Want the ultimate college experience that hits all the sweet spots? All of the colleges in this list have a near perfect mix of academics, sports, residences, Greek life, and surprising extras that you can’t find at any other school in the country.
10. Indiana University—Bloomington
Indiana’s central university (usually just called “IU” or “Indiana”) is a public research school is superb if you are looking to grab a job in computing or business straight after graduation, but it’s the action on-campus that makes this school a top 10. Their sports teams are notorious in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference, and the fans and athletes are famously called “Hoosiers.”
With more than 650 student organizations on campus, over 5,000 students go Greek in the school’s large community of fraternities and sororities, IU is more inclusive than most. This list isn’t the only one that IU makes as it’s also a top 100 national universities and top 50 of public universities in the country.
9. Vanderbilt University
Photo by Mike Murry 
“Vandy” is impressively multi-cultural for its population of 12,000 students. The school is nationally ranked as one of the top universities for undergraduate teaching, research opportunities, and post-graduate employment placements. Plus, it’s number 15 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best national universities.
Want some respite from urban Nashville? Take some “me time” in the arboretum with over 300 different species of trees and shrubs.
8. Rice University
Rice, named for William Marsh Rice, boasts an expansive and heavily wooded 295-acres in Houston, Texas for its student body size. The school is fantastic for students of applied science, artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, nanotechnology, signal processing, and space science but that’s not all. With an excellent student to staff ratio and some dreamy surroundings, Rice ranks as a top school in the US and a rather particular one when it comes to acceptance.
