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According to the highly cited annual college rankings from US News and World Report, the University of Miami is not only the best college in Florida, but the 47th best in the entire country. However, according to Forbes magazine’s rankings, UM is only the 221st best college in the country and fourth in Florida. Yeah, it’s a weird list that also claims Florida International University is better than the University of South Florida.
>Forbes uses a vastly different methodology than most other college rankings. Editor Michael Noer explains:
Our annual ranking of the 650 best undergraduate institutions focuses on the things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt. Unlike other lists, we pointedly ignore ephemeral measures such as school “reputation” and ill-conceived metrics that reward wasteful spending. We try and evaluate the college purchase as a consumer would: Is it worth spending as much as a quarter of a million dollars for this degree? The rankings are prepared exclusively for Forbes by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a Washington, D.C. think tank founded by Ohio University economist Richard Vedder.
Not a single Florida school cracks the top 100, though Rollins College comes in at 133. That’s the best showing for a Florida School. Rollins was also ranked the number one regional university in the South East by US News, but wasn’t eligible for the national list because it doesn’t offer doctoral programs.
Here’s the rest of the Florida schools on the list with their national rankings:
- 133. Rollins College
- 137. University of Florida
- 193. Florida State University
- 221. University of Miami
- 292. Eckerd College
- 294. New College of Florida
- 377. Stetson University
- 426. Florida Southern College
- 485. The University of Tampa
- 490. The University of West Florida
- 491. University of North Florida
- 505. Florida Institute of Technology
- 516. University of Central Florida
- 531. Florida International University
- 553. Florida Atlantic University
- 556. Barry University
- 561. University of South Florida
- 592. Embry Riddle
- 617. Nova Southeastern University
- 633. Lynn University
- 636. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
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