Easier and more accurate than Google would be to CALL UCF Undergraduate Admissions. They are very helpful and can give you accurate answers.
Note that they cannot discuss many things with you if your son is 18 or older. However if he’s under 18, or he’s on the call with you, they can probably give you his exact UCF weighted GPA.
I just googled and was able to find how they weight and with a recalculated GPA with the core classes, my son is at a 4.12. I am hoping that maybe they have not awarded all the out-of-state scholarships yet. We just need something at this point. I’ll take anything not to have over $120,000 debt after 4 years. I don’t want to tell my son that his dream school is out. But University of Maryland is not a bad second choice.
You know, with you and your husband both being Knights, I would contact someone and see if they can help. Alumni office maybe? Or maybe call Undergrad Admissions and explain the connection and problem?
You have nothing to lose. What’s the worst that can happen…they say no?
That’s not a bad idea. My son sent an email yesterday to see if all scholarships for the year have indeed been awarded but he has not heard back. His next step was to go through the appeal process and plead his case. But maybe we can reach out to the alumni association to see if they have any suggestions. You are absolutely correct. We have nothing to lose!
I doubt they have given out all of their scholarships. Based on a couple of years ago by what was reported on CC it seemed the higher your GPA the lower your SAT/ACT could be and vice versa, but if both were just over the threshold, they did not get anything. CC is a small sample size, so who knows!
I will also add that you only pay for the credits you need to take- so if you bring in a lot of credits from high school, the cheaper it gets. D is a full pay OOS and we have not paid even close to $33,000 a year. She brought in over 45 hours of credit, so it made UCF much more affordable. She was a full IB kid with a 4.3 UCF GPA, but alas could not hit the magic SAT number- was a terrible standardized test taker!!
Great suggestion from @JimDadinmia to call.
I called admission for my 17 year old about his UCF GPA and they gave it to me right over the phone.
I really want to thank everyone for the suggestions and information you have shared. I know that UCF reports about $33,000 a year for out-of-state but, your are correct! Coming in with some AP credit, maybe moving off campus and no meal plan after the first year could definitely bring down that yearly price tag some. All things I did not think of.
And the bottom line is even though my son is very mindful of money, to tell him he can’t go to his dream school would crush us all. So, we decided last night, we will see how everything plays out in the new year and take a fresh look then. Hey, he could survive on ramen noodles if needed 
Thanks for all your support!
Picking a cheaper dorm and not having a meal plan is a big savings!!! There are also lots of opportunities for jobs around campus. Depending on his course load, he could make some money to cover his food. If Southwest flies to your airport- get points through their rapid rewards shopping. D has gotten free tickets home through that.
Good luck to you and your son!
“Cheaper” dorms are not necessarily really cheaper, but they do offer only a Fall/Spring committment vs. the full annual committment.
Our daughter is in Towers, and I think it’s $3440 for Fall/Spring, but only a little over $2000 for Summer. So the actual dorm cost isn’t much more IF you stay in the dorms all 3 semesters. If you pay for 3 and only stay there 2, obviously that’s a different scenario.
I would avoid the food plan if at all possible. I have a friend whose daughter is in the food plan and she says it is absolutely awful. Limited hours, very limited selection, doesn’t like the food, and a big waste of perfectly good money.
There are lots of places to eat reasonably on-campus and just off-campus. A few of the on-campus outlets are closed (Pollo Tropical, for example), but nobody goes hungry at UCF!
Off-campus is also not necessarily less expensive than dorms. It depends on where you live and what you’re comparing to.
Our dorm cost for Towers is just over $9000 for the full year. Fall 2021, she is moving to Knights Circle, just off campus, and that will be a little more than $10,000 for the full year. The only difference at Knights Circle is that each girl has a private bathroom, rather than sharing with one other girl.
That said, you can probably save some money by moving farther away from campus. My next door neighbor’s son lives about 5 miles off campus in a single-family house with 3 other guys…but they all have cars.
