New rankings from the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal measure 100 colleges for meritocracy, free speech, academic rigor, and value of a degree.
The University of Florida (UF) takes the #1 spot as Ivy League institutions fall behind.
UF has earned its top ranking by eliminating its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy, enforcing standardized test requirements in admissions, and building its dedicated civics institute, the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.
Schools received lower scores for requiring DEI courses or DEI statements in hiring, promoting political activism like pronouns on class rosters, or failing to control violent campus antisemitism. The rankingsalso evaluated institutional neutrality, viewpoint diversity, and civic education.
Ivy League institutions performed poorly across these metrics, sinking to an average ranking of #42 while charging an average tuition price of $67,600 per year.
By contrast, UF stands out as one of the most affordable four-year institutions in the nation, with estimated annual tuition of $6,400 for in-state students and $30,900 for out-of-state students.