This year, Money magazine ranked UF No. 15 on its list of “Money’s Best Colleges,” up from No. 30 in 2015, according to a UF News release.
UF is now the highest-ranked Florida university on the list, and it has risen from No. 8 to No. 6 on the magazine’s list “The 50 Best Public Colleges.”
In Florida, Florida State University ranked 197, the University of South Florida came in at 356 and the University of Central Florida held its own at 408. Rankings were based on affordability, student success and quality of education.
“In part, it’s a result of Money magazine making minor adjustments to the various metric weighting schemes and can attribute to large changes in rankings,” UF spokesman Steve Orlando said. “For example, debt was 30 percent last year, and now it’s 40 percent with some sub-weights. But UF is also being noticed more and more widely nationwide every year in similar rankings, so it seems momentum is building.”
According to its website, Money magazine consulted experts on education and finance to analyze more than 700 colleges nationwide.
“Money uses sound methodology and relies on other reputable sources to create its rankings,” Orlando said.
The jump in ranking has left some students feeling optimistic.
“I think it’s great that our college was ranked so high, and I feel like this reflects the quality of the education that we receive,” said Kaitlin Daly, a 19-year-old UF animal science sophomore. “I hope we’ll rise even higher in the future.”
