<p>The Princeton Review selected the schools based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private college and university campuses. </p>
<p>Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors' accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants. </p>
<p>The reports author states Value means not just that its cheap, It means that it has an excellent academic environment, that the teachers are amazing, that students are engaged academically That, in my mind, defines value.</p>
<p>I would put more wait on a survey like this than one done by a university president</p>
<p>The project coordinator of the “Best Value” rankings said that he didn’t get enough data from UF and about 100 other schools and didn’t have enough time to follow up for more information.</p>
<p>Part of UF and FSU’s success is that they are so cheap.
If they “go for the max,” not only will they drop on these rankings, but others as well.</p>
<p>It does not mean tuition is too cheap. Or else community colleges would be up there. It means that they are a really good value. I know a few people who decided to stay in Florida because the tuition less expensive here, when they got accepted to some very high-profile schools out-of-state. The attitude was pretty much like this: if they had to pay $30,000 in-state tuition, they might as well have taken their brains out-of-state. Raising UF and FSU’s tuition would reduce a lot of their appeal to those trying to decide whether to go out-of-state or remain in-state (or even whether to go to UF/FSU or other Florida schools). And a good university needs good students…</p>
<p>The cheap in-state-tuition is what keeps the good students INSIDE of Florida.</p>
<p>But I can see where you guys are going. You guys want more people from OUTSIDE of Florida to want to come here. But I just don’t think that will work because, for many reasons, the state of Florida wants its own students to go to college more than it wants out-of-state students in its schools. The state universities of Florida have always been here to serve Florida and its people.</p>
<p>No… “best value” doesn’t mean the cheapest. “Best Value” means the best education for your money. You won’t get a “quality” education from a CC no matter how cheap it is, that’s why CCs are not up there.</p>
<p>By the way, the state puts a 10% OOS cap on all state schools.</p>
<p>College ranking is VERY important to most schools. As stated in an article a schools rankings means more prestige, better applicants, and more donors It is Not something that would be easy neglected. If a school has a chance to be on a list to promote their school why would they not send in the data? Why would the Princeton Review have to keep after them. It seems a school would be eager to turn in information to get a good ranking. One possibility could be these schools didnt like what their ranking would be.-sorry may sound harsh but I think a little humility is needed here. As far as price, it has nothing to do with just cost. Check out the cost s of the other schools in the top ten and look at top 10 private schools. It has to do with how much cost to the student and the education he/she gets from it. FSU in their new budget cuts that will raise tuition are actually increasing financial aid to off set it for those that need it. I posted the last entry to show that FSU is a great school not to say UF is not. but its seems that many want to come into this forum and say other wise. True greatness does not come by lowering others.</p>
<p>As far as the other post about UF president rating his school, Us news is the number one ranking system used by parents and students-more than any other. I was really shocked to find out that a president of a university had such influence on it. To over rate UF and under rate FSU is just wrong. A lot of students and parents pick schools by these rankings and believe that they are best because of them. Therefore, because of the rankings these schools get students with higher gpas and sats. But what should really matter is when you get there how is it? I believe the Princeton Review ratings answers this the best. Ask yourself would you rather be in classes taught by a TA who has limited knowledge on a subject or a tenured professor who is, or close to, an expert in the field. If you dont understand something, do you want to be at a school where your professors are accessible to get your questions answered, where they actually answer your emails. Do you want to be in smaller classes where you can engage and ask questions? Where can you get the best education for the money you have to spend? When you graduate and land a job do you want a large chuck of your salary going toward paying student loans or graduate nearly debt free? Its a no brainer.</p>
<p>Quite frankly, a chancellor/president of one university is a poor judge of another university’s educational value. I am not referring to the amount of money a university is granted for research. Nor am I referring to a university’s reputation. I am referring to the quality of undergraduate education the university offers.</p>
<p>Mr Machen is entitled to his opinion. The greatest fault does not lie in his assessment, but in the methodology behind the rankings. USN&WR’s rankings are severely flawed and should not be used to choose a college.</p>
<p>From my point of view, UF is a superior university with respect to the sciences. FSU is a superior school with respect to the liberal arts. Because the sciences are linked to more monetary success, it makes sense that a science-oriented university should gain a higher reputation. </p>
<p>In my opinion, FSU and UF are equal in quality and are assets to the State of Florida. And, I suspect, that with time, UCF will attain equal status.</p>