The University of Florida has been named the No.1 college by City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute. The 2025 rankings included Florida State at No. 7 and the University of Miami at No. 52.
For its findings, the Manhattan Institute analyzed 68 factors across multiple categories, including return on academic investment, curriculum rigor, and the ideological imbalance of students and teachers, among others.
According to the Manhattan Institute, the University of Florida (UF) received a No. 1 ranking in commitment to meritocracy and student free speech, as well as second in return on education investment. The school, located in Gainesville, received four "stars" and an overall score of 71.78 out of 100.
"UF has no Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy to speak of, and its administration operates largely free from activist pressure. The school requires applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores—an important signal that it prioritizes academic merit over diversity metrics," the Institute wrote.
Gov. Ron DeSantis congratulated UF on its ranking in a post on X.
The University of Florida was also ranked the No. 1 college in America in a study done by WalletHub earlier this month.
At No. 7, Florida State University earned a No. 1 placement for commitment to meritocracy, and two third-place spots for student social life and value added to education. Overall, the Tallahassee school received three "stars" and a total score of 60.79 out of 100.
The University of Miami ranked at No. 52 on the list, earning a fourth spot for Jewish campus climate. Overall, the school earned two "stars" and an overall score of 45.12 out of 100.
The rest of the top ten included the University of Texas at Austin in second place, followed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Texas A&M University, the University of Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Purdue University, the University of Georgia, and Clemson University.
