Well all you hear about Cal is that EVERY class is 1000 students and student have to watch online or sit on the floor, that the UCLA dorms are stacking them in like cord wood. True for a few, generally an exaggeration and plenty of ways to work around it. Most UF students are accepted to the old fashioned programs.
The money from BF is really really hard to pass up to go to another similar OOS school. Is VaTech $100k better than UCF? Is Alabama worth it? To the OP, Alabama may be worth it over FSU if the student gets high merit aid.