Sep 29, 2014 04:47 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

University of Central Florida has been named the most populous school by US News, with 51,269 undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2013.

Initial enrolment in 1978 was only 1,948 students, but it has grown to 59,770 as of 2014. UCF's student body consists of 51,298 undergraduates and 8,121 graduate and professional students from all 67 Florida counties, all 50 states and 141 countries. The majority of the student population is located on the university's 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) main campus.

Of the nearly 60,000 students, 15 percent are graduate and professional students, women constitute 55 percent of the student body and 24 percent of UCF students are above the age of 25 years.

The top 10 universities offered acceptance letters to an average of 43,186 students. Overall,​ college enrolment has continued to increase in the last decade. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, undergraduate enrolment has risen by 32 percent at colleges and universities between 2001 and 2011.

UCF is followed by DeVry University, a for-profit institution with over 85 locations across the United States. The school secured the top ranking in fall 2012​, but failed to defend the title with about 10,000 fewer undergraduates the following year.

The third-largest school was the Liberty University, the lone nonprofit private school on the list.

Top 10 American Universities with Largest Undergraduate Student Population:

University of Central Florida 51,269

DeVry University (IL) 48,782

Liberty University (VA) 47,460

Texas A&M University-College Station 44,315

Ohio State University-Columbus 44,201

Pennsylvania State University-University Park 40,085

University of Texas-Austin 39,979

Florida International University 39,045

Arizona State University-Tempe 38,735

Michigan State University 37,988

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