University of Miami vs. Florida State University

Miami is the tougher admit. It takes about 17.6% of applicants against Florida State's 23.8%, and its enrolled class scores higher: a middle-50% SAT of 1350–1450 and ACT of 30–33, next to FSU's 1300–1410 and 29–32. Miami also draws a smaller, more national pool (roughly 58,000 applications to FSU's 85,500) and admits a tighter slice of it. FSU stays competitive while landing as the more reachable option on both rate and score band.

FSU wins on sticker by a wide margin, especially for Florida residents: in-state tuition and fees run about $6,517 and out-of-state about $21,683, against roughly $65,430 in tuition and fees at private Miami. Aid reshapes that for high-need families. Miami meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with an average need-based package near $64,221, while FSU meets about 75% of need and averages around $17,669, and the two reach almost the same share of first-years (38% at FSU, 37% at Miami). A full-pay or in-state family pays far less at FSU, while a high-need applicant sees Miami's net cost drop well under its listed price.

Miami puts more weight behind pre-med. Health professions (about 12% of degrees) and biological sciences (10%) together make up one of its largest blocks, backed by an 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio and a campus on the edge of a major medical city. FSU clusters its health and life sciences at about 18% of degrees, second only to business, though it spreads that across a much larger 34,271-undergraduate university with a 17-to-1 ratio. Miami gives you smaller classes inside a dense pre-health setting, while FSU delivers the same foundation at a far lower cost, especially in-state.

Call it a near tie: business is the single most-conferred field at both, about 25% of degrees at FSU and 26% at Miami. What surrounds the major separates them. FSU houses its business program inside a large public university in the state capital, with the social sciences and psychology trailing close behind, while Miami sits its business pipeline alongside the health and biological sciences on a smaller private campus near a city built on finance, trade, and international commerce. Each school runs business as its flagship field, so size, setting, and cost move the needle more than the program's standing does.

FSU dwarfs Miami on size: about 34,271 undergraduates to Miami's 13,241, more than double. That scale colors the experience. FSU runs as a traditional big-state campus in Tallahassee with a storied football program, where about 75% of first-years live on campus and Greek life pulls in roughly a quarter of women and a fifth of men. Down in Coral Gables, Miami keeps a smaller private campus on the edge of the city, houses about 88% of first-years, holds an 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio, and draws a more national crowd: only 14% of FSU's first-years come from out of state, against 63% at Miami.

Their testing rules diverge. Florida State requires scores under Florida Board of Governors policy, so every first-year applicant submits an SAT, ACT, or CLT result, and its enrolled middle 50% scored 1300–1410 on the SAT and 29–32 on the ACT. Miami ran test-optional for its most recent class, letting applicants apply without scores, though those who sent them posted a middle-50% SAT of 1350–1450 and ACT of 30–33. Starting with Fall 2027 applicants, Miami will require the SAT or ACT, so confirm the policy that governs your cycle.