TOP 10 Colleges in America: Ranked According to Total Student Population (The BIG 10)

Top Ten Schools According to PopulationMore Americans are choosing to go to college more now than ever before. This is due to many older Americans choosing to go back to school and pursue past dreams and passions. There are also more opportunities available for financial aid and grants than there ever has been before.The National Center for Education Statistics expects to see a steady increase in colleges and project the numbers to increase by 13 to 20 percent in the next ten years. Recent statistics show that there were 14 million students attending colleges in 2002 and this figure increased to more than 17 million in 2004.Based on enrollment records from 2004, here is the Top 10:1. University of Phoenix Online: Total Student Population - 115,794o The University of Phoenix Online is a for-profit online school that allows students to study at an accelerated pace with flexible scheduling. The courses and content allow students to earn a degree in less time and are more focused on jobs and careers.2. Miami Dade College: Total Student Population - 57,026o Miami Dade College is a state-sponsored community college that offers associate's degrees on eight different campuses and through Internet courses. In 2003, Miami Dade College also began offering Bachelor of Science degrees in education. Enrollment numbers are high because students can study at several different campuses and they offer affordable courses to local residents with low-income or English as a second language.3. Ohio State University, Main Campus : Total Student Population - 50,995o Ohio State University is a very large school and their undergraduate programs feature more than 170 majors. Students have a wide variety of options to choose from. They also offer exploration programs to help students find the major that is right for them. Not only do they have a large number of undergraduate majors but they also have 110 graduate programs for students seeking a graduate degree. Ohio State is also popular as they are a Big 10 school and they are always ranked highly amongst the best college football teams.4. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities : Total Student Population - 50,949o The University of Minnesota is a public university and a land-grant college. They have a strong tradition of excellence in education and public service. They are one of the most highly ranked colleges with over 147 majors and thousands of courses. The University of Minnesota is the nation's top public research university and they feature state-of-the-art educational facilities for learning and research.5. University of Texas at Austin: Total Student Population - 50,337o Affectionately known as UT across the state of Texas, the University of Texas at Austin is the largest college in The University of Texas System. They are a major research campus and they offer business, information and law, education and engineering programs.6. Arizona State University, Tempe Campus: Total Student Population - 49,171o The Tempe Campus is the foundation of Arizona State University. The campus focuses on learning, development of new knowledge and service. The Tempe Campus opened in 1885 and is the most popular campus in the Arizona State University system.7. University of Florida : Total Student Population - 47,993o The University of Florida is Florida's oldest and most comprehensive university. They are an ideal location for students studying for health professions and feature the McKnight Brain Institute and the Genetics and Cancer Research Center.8. Michigan State University: Total Student Population - 44,836o Michigan State University has been an innovative college with a global reach for over 150 years. MSU is also known for its large study abroad programs, which ranks as one of the three largest in the nation.9. Texas A&M University: Total Student Population - 42,435o Texas A&M University offers more than 150 courses of study through several different colleges. They have awarded more than 320,000 degrees and more than 70,000 graduate degrees. They also have incredible numbers on student retention rates.10. University of Central Florida: Total Student Population - 42,465o The University of Central Florida is located in Orlando. The goals of UCF include becoming the undergraduate education in Florida and achieve international prominence in graduate and research study.