Top Central Florida Colleges: What You Need to Know for Admission

Central Florida has an excellent selection of colleges and universities. In Central Florida, if you are ready to pursue higher education, you should definitely browse through the information about each school and see what they have to offer. In addition, you should also check what they are looking for in potential students. When researching top Central Florida colleges, using a college admission writing service can help you write a winning application. UKWritings.com is known for providing tailored admission writing support, making it relevant to your college application process. In this guide, you’ll get a thorough understanding of the best colleges in Central Florida and how you can get accepted into them. 

Central Florida’s College Landscape 

Central Florida includes many large public universities and several small private colleges. Each is good at different things. Some are good research universities and some are not. Some are for business, some are for engineering. In any event, when you are looking at colleges, you want to look at the ones that are right for what you want to do. 

University of Central Florida (UCF) 

Orlando is home to more than 230,000 people and the location of the University of Central Florida (UCF), one of the largest in the country with more than 70,000 students. UCF’s biggest programs are in engineering, computer science and hospitality management. 

What UCF Looks For 

When preparing your application for top Central Florida colleges, a reliable college paper service can assist in creating polished essays and documents. What UCF is really looking for is for you to be successful in the university so they are looking at high school grades and scores mostly from class selection and test scores. SAT and ACT scores will factor in for scores. But the other part is really what you are doing outside the classroom. Whether it is clubs, sports, any kind of volunteer work, that is going to help your application. 

Admission Requirements 

To get into UCF, you usually need: 

• A high school diploma or equivalent 

• A GPA of 3.0 or higher 

• Good SAT or ACT scores 

• Completed required high school classes 

UCF also wants to know if you have challenged yourself in high school with Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. 

Rollins College 

Rollins College is a small private liberal arts college in Winter Park on the fringes of Orlando. It has an enrolment of only around 3,000 students, compared with UCF’s 52,000, but its campus is lovely and programmes in business and the social sciences are good. 

What Rollins Looks For 

Basically, they want people who care about things, people who want to learn… they may want students to have had a strong record in secondary school, but they also want students not just with a good GPA but also with things to show. They want students who have gone the extra mile to take a challenging class, or to work on a community project, or to act in a play, or to do any of a number of things that can help them understand what kind of student they might become. 

Admission Requirements 

To apply to Rollins, you’ll need: 

• A high school diploma or equivalent 

• A strong academic record 

• SAT or ACT scores (optional for some applicants) 

• Letters of recommendation 

• A personal essay 

At Rollins the whole story of your application isn’t a few numbers in the academic column, it’s you – for real.  

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a strange place. In a good way. It is an aeronautical science and aerospace engineering school with its main campus in Daytona Beach. Go there if you want to fly a plane or tinker with one or, you know, space. 

What Embry-Riddle Looks For 

Since Embry-Riddle needs students whose main interests are clearly in aviation and space, they select those who are likely to stay until graduation, especially those with good grades in high-school science and mathematics classes. During the application process, they look for evidence of your interest, such as whether you’ve ever flown before, or had any other aerospace exposure. But you don’t have to be a pilot to be considered. 

Admission Requirements 

To apply to Embry-Riddle, you’ll need: 

• A high school diploma or equivalent 

• A strong background in math and science 

• SAT or ACT scores 

• A personal essay 

• Letters of recommendation 

If you’re applying to the pilot scheme, for example, you may have to meet certain additional conditions – such as a medical check-up. 

Stetson University 

Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, located about an hour north of Orlando, where the main campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) is. It houses a liberal arts college and a law school. Stetson’s undergraduate enrollment is much smaller than that of UCF: around 4,000 students. 

What Stetson Looks For 

Stetson looks for students who are curious and reflective, students who have done well in high school and also participated in their communities, students who have challenged themselves with difficult courses and have interests outside of school. 

Admission Requirements 

To apply to Stetson, you’ll need: 

• A high school diploma or equivalent 

• A strong academic record 

• SAT or ACT scores (optional for some applicants) 

• Letters of recommendation 

• A personal essay 

Talking about his admissions process, Stetson says: ‘we look at the whole application in order to get to know you as an individual and not simply your grades and test scores.’ 

Comparing Central Florida Colleges 

Tips for Applying to Central Florida Colleges 

Now that you know about some of the top schools in Central Florida to apply to, here are a few tips as you move forward with your applications: 

Start Early 

There’s no reason to get it done all at once, and there are benefits to starting college application preparation early. If you’re shy, you don’t want to ask for your letters of recommendation during senior year. In other words, plan to begin thinking meaningfully about where you might apply to colleges during your junior year of high school. Then you’ll have time to take campus tours, prep for tests, write drafts of applications and essays, and send out polished and compelling applications.  

Know the Deadlines 

There’s a deadline for each college, and some colleges have early decisions or early action – where you apply early and hear back early. Could you give me a general sense of what the deadlines are for all the colleges? 

Take Challenging Classes 

Those other schools, too, like to see that in high school you took classes that challenged you. If your high school has an Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or honors programme, take classes in that programme, especially ones in subject areas in which you already excel or enjoy. 

Get Involved 

Beyond the classroom, colleges will also look for other activities you engage in: clubs, sports, volunteer work, or something else you do. Colleges like to see that you can handle doing more than one thing at a time. 

Prepare for Tests  

Almost all colleges require (or strongly encourage) that you take the SAT (more correctly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Testing). Begin thinking about these tests in the first semester and take practice tests (for free) online (or take the SAT or ACT prep course or have a tutor). 

Write a Strong Essay 

Don’t waste this chance to allow the admissions office to get to know you. Remember, your college essay is your opportunity to reveal yourself to the admissions office – separate and apart from the impersonal data that your GPAs and test scores represent. Take the time to write and edit it as many times as necessary until the essay is as polished as its mirror-image reflection on your laptop. Have your family or a trusted friend review your essay and provide feedback. 

Ask for Recommendations Early 

Almost every college will want letters of recommendation from your teachers. Ask for them early, and allow your teachers plenty of time to write strong letters on your behalf. 

Visit Campuses 

I would definitely visit the campuses of those colleges if possible, to get a feel for the school and to see if you feel like it is a good fit. Some colleges offer virtual tours online if you can’t physically visit. 

Making Your Final Decision 

Once you have completed your applications to colleges and received any acceptances, you will have the enemy to choose where to enroll. Here are some things to consider when deciding: 

Academic Programs 

Decide if programmes are offered in which fields you want to study; look for catalog class listings and special opportunities such as research or internships. 

Cost 

College is expensive. Please look at the total amounts (tuition, room and board, fees) which you will need to pay for each school. Also, please consider how much scholarship or financial aid each school is offering you. 

Campus Life 

Would you prefer to go to a school with lots of extracurricular activities or one with a small-community feel? 

Location 

Think about how many miles from home you will be. Would you like to be far away? Out of town? Or close? Think about the surroundings of the college. Would you like to live in a large city (like Orlando)? Or a small town (like DeLand)? 

Your Gut Feeling 

Sometimes you just know, based on everything you know, which school is right. That little voice inside your head that says ‘this is the right school’ is what I call your inner coach. If you can defend your intuition with ‘reason why’, go for it. 

College choice is a major step in your life and you want to make the right choice, but in reality there is no ‘right’ choice. Any of these best universities in Orlando listed will provide a good college education so long as you make the most of it while working hard. 

So if you can figure out what these colleges have and what they want from their freshmen, you can write a solid application and gain admission to a college that will be the best school for you. Good luck with your college search and your applications.