Best Colleges in Florida (2024)

Bill Townsend
11/12/2024 | 6 Min Read

Table of Contents

As if great year-round weather and plenty of fun things to do weren't enough of a draw to the Sunshine State, Florida is also home to several of the best colleges and universities in the country. If you're looking for a superb higher education and great campus life, Florida should be at the top of your list.

Whether you live in-state or out-of-state, you should consider Florida when deciding where to get your bachelor's degree. Here are our rankings of the top colleges in Florida as you narrow down your options and consider different academic programs.

10 best colleges in Florida

There are several excellent colleges and universities in Florida, so it's hard to narrow a list down to just 10 options. However, these schools are worth a second look in no particular order.

University of Florida

Location: Gainesville

Acceptance rate: 30%

Undergraduate enrollment: 34,876

In-state tuition: $6,381

Out-of-state tuition: $28,659

Six-year graduation rate: 91%

As a public school, the University of Florida generates over $1.2 billion each year to equip their scientists, doctors, and investors for research. The university also does a great job of retaining their students - over 97% of freshmen students return for their sophomore year. Go Gators!

Florida State University

Location: Tallahassee

Acceptance rate: 37%

Undergraduate enrollment: 33,593

In-state tuition: $5,656

Out-of-state tuition: $18,786

Six-year graduation rate: 83%

Florida State University's award-winning faculty bring in over $300 million each year for ongoing research. You can take on-campus or online classes from Pulitzer Prize winners and Fulbright scholars at a school that ranks among the top 20 public universities in the entire country.

University of Miami

Location: Coral Gables

Acceptance rate: 28%

Undergraduate enrollment: 12,089

Average tuition: $54,760

Six-year graduation rate: 84%

Here, you'll be following in the footsteps of fellow Hurricanes like The Rock, Sylvester Stallone, and Enrique Iglesias if you choose to represent the green, white, and orange at the University of Miami - a private school in South Florida.

Miami is well-known for the work taking place at the Miller School of Medicine, but you'll also find students conducting studies in fields like marine science, computer science, engineering, and psychology.

University of South Florida

Location: Tampa

Acceptance rate: 49%

Undergraduate enrollment: 38,011

In-state tuition: $6,410

Out-of-state tuition: $17,324

Six-year graduation rate: 75%

A large percentage of students at the University of South Florida's (USF) main campus in Tampa are part-time and nonresidential. USF works hard to cater to different types of learners and equip each student on their path to success. The school includes 14 colleges and offers 180 majors, ranging from marine science to business to medicine and health care.

University of Central Florida

Location: Orlando

Acceptance rate: 36%

Undergraduate enrollment: 59,996

In-state tuition: $6,368

Out-of-state tuition: $22,467

Six-year graduation rate: 75%

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is one of Florida's largest universities. Like the University of South Florida, UCF is a primarily nonresidential school with a significant number of part-time undergraduate students. The school is well-known for its growing space program, but you'll have 13 colleges and over 240 degree programs to choose from.

Florida International University

Location: Miami

Acceptance rate: 64%

Undergraduate enrollment: 46,415

In-state tuition: $6,565

Out-of-state tuition: $18,963

Six-year graduation rate: 67%

Florida International University (FIU) was one of the first four universities in the nation designated as a United States Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence. FIU offers numerous intelligence-related courses and prepares students to enter intelligence careers for the government. It's an excellent school for anyone looking to pursue a career in U.S. intelligence.

Florida A&M University

Location: Tallahassee

Acceptance rate: 35%

Undergraduate enrollment: 7,301

In-state tuition: $5,785

Out-of-state tuition: $17,725

Six-year graduation rate: 55%

You'll find Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Florida A&M University just down the street from Florida State in Tallahassee. Around one-third of their students major in STEAM-related fields, and the school was named the top HBCU for research and development by the National Science Foundation.

