2024 Best Colleges in Florida

The University of Florida is about two miles away from downtown Gainesville, a college town bolstered by the school’s more than 50,000 students. The Florida Gators sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference, and are supported by mascots Albert and Alberta the Alligators. The Gator football team, which competes in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – commonly called the "The Swamp" – is particularly notorious. The team became the namesake of popular sports drink Gatorade in 1965, after freshmen Gators participated in an experiment with the novel beverage. The annual Gator Growl, held each Homecoming weekend, has been called the largest student-run pep rally in the nation. About 15 percent of students are involved in the school’s 60-plus fraternities and sororities. Freshmen do not have to live on campus, though more than 75 percent opt to do so. All students can partake in Gator Nights, held every Friday, which offer free late-night entertainment and midnight snacks.

At Florida State University, a public school in Tallahassee, students have more than 600 organizations to consider joining. The Florida State Seminoles sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I and are known for baseball and football.

Located in Southern Florida, the University of Miami has an ideal location for students who love the outdoors. With popular spots like South Beach, the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park nearby, students have plenty of opportunities for water sports, hiking and sunbathing. Downtown Miami, also near to the school, is a thriving sports and cultural center. On campus, 2,500 students are involved in nearly 30 fraternities and sororities. Students can also choose from more than 290 clubs and organizations to join. Freshmen are required to live on campus and can live in one of the school’s five residential colleges. Modeled after the housing setup at England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities, the different communities combine living and learning with communal meals, poetry readings, sports and other activities. Freshmen who don't live in university housing are paired with an on-campus representative through the Commuter Assistant Program to help ease the transition into college. University of Miami Division I sports teams are known as the Hurricanes and compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The school’s mascot is Sebastian the Ibis, a species of marsh bird that is known for weathering tropical storms.

The University of South Florida, or USF, is a large public school that is committed to research. The school has a sizeable commuter population and offers bus transportation and a commuter network to accommodate students who don’t live on campus.

Florida International University is a public school in Miami. Hispanic students make up about 60 percent of the student body.

The University of Central Florida is based in Orlando and has regional campuses throughout the middle of the state. The school has more than 350 clubs and organizations for students to consider joining.

Located in Tallahassee, Florida A&M University is a historically black institution that offers a range of degrees to students of all races. The university, more commonly known as FAMU, offers more than 100 student organizations and several fraternities and sororities to join.

Founded in 1964, Florida Atlantic University is a public institution. The school has 38% of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and the student-faculty ratio at Florida Atlantic University is 22:1.

Founded in 1964, Nova Southeastern University is a private institution. Nova Southeastern University offers a Greek system, where 4 percent of the student body is involved in a sorority and 5% is involved in a fraternity.

Located in Jacksonville, the University of North Florida offers many opportunities for students to explore campus media via a website, magazine, TV station and radio station. The UNF Ospreys intercollegiate teams are cheered on by Ozzie Osprey, their feathered mascot.