UF ranked third on SmartMoney magazine's list of 50 universities that get their alumni the highest salaries in relation to what they spent on tuition.
The list included public, private and Ivy League schools. The first 18 schools on the list were public universities, with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots respectively. Three Ivy League schools - Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth - are all listed before the first private school on the list, Carnegie Mellon University.
In the study, alumni of each university were broken down into two groups: recent grads and mid-career grads. Researchers then divided the median annual salary of each group by tuition costs at the time of attendance.
The end solution, or "payback ratio," determined how the schools ranked. The higher the payback ratio, the better the return on tuition investment.
UF's payback ratio was 191, with recent grads making $45,000 and mid-career grads making $84,000. Georgia Tech topped the list with a payback ratio of 221.
The study used out-of-state tuition rates, which puts in-state students, who comprise 97 percent of undergraduates at UF, at a higher advantage in terms of investment.
But even out-of-state Gators' wallets are safe. UF's four-year tuition costs were the lowest on the chart at $73,476. That's $4,481 behind the next lowest, the University of Georgia.
However, the article said the study was less than perfect because it didn't consider financial aid and scholarships.
The survey also didn't consider any amenities unique to a university that might be invaluable to a student's experience.
Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that corporate recruiters rated UF among the top 10 universities they hire from.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said UF is unique also because all of its colleges are in one central location.
"We are one of the most comprehensive universities in the country," Orlando said. "If you want to study it, we have it, and it's probably right here on this campus."
