Who's got the best school? UF president Machen says he does

When given the chance to rank the nation's universities, UF president Bernie Machen grouped his school right up there with Harvard and Yale.

As for the other major Florida schools, such as FSU and the University of Miami, he knocked them down a peg.

The Gainesville Sun examined Machen's rating sheet for the annual US News & World Report college guide and found that he didn't mark any other Florida university even close to UF. Of course, Machen has long made clear his goal to get the University of Florida into the Top 10.

The headline of the article? "Playing the College Ratings Game."

It's a game that Eckerd College president Donald Eastman blasted as ridiculous.

"To say that Florida is better than Harvard or Columbia or such places is an exercise in hubris," Eastman told the Sun.

Given the recent mini-scandal over Clemson's gaming the system, we might be hard pressed to disagree with Eastman's dim view of the way these lists come to be. You?

Comments

[vicky cardoza]

Our school sucks and Harvard is much better than this dump !

[Proud alumni of FSU]

And just to add one more thing for everyone who will say I'm just a jealous seminole who couldn't get into UF... I was accepted to all the major Florida schools (UCF was not a contendor back then) and several out of state very awesome schools, but I chose FSU because it was the best financial choice and I felt like UF treats their students like numbers.. or maybe like pawns in the game they play.

[Proud alumni of FSU]

How ridiculous... 1st off, UF does have some good programs, as does every school out there. It used to have the best medical program, but with the partnership with Moffit, I'd say USF will soon win on that field. UCF beats them in business. FSU boasts the same number of nobel prize winners as UF.

I went to FSU and one of my professors was developing the first implantable blood vessel, I was taught by the man who developed the first true mass produced cancer therapy drug and as UF's website boasts, we too have congressmen, senators, (a governor btw), nobel and pullitizer prize winners, athletes and actors as our alumni. That being said, I also think UCF is the school to watch out for.

My friend's daughter was an ivy leaguer for undergrad, masters and then decided to go to UF for her phd to become a surgical specialist. She is looking to transfer now because of their lack of rigor and she is bored in general with the curriculum- does not sound like their "best program" is on par with the ivy leagues.

Everything I just said aside, I think nearly all schools offer the same caliber of undergraduate studies (for most majors) and there is no reason to go ivy league unless you have a scholarship or you are highly specialized. I came out of college debt free thanks to bright futures and other private scholarships, college level credit earned in AP and IB, and the stipends my college provided, (UF would only honor 30 of my 40+ credits and provide bright futures) and thats why I think the other schools are better choices.

UF is a cocky, drunken mess of a school. They have some great students, but most of their students are sub-par because of the lifestyle a boring city like G-ville promotes. They give out honorary degrees to have famous faculty like its going out of style and like the title of the list suggests, they just know how to play the game. I wouldn't send my kids there for sure.

[BULLS/KNIGHTSmom]

As a TRUE Ivy League graduate (UPenn) and a parent of 2UCF students, and 2USF students, I take offense that he evaluated his university equal to that of the REAL Ivy Leagues, and a peg down from other Florida universities.

An obvious bias and yet his university is no longer the BEST deal in town...and the IVY's aren't either.

I agree that UCF and USF are the sleeping giants slowly coming to take the top rankings out of his hand.

THAT is the reason he lowered their ranking, precisely BECAUSE he knows they are rising very quickly to challenge UF.

The only common thing that UF has with the IVY League universities is it has the OLDEST buildings of any Florida campus...moldy ones too.

I visited all of them when my sons were shopping and I really did my homework. Given that there is a scarcity of JOBS in Gainseville I thought it best that my boys remain in metropolitan cities (Orlando and Tampa) so that acquiring internships would be easier.

They are ALL currently working at internships or have graduated and have paid employment, even in these recessionary times.

Jobs with Phillips, Inc.(mech.engin.), HART(civil engin.),a nursing home(nursing), and Best Buys(business).

A better predictor of a truly cost effective education is where graduates find employment, and how long it takes them to find employment....not how well their football team or basketball team does in national standings.

[M]

Talking about how great you are and actually being great are two different things. Check out UCF. They are quietly becoming the best state university in Florida. And no, I didn't go there. If you do some research, you'll see many outside observers say that UCF is the university to watch. I'm not talking about athletics, but education and student experience.

[Cory]

This is great. Someone has a big head. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be proud of the school you are running, but UF on the same playing field as Ivy Schools, really? US News has all the data they need to produce a good list, where Florida falls on that list is appropriate. Also, love Eckerd's President for calling Machen out!