Florida Institute of Technology

Location: Melbourne

Acceptance rate: 66%

Undergraduate enrollment: 3,491

Average tuition: $43,246

Six-year graduation rate: 66%

The Florida Institute of Technology is a private institution and the smallest school we've talked about so far. Although their student body isn't the largest, their high-tech, hands-on program is research-driven and has trained multiple astronauts in addition to the first four-star female general in U.S. military history.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Location: Daytona Beach

Acceptance rate: 72%

Undergraduate enrollment: 8,916

Average tuition: $39,066

Six-year graduation rate: 62%

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a private college that is well-known for training pilots, but they've expanded to offer over 100 degrees since opening in 1928. Since then, over 155,000 alumni have graduated and gone on to have a major impact in aerospace and related industries.

University of North Florida

Location: Jacksonville

Acceptance rate: 77%

Undergraduate enrollment: 14,167

In-state tuition: $6,389

Out-of-state tuition: $20,793

Six-year graduation rate: 67%

The University of North Florida (UNF) sits in the northeastern corner of the state. UNF holds a Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation, a high honor given to the top 5% of universities in the United States. According to their website, "Community engagement describes collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity." A whopping 85% of UNF students participate in internships and real-world experience during their time in school.

Honorable mentions

We don't want this list to go on forever, but we do want to mention a few more awesome Florida schools in case you're interested in doing some extra research:

What is the No. 1 college in Florida?

OK, so it's great to know what the top 10 schools are, but which one is the best? That's a hard question to answer. First of all, we think all 10 of the schools in these rankings are great, so it's hard to put one of them above all the others.

Also, we don't know you very well yet (but, we're sure you're awesome). Typically, the best college for each person depends on what factors and criteria they find most important. Consider things like student life and potential graduate degrees should you want to continue your education. Or, you may want to consider the athletics department as a factor in choosing the best school for you.

To decide what school is best for you, think about what you're looking for in a college and what type of college experience you want to have. That said, many people look at the University of Florida and Florida State University as two of the best schools in America. They're both great schools and UF boasts a low student-to-teacher ratio and one of the highest annual starting salaries for graduates, while FSU is the second-best producer of Fulbright Scholars in the country.

If you aren't sure what schools from these rankings to look at first, you might start with these two schools.

How to choose the best Florida college for you

There's a lot that goes into choosing a school, but we're here to help you develop a methodology and think about what's most important. Here are a few things to keep at the top of your mind as you search:

Make a list of potential schools. Give yourself plenty of initial options to choose from. As you move forward and do your research, you'll narrow down your list.
Write down your wants and needs. This is where you get to be picky. What aspects or traits are you looking for in a college? What degree programs are you searching for? Are you most interested in a research university or a liberal arts college?
Visit your top choices. Once you narrow your list down to two or three options, you should make plans to see the school in person. This can give you a chance to experience what the school is like in person. You can also speak with faculty members or admissions counselors and ask any questions you have.
Compare financial aid offers. Many students dream of graduating college with little to no debt. If this is important to you (and you're strongly considering multiple schools), the decision might come down to which college can offer you the best scholarship package.
List the pros and cons of each school. After you compile all this information, it's time to think critically about your options and decide on what school you'll attend.

As you think about different schools, you may also want to consider what undergraduate and graduate programs the school offers, what the campus environment is like, and how large the school is.

The school's location also matters. Would you rather live in St. Petersburg or Fort Myers, or do you prefer somewhere like Boca Raton?

College Rover can help you during your college search

By now, you know a little more about how to look for the best Florida colleges and how to narrow down the options on your list as you think about what school is the best fit for you. Once you create a list of schools to look at, you'll be one step closer to finishing up enrollment and beginning your work on your bachelor's degree.

Take advantage of College Rover's online database to get more help searching for colleges and universities. College Rover is here to make the process of searching for colleges a little more awesome by giving you easy access to a ton of useful data that will help you narrow down potential schools.

You can even make a spreadsheet of your top choices to share with family and friends and get their input on your decision.

College Rover gets the majority of its data directly from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The DOE publishing schedule "lags" the most current data which some colleges post on their official websites. This may cause there to be a difference in the data you see on College Rover and an individual college website. College Rover's website is updated as the DOE data becomes available and is configured for the College Rover website.