Georgetown University 

“Location, location, location.” Georgetown’s Washington, D.C., location “really makes the experience. There is no excuse to ever say ‘there’s nothing to do.’” “Students work hard, but always can make time to go out and have a great time.” “Georgetown’s social life is one of the best in the nation.” The university “offers a diverse atmosphere that gives people a chance to do things--from museums and theater to sessions of Congress.”

2. (Atlanta)

Emory University 

“The greatest strength of the school is the balance between a great academic school and a place to explore and have fun.” The school’s proximity to downtown Atlanta certainly helps—students can do the usual around campus (“hang out with friends, frat parties, bowl, play Frisbee, watch movies”), or they can “head into Atlanta,” with its big-city restaurants, plays, films, and other cultural events.

3.  (Boston)

Boston University 

“One of the best college towns in the country.” Why go to BU? An answer from a particularly expressive senior: “The BU experience goes way beyond the classroom. Just in the last month, I’ve gone to see the Phantom of the Opera, gone skiing in Vermont, and gone to the Fogg Museum at Harvard. Its location is BU’s greatest strength.”

4. (New York City)

Cooper Union 

Situated as Cooper is “on the edge of Manhattan’s East Village,” students can “go to clubs, restaurants, the parks, and each other’s apartments...There are also “art museums, comedy clubs, gyms,” and “great” shopping...

5.  (New York City)

New York University

6.(Boston)

Emerson is “located in the heart of” Beantown, near Fenway Park, the theater district, and Copley Square. “Living across from Boston Common and the Public Garden is great,” and the backdrop provides “a cool, mellow city scene.” Theaters, concerts, clubs, museums, “fabulous restaurants,” “pubs,” and unparalleled “cultural opportunities” abound.

7. (Athens)

University of Georgia 

Look up “college town” in a dictionary and you'll likely find Athens included somewhere in the definition. Its legendary music scene spawned the B-52s and REM, and the town's primary purpose is to cater to the 24,000 students who attend UGA. The town is chock full of terrific clubs, excellent restaurants, and fantastic coffeehouses...Students call the college experience “great.”

8. (Berkeley)

University of California at Berkeley 

The campus itself is idyllic, but “life at school is overwhelming; there’s too much going on at any one time.” For those who need to get away from campus, the city of Berkeley is lively, and a bit farther away, San Francisco is accessible.

9. (New Orleans)

A “mad fun” campus in a “great city” and a “beautiful part of town.” The city that famously celebrates Mardi Gras also has an “excellent selection of music clubs,” parks, industry, nightlife and culture—not to mention “bikini weather in February.”

10. (Ann Arbor)

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor