Vanderbilt is the Happiest University in the US (2024)

Home Where to study North America United States Vanderbilt is the Happiest University in the US

By Craig OCallaghan

Updated March 28, 2021Updated March 28, 2021

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Would you rather be happy or in a job? These are the US unis employers love

There are lots of things to consider when choosing a university or college. How good the course is, how much the fees are, how near or far away it is from home. Ultimately though, isn’t the most important thing that you’re happy?

If you’re looking to study somewhere where you’ll have a permanent grin on your face, Vanderbilt University might just be the place to go. According to the latest edition of the Princeton Review, the Nashville university has the happiest students in the US.

Whether it’s because of the inescapable country music, Nashville’s world-famous hot chicken, or the wonderfully scenic Vanderbilt campus is hard to say, but the university is also highly ranked by its students for quality of life, only being beaten by Rice University in Texas.

To compile the ranking, students from across the US were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the statement “I am happy at my school”. 137,000 students were surveyed in total, from 382 different schools.

The top 20 happiest universities in the US are as follows.

1 Vanderbilt University

2 Rice University

3 University of Oklahoma

4 Tulane University

5 College of William and Mary

6 Kansas State University

7 Colby College

8 Saint Anselm College

9 University of Iowa

10 Clemson University

11 St John’s College (MD)

12 University of Dayton

13 Fairfield University

14 University of California, Santa Barbara

15 University of Vermont

16 Washington College

17 Auburn University

18 Hobart and William Smith Colleges

19 Virginia Tech

20 Clark University

Would you rather be happy or in a job? These are the US unis employers love

This article was originally published in August 2017.It was last updated in March 2021

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Written by

Craig OCallaghan

As Head of Content, Craig is responsible for allarticles and guidespublished across TopUniversities and TopMBA. He has nearly 10 years of experience writing for a student audience and extensive knowledge of universities and study programs around the world.

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Vanderbilt is the Happiest University in the US (2024)

FAQs

Vanderbilt is the Happiest University in the US? ›

“[Vanderbilt] is a social, welcoming and inclusive environment where all students and staff seem to be content and engaged,” Cha said. The university also scored highly in the best campus food and best student support and counseling services categories, receiving rankings of No. 6 and No. 2, respectively.

Why is Vanderbilt the happiest college? ›

“[Vanderbilt] is a social, welcoming and inclusive environment where all students and staff seem to be content and engaged,” Cha said. The university also scored highly in the best campus food and best student support and counseling services categories, receiving rankings of No. 6 and No. 2, respectively.

What makes Vanderbilt University so special? ›

Founded 150 years ago, Vanderbilt University is globally renowned for its transformative education and research. Vanderbilt offers internationally recognized programs and an immersive residential undergraduate experience.

Is Vanderbilt as good as Ivy League? ›

While not an Ivy League school, Vanderbilt is known as a “Southern Ivy” because of its highly selective admissions process and stellar academic reputation.

What college has the kindest students? ›

Friendliest Colleges in the US
  • Vanderbilt University – Nashville, Tennessee. ...
  • Rice University – Houston, TX. ...
  • Tulane University – New Orleans, LA. ...
  • College of William and Mary – Williamsburg, VA. ...
  • Colby College — Waterville, ME. ...
  • Clemson University – Clemson, SC. ...
  • University of California-Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA.
Jan 1, 2023

What college has the prettiest students? ›

Using the top 20 schools from the US News and World Report list, dating website OkCupid did some number crunching to rank those top schools based on attractiveness. Yale takes the No. 1 spot, followed by Vanderbilt University and two other schools.

What kind of students get into Vanderbilt? ›

With a 5.1% acceptance rate, Vanderbilt is a very selective school. To get in, you'll need SAT/ACT scores of at least 1520 and 34, a 3.9 GPA, and standout application materials, including essays and recommendations.

Does Vanderbilt have rich students? ›

And 70 percent of Vanderbilt students were from the wealthiest 20 percent.

Is Vanderbilt considered prestigious? ›

Vanderbilt University is indeed a highly prestigious institution, recognized both nationally and internationally for its academic excellence. It consistently ranks among the top 20 universities in the United States, and its position in global rankings is also quite impressive.

Is Vanderbilt a little ivy? ›

The Hidden Ivies include many small colleges, such as Davidson College, Pomona College, Carleton College, and Oberlin College, as well as some large research universities, like Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Southern California.

Is Vanderbilt an elite university? ›

Vanderbilt University is ranked #18 out of 439 National Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

Is Vanderbilt stressful? ›

28, 2014—Vanderbilt was recently ranked by CollegeXpress as one of the top ten most stressful undergraduate institutions in the U.S. This ranking takes into account data about the cost of tuition, academic rigor, acceptance rate, rigor of the school's graduate engineering program, and crime on campus, using data from ...

Is Vanderbilt really hard to get into? ›

The acceptance rate at Vanderbilt is 6.7%.

For every 100 applicants, only 7 are admitted. This means the school is extremely selective.

Is Yale or Vanderbilt harder to get into? ›

Which school is easier to get into? If you're looking at acceptance rate alone, then Yale University is more difficult to get into. However, each college is looking to fill its incoming class with a variety of students with different strengths, backgrounds, etc.

Why is Vanderbilt so highly ranked? ›

Vanderbilt is also well known for its undergraduate Blair School of Music, and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is ranked one of the best in the nation. Former chairman and CEO of Time Inc. Ann Moore, former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler and novelist James Patterson all received degrees from Vanderbilt.

What is the happiest college degree? ›

What is the happiest major? According to a 2022 ZipRecruiter survey, people were happiest with their college major if they had majored in computer and information sciences, criminology, engineering, nursing, health, business administration, finance, or psychology.

What is the most fun university? ›

According to the Niche 2021 ranking, these are the most entertaining universities and colleges in America:
  • University of Southern California.
  • University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • University of Wisconsin Madison.
  • University of Georgia.
  • Vanderbilt University.
  • Penn State.
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.
Jan 13, 2022

What is the #1 rated college in the US? ›

As of 2023, the top ten colleges, according to "America's Top Colleges" are: 1. Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)

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