Quad

Head-to-head

U. Central Florida
U. California-Irvine

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. California-Irvine grads earn $22.4K more ten years out than U. Central Florida's ($80,735 vs. $58,308)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    U. Central Florida costs about $15.9K less per year on average than U. California-Irvine ($17,649 vs. $33,527, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    U. California-Irvine graduates 15 pts more of its students than U. Central Florida (87% vs. 72%)

    Graduation rate
  4. 4

    U. Central Florida's yield is 14 pts higher than U. California-Irvine's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    U. Central Florida has 2.0× as many undergrads as U. California-Irvine

    Undergrads
  6. 6

    U. California-Irvine has 9 pts more first-gen students than U. Central Florida (44% vs. 35%)

    First-generation students

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

U. California-Irvine admits 29%, U. Central Florida 40%; U. Central Florida's yield is higher, at 34%.

Acceptance rate
U. Central Florida40%
U. California-Irvine29%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. Central FloridaVery selective
  • U. California-IrvineVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1100–1600
U. Central Florida
1200–1350
U. California-IrvineTest-blind
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. Central FloridaRigor, GPA, and tests very importantweighted GPAs
  • U. California-IrvineGPA, school record, rank, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

U. Central Florida is twice U. California-Irvine's size; U. California-Irvine has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. Central Florida59.1K
U. California-Irvine30.2K
Pell Grant share
U. Central Florida32%
U. California-Irvine36%

Majors and faculty

Psychology leads at U. Central Florida, and Biology/Biological Sciences at U. California-Irvine.

Students per faculty member
U. Central Florida28 to 1
U. California-Irvine19 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. Central FloridaPsychology, General10%
  • U. California-IrvineBiology/Biological Sciences, General10%

What each costs

U. Central Florida costs about $15.9K less a year than U. California-Irvine on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
U. Central Florida$17.6K
U. California-Irvine$33.5K
Aid generosity
U. Central Florida32%
U. California-Irvine27%

What each pays off

U. California-Irvine's former students earn more, a median $80.7K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. Central Florida$58.3K
U. California-Irvine$80.7K
Graduation rate
U. Central Florida72%
U. California-Irvine87%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. Central FloridaGrowing+85%
  • U. California-IrvineGrowing+84%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;University of Central Florida Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2026 applicants;University of Central Florida Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why