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‘It’s a crazy thing’: FSU maintains no. 23 spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings

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‘It’s a crazy thing’: FSU maintains no. 23 spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings

Florida State University has not budged from last year in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s “2024-2025 Best Colleges” rankings.

While FSU remains in its No. 23 spot in the annual nationwide report, it is tied with University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the College of William & Mary – creating a sense of déjà vu as all three universities shared the same placement last year in the Top 25.

“We have improved dramatically as a university, but the data used in some of these rankings lags what is actually going on at the university,” FSU President Richard McCullough said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.

Last year, the university fell four spots from No. 19 in 2022 to No. 23 – a drop that kicked it out of the Top 20 during its strive to be one of the nation’s Top 15 public universities.

The slip – in spite of FSU improving in each of the report’s categories measured – came as a result of changes to the media company’s methodology. A retooling decision led to 22 metrics being changed to remove the factors of class size, alumni giving rates, the percentage of faculty with a terminal degree and students’ high school standing, which are all components FSU used to score well in.

FSU ranking in 2023: FSU slips to no. 23 in U.S. News rankings; president says that’s ‘odd’. Here’s why.

The Wall Street Journal and Niche also have their own rankings with vastly different results. A day before the U.S. News rankings were released, FSU boasted its achievement of being ranked No. 10 on Niche’s list of top national public universities, which brings the university up one spot from last year and is also FSU’s highest ranking in the category.

Comparing the U.S. News & World Report to Niche and other publications that rank FSU in their reports, McCullough said “the rankings are interesting.”

“I think we will continue to be where we are, but as we continue to improve, I expect that we’ll go up in the next few years,” McCullough said, referring to the U.S. News rankings. “You never know, they could change the metrics again. It’s a crazy thing.”

At the top of the list of national public universities, the University of California, Los Angeles came in first place followed by the University of California, Berkeley after both institutions were tied as No. 1 last year, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor was ranked No. 3 once again.

The University of Florida – which was ranked No. 6 last year – dropped one spot down to No. 7 in this year’s list, tied with the University of Texas, Austin.

Florida universities that significantly moved up the rankings include Florida International University moving up 18 spots from No. 64 last year to No. 46, Florida A&M University rising 10 spots to No. 81 and Florida Atlantic University going up nine spots to No. 103 as it inches closer to the Top 100.

Other FSU rankings in the U.S. News report

Although FSU stayed in the same spot in the U.S. News & World Report’s top public universities rankings, it rose in several other categories found in the report.

In the publication’s first-year experiences category – which ties to retention – FSU achieved a No. 7 ranking among public institutions and No. 1 in the state of Florida as it currently has a 96% freshman retention rate and a record 76% four-year-graduation rate.

The university also climbed two places to No. 35 among public universities in the U.S. News ranking’s social mobility category, which evaluates how well schools graduate economically disadvantaged students. FSU’s most recent cohort of Pell Grant recipients scored a six-year graduation rate of 83% while the university has an 86% graduation rate for the entire student population.

“Florida State University faculty and staff are dedicated to student success,” Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark said in a prepared statement. “Students are achieving excellence during their careers at FSU because of our teams that support their hard work as they build pathways to four-year graduation and successful careers.”

One of the university’s main highlights in the report’s additional ranking categories is the College of Nursing’s undergraduate program soaring 39 spots from No. 72 to No. 33 among public universities as undergraduate student enrollment at the nursing school has quadrupled over the past two years, according to the university.

“Our College of Nursing is killing it,” McCullough said. “They’re just really doing well. Our dean (Jing Wang) is amazing, and she’s doing an incredible job.

“For the students that come here, we do everything we can to make sure that they’re successful and continue to work hard on that.”

How Florida universities fared in the rankings

Here are the placements of the Florida State University System in the U.S. News & World Report’s “2024-2025 Best Colleges” rankings of public universities: 

  • 7. University of Florida  
  • 23. Florida State University  
  • 45. University of South Florida  
  • 46. Florida International University
  • 61. University of Central Florida  
  • 81. Florida A&M University  
  • 103. Florida Atlantic University
  • 126. University of North Florida  
  • 161. Florida Gulf Coast University  
  • (Not ranked) Florida Polytechnic University

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

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