University of Miami Breaks into Top 50

Kyle Munzenrieder August 20, 2009 11:23AM

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I don't think anyone is going to start throwing around the term "Florida Ivies" anytime soon, but for the first time, two Sunshine State schools rank in the top 50 of US News & World Report's annual college rankings.

Getting a slight bump from the 51st spot last year, University of Miami officially enters the top 50 at 50. But UM, being the Rodney Dangerfield of academics, never gets any respect and shares the spot with Tulane, relegating the U once again to page 3 on the website's rankings. But regardless, are we really coming to a time when UM is taken more seriously as an academic institution than a football squad?

University of Florida ties for the 47th spot with University of Texas in Austin and Penn State. So, technically UF is only one spot higher than UM.

Harvard and Princeton tie for top honors, while Duke comes in at number ten, making it the best school in the South.

Florida State University is the only other ranked school in the state, coming in at number 102. USF and UCF come in as Tier 3 schools. Other area universities, such as Barry, FIU, FAU, and Nova Southeastern, are relegated to Tier 4 status.

In any event, it's a better showing for Florida than Forbes' bizarro list. Especially for UM, which came in at an insulting 479th.

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