We’re debating between Tower III (~9K) for honors LLC and Lake Claire (~6K). He does not plan to be in school over the summer unless he gets an internship in Orlando, but I think it is unlikely for the first year. I believe both have a full kitchen. Do you think it is worth it to pay the extra $3K to be in honors llc and the benefits of Tower III?
My D is considering UCF and would probably live in Honors Towers III, but would your S consider the LEAD Scholars LLC in Neptune? That appears to also be honors students but only a Fall/Soring contract.
My boys had the you can live off ramen discussion this morning. My UCF accepted guy hates ramen.
No he received an email invitation for LEAD, but did not apply. Is Neptune LLC a shared or separate room?
Neptune is singles, hall kitchen. Is honors guaranteed housing after freshman year???
Many kids do not sign up for the meal plan. They can still eat at the two dining halls and pay out of pocket. I did the math comparing the lowest meal plan of 10 a week and it worked out to something like only an extra 50 cents/meal paying out of pocket. And you get a lot more flexibility. My son takes the school shuttle to Publix each Tuesday and loads up on food to make in his dorm.
Personally, compared to many state schools, UCF is a deal in my experience. Many state flagships are $20k more per year for OOS. We are from MD and UCF is only a $6-8k more per year than in-state at UMD. And, also having lived in PA, its cost is the same as paying in-state rates at Penn State and University of Pittshburgh. Plus paying only per credit and not a full-time rate can save money. You can take community college courses over the summer and have the credit transfer as long as you get approval prior which can save more money.
It’s not just a question of $3K – it’s also a question of guaranteed or “hope for the best.”
Lake Claire is an Academic Year contract, and it’s important to understand what that means and how it works.
When you apply and are accepted for an academic year contract, you will end up at one of those communities, but you don’t know which one!
For academic year, you select your community when your turn comes up…and of course, everyone wants Lake Claire! But unless your approval date is very early, you won’t get Lake Claire – you’ll end up in Nike/Hercules, Neptune, etc. Not only that, but you may also be assigned to a shared living space, rather than the private bedrooms at Lake Claire.
That’s what happened to a good friend who ignored our advice to apply early – he ended up in Libra and was only able to avoid a shared room because of Covid precautions.
There are some LLC’s (Living Learning Communities) in Neptune, and if you are in one of those, you will be in Neptune.
With Towers, if you are accepted, you are IN – and that’s a big deal.
In addition, I’m not sure about this but my daughter’s friend who is in the Tower III Honors community is under the impression that her room is guaranteed for her entire 4 years if she wants it.
Comparisons between Towers and Lake Claire:
Location: both are very well located. Towers surrounds the arena, with bus stops, food outlets, stores, etc within easy walking distance. Also convenient to the athletic fields, stadium, etc. Towers also has an AllKnight Study and a gym – not sure about Lake Claire.
Beds: I believe the beds at Lake Claire are twin XL’s. That’s what all of the academic contract dorms have. The beds at Towers are full-size XL’s, which is a somewhat larger bed.
Kitchens: both have full kitchens. The Towers kitchens are larger and have a dishwasher. I don’t think LK has dishwashers.
Size: All of the rooms are larger in the Towers. Bedrooms are 10 feet wide; LK bedrooms are 8.5 feet wide, and that makes a difference.
Bathrooms: Towers are split plan, with the sets of bedrooms separated by the living room and kitchen. Each side has two bedrooms and one bathroom with a separate sink for each resident. LK bedrooms are in a line with two bathrooms opposite. The two toilet/shower areas are separated by two sinks shared by all four residents.
Living/dining rooms: Towers are somewhat bigger.
On the comparisons, don’t get me wrong. Any dorm at UCF is SO much better than what I had at UF!
You can see floorplans and dimensions on the UCF Housing webpage and make your own comparisons.
If you have other questions, fire away.
If living in Towers 3 meant you got housing for all 4 years- I would seriously consider that! Off campus requires the 12 month lease, so it would be better to be in Towers.
Towers is definitely nicer than Lake Claire- but I agree- all the dorm rooms are nicer than all other schools I have seen!
I would definitely NOT get the meal plan, especially right now.