Forbes Ranked The 10 Best College Towns Based On Academic, Social, And Financial Factors
College is a four-year commitment. Not only are you committing yourself to four years of drinking, drugs, and sex, you’re also committing yourself to one location. Whether you know it or not, that location is extremely important to your growth as a human being during the most crucial time period of your young life. That’s why it’s essential to pick out a school with hot girls and good football in the midst of a nice college town.
The guys over at Forbes decided to rank the best college towns in America. They teamed up with some company called WalletHub and ranked the cities/towns based on academic, social, and financial factors. Here is what they came up with:
1. Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan)
2. College Station, Texas (Texas A&M University)
3. Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa)
4. Provo, Utah (BYU)
5. Gainesville, Florida (University of Florida)
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (University of Pittsburgh)
7. Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Tech)
8. Austin, Texas (University of Texas)
9. Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard)
10. Columbia, Missouri (University of Missouri)
Uhhh Athens, anyone? I mean, they have Atlanta on here over Athens. The fuck is that?
What about Oxford, Mississippi? Surely, Ole Miss students will have something to say about their absence on this list.
How about Provo making the cut, and at number four no less? Kids can’t even drink or fuck, but shit — I guess it’s a cool place to live.
Columbia, Missouri is a safe space for students so I can see why they are in the top ten.
Steve Holt was in Austin, Texas, so that bumps the city down at least 200 spots..
[via Forbes]
Image via YouTube
*insert opposite opinion about mentioned list and substitute it with mediocre bum-fuck nowhere school*
10 years ago at 9:05 amAmy you aren’t nearly attractive enough to be voicing your opinion
10 years ago at 9:10 amBeen to U of M a few times. They have money, but I can tell you that they aren’t using it to buy any attractive girls over there…walk down the street and you’ll find a solid 5 at best.
10 years ago at 9:14 amYou won’t see a town ranked highly in academia and in attractive girls
10 years ago at 10:00 amState of Michigan is garbage, Ann Arbor has Detroit down the road……..
10 years ago at 12:50 pmEducate yourself! Ann Arbor is NOT Detroit. It’s not even a suburb of Detroit. Ann Arbor or “A Squared”, as it’s frequently called, is located nearly 50 miles west of Detroit and is the largest city in Washtenaw County. On the other hand, Detroit is the largest city in Wayne County. Unlike Detroit, Ann Arbor is a quaint, picturesque college town, which is home to the University of Michigan, one of the top academic institutions in the world and one of the wealthiest universities in the U.S.
Ann Arbor is the most educated city in the nation, as it boasts the most residents holding baccalaureate and advanced degrees than any other cities in America. Ann Arbor is also considered by many to be the cultural capital of the State of Michigan. When the Royal Shakespeare Company tours the U.S., it only tours Ann Arbor and Chicago in the Midwest, and Ann Arbor isn’t exactly a sprawling metropolis like Chicago. However, Ann Arbor has the culture and sophistication of a metropolis according to the New York Times. The same goes for the Berlin Philharmonic or New York Philharmonic when they tour the Midwest. They only perform in Ann Arbor while touring Michigan.
Yes, Ann Arbor is a bit on the expensive side for Michigan residents, but it’s upscale and sophisticated, especially for a small town. The University of Michigan is also the most expensive public college in the nation. The expensive housing market in Ann Arbor does help to keep the riffraff out for the most part. So there is a bright side to that.
10 years ago at 10:28 pmHaving standards. TSM.
10 years ago at 12:01 pmUMich is a large school with a very diverse student body, and Ann Arbor has a very diverse population in general. You can’t stereotype UMich or Ann Arbor. When most people visit UMich, they don’t even see half of its huge, sprawling campus. Most don’t even realize that North Campus exists where the famed School of Music, Theatre, and Dance resides. There are many very attractive & talented coeds in the SMTD alone. In fact, I had a huge crush on a gorgeous ballet dancer from Pittsburgh in the SMTD for many years while at UMich. Please, she wouldn’t give any blue collar loser from Michigan State or Ohio State the time of day, so you might as well forget it. lol The University of Michigan is the alma mater of Miss America 2014, June 2014 Playboy Playmate Jessica Ashley, Miss USA 2008 Rima Fakih, just to name a few beauties with a UMich pedigree.
10 years ago at 9:58 pmStfu
10 years ago at 8:48 amChapel Hill
10 years ago at 9:17 amLike you said, it’s based on academic and financial, not just social, factors. The first is why you definitely won’t see Oxford on this list; a combination of both is probably why you won’t see Athens. If it were purely college towns and their aesthetics/fun being measured, this list would be bogus, and I’m saying that while my former school is at #5.
10 years ago at 9:18 amThe rankings were heavily biased by financial factors, like the cost of a fitness club membership. Being a great party town was less important. And, not to complain, but we had a “best college towns” article just a couple of months ago.
10 years ago at 9:18 amhttps://totalfratmove.wpengine.com/do-you-call-one-of-the-top-25-best-college-towns-to-live-in-home/
Starting a condescending comment with “not to complain”. TFM
10 years ago at 9:33 amWhy do you think that your poll has more validity than fhe Forbes poll? Most of these polls are stupid, but this isn’t the first time that Ann Arbor MI was listed among the top 5 college towns in America. Ann Arbor is listed 7th in your TFM poll. Madison WI is also consistently listed as a top college town as well by more than one source. Ann Arbor has more to offer culturally than most of the college towns on the Forbes list as well.
For many years, Boulder CO was listed as the best college town, while Ann Arbor MI was 2nd. So it’s nice to see Ann Arbor take the top spot in this poll. Any poll that doesn’t have Ann Arbor MI as a top 5 college town is garbage. Let’s face it, where else can you watch a legendary winning college football program play in the nation’s largest football stadium and catch an evening performance of the Maryinsky Ballet all in one day? No other place than Ann Arbor MI.
10 years ago at 12:55 amFuck Pitt
10 years ago at 9:22 amSeriously, Pitt shouldn’t even be considered let alone on this list.
10 years ago at 12:07 pmPittsburgh has three major sports teams and the most bars per person in the US so they should definitely be on this list
10 years ago at 6:33 pmPittsburgh is a great city. Absolutely should be on this list.
10 years ago at 9:22 amya but the school is in kinda a weird part of town.i have tons of friends that went there …..have visited many times. had a lot of fun there but the bars kinda suck around PITT. sure you can take a 15 min cab downtown Pittsburgh but to me that part of town has nothing to do with PITT itself.it isn’t a nice college town sorry
10 years ago at 6:06 pmCollege Station; Invalidating lists left and right
10 years ago at 9:28 amGo Hawks!
10 years ago at 9:32 amShut the fuck up pledge
10 years ago at 9:34 amState College, Charlottesville, Bloomington?
10 years ago at 9:50 amI don’t think State College makes the cut financially. Without the college, it would just be one big farm field.
10 years ago at 10:27 amLol no. Bloomington is a shit hole without Indiana U.
10 years ago at 9:23 amI’m surprised Boulder didn’t make this list. The school and the city itself are a great time and a beautiful place to live.
10 years ago at 10:05 amAs someone from there, the people suck. It’s basically Cal-Berkeley of the Rockies. You can o lay deal with so many hippies and geeds for so long. It’s also only high economically because they bus their homeless to Denver and the property taxes are so high that a 2 bedroom shack of a house costs as much as a half million house in other states.
10 years ago at 2:06 pm