New College says it can compete with the nation’s most elite private universities. State lawmakers are betting they are right

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- by Bradenton Herald.com

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New College of Florida has some impressive credentials. Talk to any New College administrator long enough, and you likely will hear some of the following:
▪ The school has produced 25 percent of the state’s Fulbright Scholars during the past 15 years.
▪ New College produces the third-highest rate of students who go on to earn science, technology, engineering or math Ph.D.s in the country, ahead of schools such as MIT.
▪ U.S. News & World Report ranked New College the fifth-best public liberal arts college in the country. The only schools ahead of it were four military academies.
Now, it can add one more factoid to its resume: The school that lawmakers hope gives them the most bang for its buck.

New College president Donal O’Shea wants the school to enter the list of the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the country, public or private, a list currently topped by three Massachusetts colleges — Williams, Amherst and Wellesley.