<p>Sharmini Pitter remembers dancing to Latin beats until dawn among tiki torches and digital screens on the Mexican beach two summers ago. </p>
<p>The geology senior was one of 1,805 students to study abroad during the 2004-05 school year. A recent report ranked UF at No. 6 - up five slots - in the number of students it sends out into the world to earn college credit. </p>
<p>The report, called the Open Doors report, is published by the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit educational and cultural exchange organization. </p>
<p>Pitter said that studying abroad "helps you understand more about yourself because you're out of your normal, everyday perspective." </p>
<p>"It allows you to look at the way life could be if you gave yourself more freedom to travel and meet new people," she said. </p>
<p>Pitter enjoyed Mexico so much that she studied in New Zealand for seven months the next year. </p>
<p>This past Fourth of July, she relaxed in a hot tub nestled between cars in a Kiwi hostel parking lot. Snow-capped mountains lined her view as she soaked away the six-hour hike across a glacier. </p>
<p>Dennis Jett, the dean of UF's International Center, said UF students are realizing that they will need to compete in a global marketplace when they graduate and that studying abroad gives them invaluable international experience. </p>
<p>"It enhances their resumes," he said. </p>
<p>Jett said another reason more UF students are studying abroad is because its faculty members have an international focus. </p>
<p>For example, UF professor Terry McCoy won UF's 2006 Senior Faculty International Educator of the Year Award for his work in Latin American business. Two other faculty members - Karen Kainer, who researches tropical forest management in Latin America, and Guido Mueller, who researches waves created in space - received the award as well. </p>
<p>In addition, UF moved up six slots to No. 12 in the Open Door rankings for the number of international students on campus. During the last school year, UF boasted 3,749 international students. </p>
<p>Jett said about 90 percent of the international students are graduate students, and most of them come to UF to study hard sciences. </p>
<p>"It reflects the strength of the institution in those areas and its reputation that it continues to grow," he said. </p>