[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by th3vault

UF is head and shoulders above all the other universities in the state.

FSU/UCF/USF are all lower Tier 1 universities and their strength is going to depend on the program and the type of college experience you want. UCF has strong engineering/comp sci college, probably more so than FSU...I don't know about USF. Due to the name and football success, FSU has slighlty more national reputation than UCF and USF but it is not all that much better of a university. You will get a more "traditional" college experience there, while everything is more modern and commuter friendly at UCF and USF. Of the three, I'd strongly recommend UCF for your major.

I'd recommend UCF.

This is half wrong/half right.

UF and FSU are the two best schools in the state. USF and UCF are the next best two. After that, as per that post, the rest holds true.

Truth be told, unless you're planning a career in academia, any of the 4 schools above would provide you a great education. UF and FSU are more of the "traditional" school models (ie, the college is the center of life in the town and students overwhelmingly come from all over the state and live at/near the school, but are not from there). All other major schools in the state are more commuter-ish, although USF and UCF are trying to change that. If you're looking for a traditional college experience, UF and FSU are your best bets. If that doesn't matter to you, and your major is the primary driver of your decision, UF and UCF probably are the schools to go to, but it might depend on how you like the atmosphere at each school.

[Liljo22]

Originally Posted by Kevin from Tampa

This is half wrong/half right.

UF and FSU are the two best schools in the state. USF and UCF are the next best two. After that, as per that post, the rest holds true.

Truth be told, unless you're planning a career in academia, any of the 4 schools above would provide you a great education. UF and FSU are more of the "traditional" school models (ie, the college is the center of life in the town and students overwhelmingly come from all over the state and live at/near the school, but are not from there). All other major schools in the state are more commuter-ish, although USF and UCF are trying to change that. If you're looking for a traditional college experience, UF and FSU are your best bets. If that doesn't matter to you, and your major is the primary driver of your decision, UF and UCF probably are the schools to go to, but it might depend on how you like the atmosphere at each school.

Miami and UF are by far the top two in the state. Both are top 50 schools in the nation. After that, you have FSU, UCF, and USF and then the rest.

[th3vault]

Originally Posted by Kevin from Tampa

This is half wrong/half right.

UF and FSU are the two best schools in the state. USF and UCF are the next best two. After that, as per that post, the rest holds true.

Truth be told, unless you're planning a career in academia, any of the 4 schools above would provide you a great education. UF and FSU are more of the "traditional" school models (ie, the college is the center of life in the town and students overwhelmingly come from all over the state and live at/near the school, but are not from there). All other major schools in the state are more commuter-ish, although USF and UCF are trying to change that. If you're looking for a traditional college experience, UF and FSU are your best bets. If that doesn't matter to you, and your major is the primary driver of your decision, UF and UCF probably are the schools to go to, but it might depend on how you like the atmosphere at each school.

UF is the best public school in the state and is in a category of its own. FSU is not in the same league. FSU is a lot closer to UCF/USF then it is to UF.

FSU is not better than UCF/USF in all areas like UF is. It is stronger in some areas especially humanities/liberal arts, but definitley not engineering and computer science. UCF is consistently rated as the second best engineering college in the state, behind only UF.

Overall, yes FSU is a somehwat better school than UCF/USF. But not for the OP's situation and major.

[th3vault]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

Kind of surprised no one's mentioned New College yet. I'd put it as better than U of F for undergrad education- no huge lectures where you're doing more with a TA than you are with an actual professor.

New College of Florida - A Public Honors College for the Liberal Arts

It's not the right fit for everyone, but for the people that go there, it's a classic northeast/midwest liberal arts college experience with Florida's dirt cheap tuition rates.

OP wants engineering/computer science. Those majors aren't available at NCF.

[Energy_Fin_Guy]

Originally Posted by th3vault

UF is head and shoulders above all the other universities in the state.

Really? Interesting how UM is the only one which squeezes into the top 50 according to USNews. Maybe you meant "public".

National University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges

[Energy_Fin_Guy]

Originally Posted by Liljo22

Miami and UF are by far the top two in the state. Both are top 50 schools in the nation. After that, you have FSU, UCF, and USF and then the rest.

Actually UF is not in the top 50.

National University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges

[Energy_Fin_Guy]

Originally Posted by CubanfromMiami

I also really like the look of University of Miami, 2nd best college in FL, but it's private and like $45,000/yr so out of the question.

Actually, it's the number 1. And they give lots of scholarships.

National University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges

[chopchop0]

UF by a long shot. It's a "public" ivy that provides a great value for your $.

Yahoo! Finance - Financially Fit (http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-108629-3902-0-best-values-in-public-colleges-2009-10?ywaad=ad0035 - broken link)

They also have traditionally recruited more National Merit Scholars from HS than any other university in the state

The Top Universities Recruiting National Merit Scholars

[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by Energy_Fin_Guy

Really? Interesting how UM is the only one which squeezes into the top 50 according to USNews. Maybe you meant "public".

National University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges

UF is not head and shoulders above any school in Florida. It's a good school, but I'd rank the major schools in Florida in tiers, and thusly...

UF
FSU

USF
UCF

FIU
FAU
UNF

UWF
FGCU

FAMU is kind of in a category all its own, being the only public HBCU in the state.

If you threw UM in to the mix, it would probably be the top school in the state, but barely...and it's private, so it's a LOT more expensive.

Now, all of this depends on major. If you're talking Engineering, then I'd rank them like this...

UF
UCF
FSU
USF

And then a case could be made to put any of the rest in some order after this.

[Energy_Fin_Guy]

Engineering:
UF
USF, UCF, UM
FSU
Florida Inst. of Technology, FAU, FIU