Florida tops this list for higher education and these 10 universities lead the rankings

Edward Bunch III, Pensacola News Journal
Updated ·10 min read
3

*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the tuition cost for Keiser University.

Classes are about to start for the Fall 2023 semester soon in universities across Florida. Florida has made headlines this year for the state's decision making concerning learning material at both the adolescent and higher-education levels in schools across Florida among other hot-button cultural issues.

And even with that controversy, Florida still places high in regards to a college education. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis installed leadership at New College of Florida in Sarasota, the institution drew a record number of students this year despite criticism from students.

In the U.S. News & World Report's 2023 list of best states for pursuing higher education, Florida tops the list likely due to high rankings in factors like tuition and fees costs, two or four-year graduation rates and low debt at graduation.

Here are the 10 best Florida universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

Shakeup at New College of Florida: New College of Florida sees record enrollment after DeSantis shakeup, but at academic cost

10: Nova Southeastern University

Located in Fort Lauderdale on a 314-acre campus, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) ranks at ten on this list of Florida's best schools. U.S. News also ranks NSU at No. 219, a tie with Keiser University, for best universities in the nation and No. 97 in best-value schools.

Founded in 1964, the private institution had more than 6,000 undergraduate students enrolled for its Fall 2021 semester. NSU's acceptance rate is 93%, according to U.S. News, and they retain about 80% of those students through their undergraduate program.

Undergraduate applicants to NSU have the choice of including or excluding their SAT and ACT scores from their application.

According to NSU, their current student body is comprised of:

  • 6,971 undergraduate students

  • 10,073 graduate students

  • 4,188 professional students

  • 2,000 university school students

NSU's graduation rate is 71.8% and the percentage of graduates who start a career in the field they were trained in is 94%.

The university costs about $35,880 in tuition annually before scholarships or aid is factored in. Students leave the university with more than $30,000 in debt according to data from U.S. News & World Report.

9: Keiser University

Keiser University is in Fort Lauderdale and ranks ninth on this list of best Florida colleges and universities. It is also tied with NSU for the No. 219 on the list of best universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Founded in 1977, Keiser offers students a learning plan which has them take a singular class every four weeks.

According to U.S. News & World Report, about 96% of applicants get accepted into Keiser University. According to Keiser's website, about 13,000 students enrolled. Out of those enrolled, 60% of the student base is 25 or older and 76% work full- or part-time jobs during their program.

Keiser does not require scores from standardized tests like the SAT in order to be considered for admission. GPA is the only factor considered out of the typical requirements for college admissions. In order to be admitted to Keiser University, freshman applicants must provide the following information according to their website:

  • Verification of high school graduation or

  • Verification of GED completion or

  • Proof of graduation from a foreign institution comparable to a U.S. secondary school.

  • $55 for application fee.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, tuition costs for Keiser are estimated to be about $18,000 a semester or $36,000 a year after financial aid is considered. Representatives from Keiser University were unable to confirm tuition prices at the time of writing.

8: Florida Institute of Technology

Located in Melbourne at its 174-acre campus, the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) ranks eighth on this list and No. 202 on U.S. News & World Report's list of Best National Universities. The private STEM institution was founded in 1958.

According to U.S. News & World Report, the school only accepts 66% of applicants. Those admitted the previous school year had an average high school GPA of 3.72 and the middle 50%'s test scores ranged from 1150-1330 on the SAT and 24-30 on the ACT.

As of July 2023, FIT's tuition will cost about $43,000 annually. The institution has about 7,223 students enrolled, 3,200+ of whom are undergraduate students.

According to U.S. News & World Report about 59% of students graduate in four years, and students leave FIT with nearly $39,000 in debt on average. The mean salary of FIT graduates six years after graduation is $56,600 according to data from FIT.

7: Florida A&M University

Florida A&M University (FAMU), the sole Historically Black College or University (HBCU) on this list and one of four in the state, ranks seventh on this list and No. 202 on U.S. News & World Report's list of Best National Universities. It was founded in 1887 and has grown its main Tallahassee campus to 422 acres with nearly 10,000 students and several satellite campuses.

The institution has a 30% acceptance rate and 82% retention rate according to data provided by their website and the average scores for admitted first-time-in-college (FTIC) students in 2020-21 were a 3.67 GPA and 23 on the ACT.

According to FAMU, tuition and fees for students who live on campus cost $35,007 annually for out-of-state students and $23,062 for in-state students.

According to U.S. News & World Report, 27% of FAMU's students graduate in four years. The average debt for graduates of FAMU is about $26,000 but they also have a median starting salary of about $48,000 once they graduate.

