Florida Public Universities- FSU & UF vs UCF & USF

College Search & Selection
1

<p>What is the best Florida public university to attend?</p>

<p>I think that is becoming a more and more difficult question to answer. Currently UF is clearly the best public university followed by a more distant FSU, then even more distantly USF & UCF. Consider this however, when FSU and UF were established (1851 and 1853) the vast majority of the state's population resided in north Florida while today central and south Florida hold the state's primary population centers. UCF and USF are both relatively new schools (1963 and 1956) but their locations put them at an advantage against the two state flagship universities. The Gainesville and Tallahassee MSAs are small compared to Orlando at roughly 2M and Tampa at 4M residents. With major metropolitan centers at their disposal, students at UCF and USF will certainly have better internship opportunities than their FSU & UF counterparts. A lot of people would probably agree living in Orlando or Tampa entails a higher quality of life than Gainesville or Tallahassee but thats up to each individual's personal preference. However, many students attending UCF and USF will have the advantage of living closer to home than those attending UF and FSU. </p>

<p>What is my point in all of this? My concern is that in 20 years UCF and USF will both be ranked better than FSU and possibly UF. Evidence of this is already mounting. If you review research expenditures at each university you'll find that UF has the highest at 636M followed by USF at 337M, FSU at 211M, and UCF at 141M. USNWR has listed USF and UCF as some of the nations top up-and-coming universities. As the years go by UCF and USF will inevitably continue to attract local quality students, but only time will tell whether or not they have what it takes to leapfrog over FSU and UF in the various rankings. If you're a prospective Florida college student I think this should be taken into consideration. If you chose UF or FSU you may be disappointed in later years to find your alma mater has fallen from the top to several regional universities. If you attend UCF or USF you risk your school's bright future never coming to fruition. </p>

<p>What do you all think of this? </p>

<p>As a prospective student myself, I think UF is still a safe choice. It's the best right now by a pretty wide margin. I think it could be a tossup between the other three though, and as UF isn't an option for me, I'll soon be choosing between one.</p>

<p>(Notes: 1. When I say any one school is better than another I mean for overall academics, not specific programs. 2. NCF wasn't taken into consideration because its a small LAC, not a large university. FIU is also noteworthy but doesn't show as much promise as UCF and USF do. 3. All figures referenced were from Wikipedia, therefore of questionable reliability.)</p>

2

<p>I think your premise is wrong. You’re looking at schools too simplistically, too influenced by ratings designed to sell magazines.</p>

3

<p>A school with more national recognition is certainly a good thing, especially if you’re trying to get a job. If your school isn’t in these magazines it doesn’t necessarily reflect well on your school.</p>

4

<p>This isn’t a horse race between these schools…it is possible that they can all move up. Of course that becomes harder and harder the higher they go. Hopefully, as the state comes out of the recession, and tuition constraints are freed up, that is exactly what will happen.</p>

5

<p>A few points to consider:</p>

<p>-UCF and USF supporters have been proclaiming, for the last 20 years, that their school will “soon” outrank the flagships. It still hasn’t happened yet, and probably won’t in our lifetime.</p>

<p>-The gap between FSU and UCF/USF is larger than the gap between UF and FSU.</p>

<p>-Research expenditures can be misleading. USF shows a high number because of their mature medical school and nothing else. </p>

<p>-Outside of the state, UF and FSU carry the most weight. The rest are still considered to be regional/commuter schools.</p>

<p>-At the end of the day, it really won’t matter if you attended UF or UWF. It’s up to the individual to create and dictate its own future.</p>

6

<p>By the way, Gainesville has been highly rated in national publications for its quality of life.</p>

7

<p>I always have to throw in a mention of New College when one of these threads come up. Public schools are in a tough spot because of all the state politics involved. I’m not familiar with the particulars of Florida, but I would suspect UF and FSU boosters will do everything in their power to keep themselves as the top 2. </p>

<p>Also its important to remember that research is an overstated factor in undergraduate education. In graduate education, its an oversimplification to look at all the research programs as a whole. Inside a specific field people will know which schools are the best for that field, whereas the public is generally oblivious.</p>