41. College of William and Mary
Established in 1693, College of William & Mary is the nation’s second-oldest institution of higher education. The college is one of eight original “Public Ivies.” It is located in Williamsburg, VA, with Washington D.C. 150 miles away and the Virginia Beach oceanfront a one-hour’s drive. The college focuses on undergraduate arts and sciences courses and also offers joint degrees with Columbia University and University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Centers and institutes at W&M focus on interdisciplinary studies in humanities and social sciences, business, education, health and law and natural and computational sciences. Over 45% of undergraduates study abroad in their time at W&M, destinations varying from Singapore to Seville. Freshmen participate in Opening Convocation, passing the entrance of the Wren Building to officially become the newest members of the college. W&M has a number of a cappella groups and large musical ensembles including orchestra, symphony, choir and music bands. The school competes in NCAA Division I athletics. Distinguished alumni include former U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler and James Monroe. Other notable alumni include TV personality Jon Stewart (’84), actress Glenn Close (’74) and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin (’95).
42. Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase, backed by donations from Britain’s Lord Kenyon and Lord Gambier. Kenyon has over 50 majors, minors and concentrations in 18 departments and offers 13 interdisciplinary programs. Students can choose to join any of the 120 student clubs and organizations. The college’s Career Development Office offers a stipend for students who cannot afford the living expenses associated with a summer internship. Kenyon’s 1,000-acre campus in Gambier, OH includes a 480-acre nature preserve. Its most defining feature is the Middle Path, a trail that winds through the entire campus. Opening convocation is a campus tradition where new students walk down Middle Path for the first time and then do this official walk again at commencement. Every first-year Kenyon student signs the Matriculation Book, with famous signatories including former president Rutherford B. Hayes, film star Paul Newman, and best-selling young adult author John Green. All students complete a senior exercise, a culminating project that may involve original research or creative work. The college competes in NCAA Division III athletics.
43. Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, OH. Founded in 1883, Oberlin is known for a few important firsts: It was the first college to adopt a policy to admit African Americans and it was the first college to grant bachelor’s degrees to women in a coed program. Oberlin’s College of Arts and Science offers 47 majors and 42 minors and concentrations. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the country. Students can adorn their walls with pieces from the Allen Museum’s collection for $5 per work per semester. Pieces by Dali, Lichtenstein and Picasso are on this year’s list of available works. Oberlin’s housing policy allows students to room with students of any gender in almost any room on campus. Oberlin Experimental College, or ExCo, allows students to teach for-credit courses on interesting topics outside of the traditional curriculum. Students also complete projects of their choosing during “winter term” in January. Members of Oberlin’s 21 varsity teams compete in Division III sports. Approximately 30% of students participate in intramural and club sports.
44. University of California, Los Angeles
One of the top universities in terms of applications received, UCLA has educated 13 Nobel laureates, 12 Rhodes Scholars, 12 MacArthur Fellows, 10 National Medal of Science winners, three Pulitzer Prize winners and numerous Academy Award, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony recipients. Students can choose from more than 5,000 courses and 125 majors across 109 academic departments. UCLA Library is ranked as one of the top 10 academic research libraries in North America, and the campus is home to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, one of the top hospitals in the country. A focal point on campus is the Inverted Fountain, a rock-lined basin that creates the sound of a flowing mountain stream. According to legend, students should only touch the water once during freshmen orientation and once after graduation, or else they will pay the consequence of not graduating in four years. On Wednesday night before Finals Week, students participate in the Undie Run, where they race across campus in their skivvies. There are 22 NCAA Division I teams that compete in the Pacific-12 Conference. Live bears once played the part of mascot, but the school transitioned to a costumed Bruin in the mid-1960s.
45. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
The University of Michigan is the state’s oldest university, established in 1817 as a public college, 20 years before Michigan even became a state. The institution now has campuses in Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint, with Ann Arbor serving as the main hub to 19 of the university’s 28 schools. It has strong programs in business, engineering, law and the social sciences, among others. The University of Michigan Health System is comprised of one of the largest hospitals in the state and an academic medical center that includes the top-ranked schools of nursing and medicine. The University of Michigan has 27 varsity teams in NCAA Division I, nicknamed the Wolverines. Michigan athletic teams have claimed more than 50 national championships in 12 sports, beginning with football’s 1901 national title. Famous alumni include former U. S. president Gerald Ford, actress Lucy Liu and Google cofounder Larry Page.
46. Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, OR known for its highly intellectual—and countercultural—students. Founded in 1908, Reed embraces small, conference-style classes that focus on student discussion. While the college deemphasizes grades, Reed’s students face a rigorous curriculum: Requirements include a yearlong humanities course and a senior thesis with written and oral exam components. Students are known for being particularly scholarly—Reed operates the nation’s only undergraduate-managed nuclear reactors and is a leading Ph.D. program feeder school. Reed counts among its graduates 156 National Science Fellows, 89 Fulbright students, 31 Rhodes Scholars and 65 Watson Fellows. There are no varsity athletic teams or Greek life organizations, though students can participate in student groups and intramural and club sports. The administration reputedly has a relaxed approach to student drug use and the school’s unofficial motto is “Communism, Atheism, Free love.” Notable Reedies include fashion designer Emilio Pucci, Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger and (dropout) Apple visionary Steve Jobs.
47. Whitman College
Whitman College is a co-educational liberal arts and science undergraduate institution that was founded in 1859 as a seminary, and became a four year degree-granting institution in 1882. Located in Walla Walla, WA, Whitman College’s campus is 2.5 hours from Spokane. The school was modeled after the New England liberal arts colleges and continues to maintain traditional liberal arts ideals. Each student must take a two-semester course called Encounters, which examines cultural interaction throughout history. Students have the opportunity to study abroad at one of the schools 88 programs in 40 countries. Sustainability has been an important emphasis in the school’s community. Initiatives include leasing college owned land to wind farms, ensuring all new construction meets LEED standards and removing disposable water bottles from the campus stores and cafeterias. In the springtime, a major attraction on Whitman’s campus is the climbing center where the Sweet Onion Crank rock climbing competition is held annually. The school competes in NCAA Division III athletics.
48. Lafayette College
Named after the French General Marquis de Lafayette who served in the American Revolution under George Washington, Lafayette College was founded in 1826 and is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. The private coeducational college, geared towards liberal arts and engineering, sits in the Lehigh Valley, within 100 miles of Philadelphia and New York City. The college offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in 37 fields and Bachelor of Science degrees in 14 fields; the most popular majors include biology, English and engineering. The college’s endowment-per-student total is in the top 10% in the nation. The college is home to four fraternities, six sororities and nearly 20 academic honor societies. The Lafayette Engineers Without Borders club is a member of the national organization of the same name, which connects students to rural Hondurans. The Lafayette Leopards compete in NCAA Division I athletics and have a longstanding football rivalry with neighboring Lehigh University. The 150th matchup between the teams will draw crowds to Yankee Stadium in fall 2014.
49. Smith College
Smith College is a private liberal arts college for women in Northampton, MA. It was founded in 1871 and only had 14 students when it first opened its doors four years later. Smith has been a leader in women’s education for nearly 140 years. The school is a member of the Five Colleges Consortium, along with Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The college offers more than 1,000 courses in over 50 areas of study. Approximately half of Smith’s students study abroad. Smith does not offer dorms—instead students are placed into houses of varying sizes and architectural styles with anywhere from 10 to 100 housemates from all four classes. Though there are no sororities on campus, students can get involved in over 100 clubs and organizations. Smith’s 13 intercollegiate athletic teams, nicknamed the Pioneers, mainly compete in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) at the NCAA Division III level. Notable attendees include chef Julia Child, celebrated feminist Gloria Steinem, authors Margaret Mitchell and Sylvia Plath and former First Ladies Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush.
50. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Established in 1789, UNC Chapel Hill is one of the oldest universities in the country and one of the original eight “Public Ivy” schools. It offers 78 bachelor’s, 112 master’s, 68 doctorate’s and seven professional degree programs in 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. It is home to one of the oldest preserved websites, stored on an antique computer maintained by Professor Paul Jones, gifted to him by one of the original Swedish architects of the World Wide Web. UNC Chapel Hill students, alumni and athletic teams are known collectively as the Tar Heels, and have garnered more than 40 NCAA championship titles in six different sports. The school mascot is the Ram.
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