Anonymous wrote:Michigan and Virginia have always been great schools. Florida really is on the rise and the energy there is amazing. Schools rankings change and Florida is such a better school today then it was 20 years ago.

Yes!!! University of Florida is great. it's really a fine school, nice campus, well-respected in the real world that is beyond DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: U of Michigan, U of Florida and U of Virginia are the All Around Best schools. These three schools are all top 30 ranked schools based on US News and World Report that have strong Division IA sports teams, reasonable tuition (especially for in-state) and students/alumni that actually love attending the school.

Relating to the "top 10" thread, those schools only admit a small number of students (and those are typically legacy, minority, or sports hooks) and cost $75,000 plus per year.

Among the Publics, UC Berkeley, UCLA and U Mich are in a category of their own. All around great schools, many top programs - STEM and non-STEM. I'd add UVA to this category if your focus is exclusively on non-STEM. On par with most top Private schools. All other publics are a step below and you'd choose to attend one of them if the specific program you are interested in ranked high relative to the cost of attendance. For example, UC SD, U Wash, Austin, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Purdue, UMD are all great STEM schools, better than UVA in STEM and waaaay better than Florida. Actually not sure why Florida is ranked 30..

Are they really? If you survey UCLA and Berkeley undergraduate alumni in particular, would they think they had a great experience compared to other schools? I don't think they will (look at Niche, alumni giving rates). If you look at earnings and compare to other schools after adjusting for cost of living where graduates settle and what they major in, do they do better than other public schools? Again, I don't think so.

If you survey the alumni or ANY school, the majority of them will say they had a great experience. I have 2 friends, one works for the post office and the other is the CEO of a mid-size company. Both are extremely happy with their families/lives despite their disparities. Still doesn't negate the fact that the CEO dude's quality of life and life experiences are miles ahead of the other's.

I come across this POV all the time.. earnings adjusted for COL are the same across the country. That may be, at a point in time. However, over 30 years of employment, you also save and invest, buy homes that appreciate, have opportunities that don't even exist at other places, etc. Every friend of mine who chose to go the SF bay area is wealthier than I am. More than a handful of them own homes that are worth more than my 8-figure net worth. Where you begin your career (even if the COLA-adjusted starting salary is the same elsewhere) matters in the long run.

Compared to other schools they don't. If you look at data from Niche and USNWR, UCLA and Berkeley are average to below average in responses to questions on whether alumni got their money's worth, could they get needed classes, quality of teaching and professors interest in student success, and alumni giving rate. In every single category here they are below Michigan and UVA (and other public schools). They are way, way below private schools like Princeton and Duke.

It depends on the major. If your kid knows what they want to study, look first at the strength of the program. Then, if they plan to study something in demand, look at factors such as job placement services, alumni network, and internship opportunities. The strength of the specific program and preparation for real-world jobs is more important than the relative reputation of the school.

UM for sure. Uva/Florida not the same level as UM.

The start of recruiting season, hum?

This feels like the jealous hate towards Penn State. I recall one parent constantly putting down Penn State only for her daughter to attend Penn State after high school.

Anonymous wrote:What would make Florida better all around than UNC, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, etc.?

Not being in Florida.

LOL, what about W&M then, let alone Michigan OOS or Cal schools OOS?

Nothing is reasonable about UVAs tuition.

Anonymous wrote:My kid will probably be a NMF and he probably won’t get into UVA. He is exploring Florida, a school that I had no idea had gotten good.

Why do you think he won’t get in?

Michigan > UVA > Florida, overall in academics.

Look at the subject rankings for Michigan on Wikipedia. Is there any other school, other than Berkeley, that excels in such a ridiculous number of fields? Top 5's, top 10's, top 20's across the board.

Yeah sure, some of those are for graduate programs. Michigan is ranked top 7 for undergraduate teaching as well. Largest public endowment.

I'm not sure what makes UVA great, other than historical affiliation with Thomas Jefferson. Their rankings across the board are mediocre but they do are great for English.

Same with Florida, except its twice the size and doesn't have historical connections to famous people. It's ranked at 30, but I do consider it to be a weaker university academically than Texas, Washington, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois (for engineering) and most UC's. You should check what ranking factor boosts their ranking to be so high, and check whether that ranking factor matters to you.

I honestly would say UCLA fits those criteria better. It has top tier programs in engineering, humanities, film, etc. It has the second most national college championships in the country. Its graduate programs are excellent. The school also has a beautiful campus and the best dining hall food in the country. I would say its the most well-rounded school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would make Florida better all around than UNC, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, etc.?

Nothing. After UM, Cal and UCLA, these schools and UVA would be the next tier of flagships.

Florida would come in the next tier with Iowa, Georgia, Colorado and others.

That is your opinion. That is certainly not US News & World Reports Opinion. And that is not my opinion. My DC doesn't want to go to the West Coast and coming from OOS it makes getting into the UC schools extremely competitive. In fact, there was an article recently how they are making it more difficult for OOS students to get into California public universities. As posted earlier in the thread, U of Michigan wait listed and didn't accept lots of strong OOS students. UVA and U of Florida are easier to get into than Michigan. If you live in MD, getting into UVA is very difficult because the states are literally right next to each other.

Florida is ranked 30 nationally. Its currently ranked below U of Michigan and U of Virginia, but far above UMD and its ranked above others in your list. Honestly, I think students can get a great education on any of these schools and its the students personal choice as to fit. If a student doesn't like cold weather, Michigan is not for them. If a student wants nice weather in January, University of Florida is appealing.

Anonymous wrote:What would make Florida better all around than UNC, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, etc.?

Nothing. After UM, Cal and UCLA, these schools and UVA would be the next tier of flagships.

Florida would come in the next tier with Iowa, Georgia, Colorado and others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:University of Florida is on the rise and they are now a top Public university. The students love it and they are attracting top students across the US. I know at least 7 kids headed there in the fall. Three are National Merit students and the other 4 are strong academically too.

It gives free tuition for National Merit students.

But, how exactly is Univ of Florida much better than Univ of Washington (ranked 58 by US News)?

It's interesting that the reputation of the US colleges are largely controlled by a magazine that has been bankrupt for a long time. If for some reason US News drops a college by a few spots, then people scream that the college is in decline. Colleges kowtows to the magazine in order not to be punished.

Free tuition, room and board for NMF (non-residents Included) under the Benaquisto scholarship. That is true of all Florida public universities.

I think they are removing the out-of-state benefits for NMF. One of the reason my DC decided against going there. There was a risk that the program will be defunded.

My DD roommate has a full ride to U of Florida with the Benaquisto scholarship, your DC would have been grandfathered in if they changed it. Hope your DC does great wherever they selected and congratulations on them receiving NMF. You should be a proud parent on them receiving the NMF award!