decision!? ( if they don’t give me a decision next week when I call )
I personally don’t think you should ask for an expedited decision at all, ever – for two reasons:
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It’s just asking for trouble. You run a very real risk of painting UCF in a corner where the only answer they can give you is “NO.” If you were a National Merit Scholar evaluating hefty scholarship offers from several schools, asking them to expedite might make some sense – but NOT in your case.
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What are you going to do different? UCF is where you want to go to college. If they accept you tomorrow, or six months from now, you are going to UCF. If they offer Summer 2021, you will take it. If they offer Spring 2022, you will take it. If they don’t accept you at all, you still have the option of community college and transferring to UCF later.
If you really want to go to UCF, you need to take a deep breath (or two) and relax. See what happens and go from there.
College admission decisions are not about what YOU want. They are about what the university wants, and you just have to adjust to that.
Realistically, you have no choice. UCF is going to do whatever they are going to do, whenever they get ready – not when you want. It’s entirely possible you won’t have a decision for 2 1/2 - 3 more months.
Don’t continue to stress yourself over something you cannot control. Breathe in; breathe out. Repeat.
Hi Jim… where can I get more info on summer admission. I’m canadian and we do not do this at all… My daughter just got the summer 2021 offer but we’re clueless as to what it means.
I just answered that in detail on the Summer Admission thread a couple of hours ago. I even included a link…
On her graduation date, I don’t think that will be a problem, but I would call the admissions office and just let them know you’ll send her final transcripts as soon as you get them.
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Hello there! I thought I would also use this thread to get some feedback on if I should expedite my decision as well. Here are my stats that I sent into UCF:
GPA: 4.33 w/3.74 uw
6 AP Classes (passing exam score in all of them)
ACT: 31 (no SAT)
Strong essays, strong leadership positions in various extracurriculars
(I also initially applied as an international student, but I just received my green card this past week, so I am now able to qualify for financial aid since I am now considered a permanent resident. )
I would really like to have my decision soon so I can decide between this and another college with enough time by the May 1st enrollment deadline. Is it a good idea for me to request this expedited decision? I am leaning a LOT more towards UCF anyways, so I really don’t wanna run this risk of getting rejected by expediting. Thank you!
Have you called admissions and updated your permanent resident status? It doesn’t hurt to call and explain your situation and see if they can help you. You seem like a strong candidate.
Hi! I’ve been on the waitlist for a while now and really want to go to this school.
SAT: 1090
W GPA: 3.9
Graduating with 48 college credits
400+ volunteering hours
Has anyone heard back? Or requested a final decision?
I am just a little hesitant that I will just get rejected if i ask.