University of Florida

Researchers at this university are credited with developing the famous sports drink Gatorade in 1965. The story goes that the drink was devised to stop Florida's football team getting tired during hot summer football practices. With a reputation for academic excellence in fields as diverse as architecture, dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, the university has been tasting success since it was formed in 1853.

Its student intake currently numbers around 50,000, with over 100 countries represented on campus. For those preoccupied with demographics the ratio of women to men is 53 to 47. Of the 50,912 students about 29 percent are graduate and professional students, and it is one of the American education institutions with the highest number of international attendees. Actress Faye Dunaway is one of many former UF students who has gone on to worldwide acclaim - you might remember her from the film Bonnie and Clyde.