<p>The pool of applicants at UCF is a LOT more competitive than the pool of applicants at USF. In the Fall of 2008, UCF enrolled over 60 National Merit Scholars in their freshman class, which ranked 34th in the entire United States and second in Florida behind the University of Florida. USF, in the other hand, is ranked last out of the five major state universities in that category. However, it’s good to keep in mind that the Tampa area is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Florida and with the current state of budget cuts and their effects on university enrollment, more students have been staying near their home (i.e. USF). In fact, in an attempt to lose their “commuter school” tag, USF will be forcing all accepted 2009 freshmen to reside in on-campus housing. The only exception is if the student lives within the metro Tampa area, in which case they would be allowed to live at home and commute to campus. All state universities are taking advantage of the budget cuts and while cuts are never a good thing for a university, they are helping the SUs in collectively improving their enrollment statistics. So, undoubtedly, you will see tougher standards across the board. However, as stated earlier in this thread, acceptance rates are not the best judge of the quality of an institution. In fact, there are many organizations out there right now that attempt their best to “rank” schools based on different categories such as value, progress, and even specific programs of study. For example, Kiplinger releases an annual list of “Best Value” universities based on academic quality and price tag. Here are the five Florida schools that made the top 100 best value list.</p>
<p>02 - University of Florida
08 - New College of Florida
17 - Florida State University
42 - University of Central Florida
75 - University of South Florida</p>
<p>(No other Florida institutions made the list)</p>
<p>In another ranking, US News & World Report ranked the “Best Colleges: Up-and-coming National Universities” based on peer assesments from other, sometimes older, national institutions. Only twenty U.S. institutions made the list in the following ranking including two Florida schools.</p>
<p>01 - George Mason University
02 - Clemson University
03 - University of Southern California
04 - Arizona State University
05 - University of Maryland–Baltimore, County
06 - Drexel University
07 - University of Central Florida
07 - Portland State University
09 - University of San Diego
09 - University of North Carolina–Charlotte
09 - University of California–Riverside
09 - University of South Carolina–Columbia
09 - Azusa Pacific University
14 - University of California–San Diego
14 - Ohio State University–Columbus
14 - University of California–Irvine
14 - Northeastern University
14 - Indiana University-Purdue University–Indianapolis
14 - University of South Florida
14 - Ball State University</p>