6: Florida International University

Florida International University (FIU) is a public university located in Miami that was founded in 1972. FIU ranks sixth on this list and is tied for spot 151 on U.S. News & World Report's list of Best National Universities.

According to U.S. News & World Report, FIU has a 64% acceptance rate and about 42% of its students graduate on a four-year track. They assign incoming freshmen to one of a variety of pathways depending on their scores and GPA.

According to FIU, tuition and fees will cost about $26,000 annually for Florida residents living on campus and more than $38,000 for out-of-state residents. Enrollment at FIU is 56,000, and 61% of students are Hispanic.

Students will leave the university with about $19,000 in debt but start their careers with a median salary of $47,000.

5: University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is located in Orlando and was founded in 1963. UCF boasts having the largest enrollment class in the state and seventh-largest in the nation among universities and colleges, with more than 68,000 students studying at the institution. About 93% of its students are in-state residents.

UCF is ranked at five on this list and is tied for No. 137 on U.S. News & World Report's Nation Universities list. According to data from U.S. News & World Report, they have a 36% acceptance rate.

Data from UCF shows that their accepted first-time-in-college class had an average of 1334 on the SAT, 28.3 on the ACT and a 4.23 weighted GPA.

UCF estimates that the cost of attendance during the 2023-24 school year for those who live on campus will be about $24,000 for Florida residents and approximately $40,000 for out-of-state students.

4: University of South Florida

The University of South Florida (USF) is a public university founded in 1956 and serves more than 50,000 students across its main and satellite campuses. USF ranks fourth on this list of best Florida universities but is also tied for #97 in the U.S. News & World Report's best National Universities list.

The institution has a 49% acceptance rate according to U.S. News & World Report. Data from USF shows that the average scores of admitted students in Fall 2022 ranged from:

GPA: 4 to 4.50

SAT: 1240 to 1390

ACT: 27 to 31

USF's tuition and fees will cost $211.19 per credit hour for Florida residents and $575.01 per credit hour for out-of-state residents.

According to U.S. News & World Report, 60% of USF's students graduate on a four-year track and leave with a little more than $20,000 in debt. After graduating, these people end up starting their careers with a median salary of $48,000.

3: University of Miami

The University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, has nearly a century of teaching under its belt on its 239-acre campus. The private institution is ranked third on this list and tied for No. 55 on the best National Universities list by U.S. News & World Report.

More than 19,000 students attend the University of Miami, 73% of whom are likely to graduate in four years.

Last year, the university accepted 19% of nearly 50k applicants, who had an average of 3.8 for their GPA, 1380-1500 for the middle 50%'s SAT superscores and 31-34 for the middle 50%'s ACT superscores.

For the entire 2023-24 school year, tuition and fees will total $88,440 for undergraduates living on campus, $89,306 for undergraduates living off campus and $76,142 for students living with a parent/relative.

U.S. News & World Report says that students will leave the University of Miami with about $18,000 in debt and a median starting salary of nearly $55,000 upon graduating.

2: Florida State University

Florida State University (FSU), located in Tallahassee and established in 1851, comes in at second on this list of best colleges in the state. FSU is also tied for spots 19 and 55 on the Top Public Schools and best National Universities list by U.S. News & World Report.

FSU had nearly 45,000 students enrolled at the institution during fall semester last year, 73.5% of which were undergraduate students.

The middle 50% of students admitted for the Fall 2023 semester had average scores of 1340-1450 for their SAT, 29-33 for their ACT and a GPA between 4.3 and 4.6.

The tuition rates for a program vary by career and campus location. For an undergraduate student at the main Tallahassee campus, a Florida resident would pay about $215.55 per credit hour and an out-of-state student would pay about $721.10 per credit hour.

1: University of Florida

The University of Florida (UF), located in Gainesville, is ranked as the best university in Florida and tied for the spot of fifth-best in the Top Public Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The public university has been around since 1853 and has expanded its campus to about 2,000 acres.

According to U.S. News & World Report, UF only accepts 30% of its applicants. The middle 50% of students accepted into UF for the upcoming school year had scores of 1350-1490 for the SAT, 30-34 for the ACT and a GPA average of 4.4-4.6.

During the fall 2022 semester, UF recorded about 60,000 students enrolled. Tuition and fees will cost in-state students $149 per credit hour and out-of-state students $856 per credit hour regardless of whether they live on campus.

About 72% of UF's students will graduate on a four-year track. Students will leave the university with about $18,000 in debt, but graduates of UF have earned a median salary of approximately $55,000 when entering their career according to U.S. News & World Report.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida ranked 2023 best state for college: Top 10 universities