UF may be climbing the ranks to preeminence, but Business Insider is now recognizing UF students at the national level as some of the brightest in the country.
On Monday, Business Insider released a ranking of the top 20 colleges with the smartest student populations. UF was ranked No. 20.
By using data put together by Niche, a college-ranking database based on student surveys and other factors, Business Insider combined the data of the smartest guys and girls to make its rankings.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said that although he questions the validity of the surveys, he thinks UF has some of the best students in the country. He believes the numbers back it up.
For the incoming Fall class of 2014, the average GPA was 4.4, and the average SAT score was 1960.
Orlando said what separates UF is the “competitiveness factor.” This year, out of more than 29,000 applicants, only about 13,000 were accepted.
“We unfortunately have to turn away lots and lots of highly qualified students,” he said. “The ones that are actually accepted are the cream of the crop.”
Orlando said there are some great schools on the list, but he believes UF should be ranked higher.
UF at No. 20 and New College of Florida at No. 9 were the only two schools from Florida on the list.
But Kevin Lin, a 20-year-old UF chemical engineering junior, said he was somewhat surprised that UF even made the list.
“I am a bit surprised, considering all of the very prominent and elite schools out there,” he said. “However, I think this is a good sign that UF is becoming one of the academically elite schools in the nation.”
Orlando said he didn’t think that this ranking would noticeably affect applications.
“Students and parents look at lots of different rankings, and there are lots of different rankings out there,” he said. “It sure can’t hurt.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 3/28/2014 under the headline "UF students ranked among brightest in country"]
