My kids graduated from a Florida High school that is about 2 hours from UF, 2 from UCF and 3 from FSU. Really, about the same number of kids went to each school (and plenty to the others too, with USF and FIU taking a number of them) Some were ‘FSU or die’ others wouldn’t step foot in Tallahassee (my nephew went to another high school near Tampa and didn’t even apply to FSU). Just personal choice, but UCF does seem to award more scholarships.
I will admit how surprised I was that so many chose UCF. One girl really could have gone anywhere. She was a top student, had a lot of awards for art, music, band, NHS, theater, etc. and she picked UCF. Money was not an issue. She received lead roles in theater immediately as a freshman and just loves it there.
UCF’s engineering program is always receiving awards. There was a big story a few years ago because students developed a prosthetic hand/arm on a 3D printer and the waiting list was years long because this hand was so fantastic.