The University Park campus at Penn State becomes the third most populous city in Pennsylvania on football Saturdays (behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
Emerson College owns its own castle, Kasteel Well in the Netherlands, used for the school's semester abroad program.
Emerson College's WERS-FM is the oldest noncommercial broadcaster in Boston.
Southern New Hampshire University is the #12 most innovative company in the world, according to Fast Company, and it's the only college that made the list!
Costs associated with higher education constitute a little more than 3% of the gross national product.
In 1841, Oberlin College became the first college to grant degrees to women. It was also the first college to grant a bachelor's degree to an African American woman, doing so in 1862.
The first national fraternity was Sigma Phi, founded in 1827 at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. It is the second-oldest Greek fraternal society after Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1972 the Northwestern University student body voted to change the athletic teams' official nickname from "Wildcats" to "Purple Haze." The new name never caught on, but Hendrix still rules.
Every year, the University of Connecticut hosts its OOzeball Mud Volleyball Tournament, where players play volleyball in eight inches of mud.
University of Connecticut's annual OOzeball Mud Volleyball Tournament draws over 1,000 players and spectators. Founded in 1984, it is the longest-running tournament of its kind.
University of Connecticut's annual OOzeball Mud Volleyball Tournament has been recognized by Sports Illustrated/SI On Campus as the "Best Mud Volleyball in the Country," #33 on the "Top 100 Things Gotta Do Before You Graduate: No Matter The Cost," and "Best Use of Dirt."
Irvine Cotton Warburton is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and an Academy Award winner--and the only person to do both! He won for his film editing work on 1964's Mary Poppins.
The Louisiana State University -- Shreveport mascot, Mike the Tiger--a live tiger--is placed in a cage and moved near the visiting team's locker room before home games, so the opposing players must pass by him on the way to the field.
Louisiana State University -- Shreveport's team mascot, Mike the Tiger, is an actual live Bengal tiger. The school built a $3 million habitat for Mike (currently Mike VI) in 2005.
The mascot for the University of California, Santa Cruz is the Banana Slug.
The first reinforced concrete structure in the world was Harvard University's stadium.
The 1905 college football season was a truly deadly one, with dozens of players at schools like University of Pennsylvania dying due to internal injuries, given the violent nature of the game. President Teddy Roosevelt called for collegiate athletic reforms shortly thereafter.
Harvard University is, by many accounts, the oldest college in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in the United States.
Bill Cosby earned a Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1976.
Oprah Winfrey received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech and performing arts.
The average cost of college tuition in the United States increased more than 300% between 1980 and 2010, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The Freshman 15 is probably closer to The Freshman 3, with college freshmen gaining less than 3 pounds on average, according to a 2008 survey published in the Journal of American College Health.
Upwards of 80% of college admission counselors look at applicants' social media pages, according to a 2011 study conducted by Kaplan.
Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard University.
The national average six-year graduation rate at four-year public institutions is 53.8%, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
There are more than 50 colleges and universities in Greater Boston, with more than 250,000 college students between them.
Woodrow Wilson was the only U.S. president to earn a Ph.D., which he earned at Johns Hopkins University in 1886.
James Madison University has a "kissing rock" on campus. Back when the women were not allowed to be alone with men on campus, they would hide behind the rock to kiss. Rumor says if you kiss someone on the rock you will marry that person.
Baylor University has a licensed zoo on campus in order to keep their 2 mascots: North American black bears named Joy and Lady.
University of Delaware purchased a 272-acre old Chrysler assembly plant facility in order to expand its education and research capabilities.
In 2011 High Point University purchased an entire mall, Oak Hollow Mall in High Point, North Carolina.
A team of researchers at the University of Florida developed the original Gatorade in response to a request in 1965 by an assistant football coach to discover why players were having difficulty in the heat.
Since 1970, Harvard University has had a policy that doesn't allow commercial filming to take place on campus.
Reid Hall, a castle on the campus of Manhattanville College, was used in the hit HBO show Boardwalk Empire.
Bestselling author Kurt Vonnegut dropped out of Butler University in 1942 after being told by a professor that his writing wasn't good enough.
On November 6, 1869, the first American intercollegiate football game was played between Princeton University and Rutgers.
Catholic University of America is the only higher education institution in the United States founded by bishops.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney campus is the closest college to the beloved groundhog who checks for his shadow each February.
Drexel University offered one of the first cooperative education programs in the United States, and it's one of only 3 schools that require co-op.
The traditional class ring at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is called the "Brass Rat," since the mascot Tim the Beaver has a prominent place on the top of the ring.
The UMass campus library system is the largest of any state university in New England, housing over 6.1 million items.
At 26 stories W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the tallest library in the country.
In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford founded Stanford University in memory of their only son, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died the previous year of typhoid fever at the age of 15.
Almost 50% of the student body at the University of California, Santa Barbara bike to class; the school was named a Gold-Level Bicycle Friendly University in 2011 by the League of American Bicyclists.
Butler University claims to have started the infamous Blue Books for exams. Professors requested covered booklets with lined paper for students, and since the school's colors are blue and white, they had blue covers.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute received the little black goat that became its mascot in 1893, a gift from the sophomore class. The goat was named Gompei after the Japanese student, Gompei Kuwada, who was chosen to take care of him, allegedly because his initials stood for "goat keeper."
All students and faculty at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, are required to practice Transcendental Meditation.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream) took a correspondence course on ice cream making at Pennsylvania State University -- University Park's Creamery.
The Ohio State University -- Columbus marching band is nicknamed The Best Damn Band in the Land.
Ticket sales for a single home game at the University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor's stadium generate approximately five times the original cost of building the stadium in 1927.
The Hootie and the Blowfish music video for "Only Wanna Be With You" was shot, in part, at the Reckord Armory on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.
A bronze statue of Cy Young is on the Northeastern University campus in Boston marking the Huntington Avenue Grounds where the first World Series was played in 1903. A plaque marks a spot on what was previously the left field foul line.
The youngest student ever to graduate college was Michael Kearney, who graduated from the University of South Alabama at the age of 10.
Seven presidents were transfer students: John Quincy Adams, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.
John Cabot University in Rome is expanding their library and will have the largest English undergraduate library in Italy.
Science and engineering powerhouse Massachusetts Institute of Technology has one of the top writing programs in the country!
The majors with the best pay include engineering, economics, and physics, according to a survey conducted by PayScale.com.
Approximately 50%-60% of college students change their major at least once during their college career.
Students at Muir College drop a huge--up to 430 pounds!--candy-filled pumpkin every year from their 11-story Tioga Hall. They measure the "splat" the orange monster makes too.
The movie The Exorcist was filmed at Georgetown University, and since then, students have taken to howling at the moon in the campus cemetery on Halloween!
During Dartmouth College's Winter Carnival, students drill an opening through the ice on Occom Pond, tie ropes around their waists, and jump in!
Emory University celebrates Dooley's Week, named for its unofficial mascot, Dooley the skeleton. Dooley himself will wander the campus during this time to excuse students from their classes.
The Columbia University Marching Band has a habit of busting into the Butler Library reading room before the big Organic Chemistry exam to play as loudly as they can, which studying students may or may not enjoy...
Pomona College provides its students with copious amounts of chocolate during the last day of classes.
Yale University students rub the Theodore Dwight Woolsey statue's foot for good luck.
Cornell University kicks off spring break each year with Dragon Day, which includes a parade and dragon made by first-year architecture students.
Indiana University Bloomington hosts the largest collegiate bike race in the United States, the Little 500.
Gatorade is named after the University of Florida Gators athletic teams.
Boise State University and Eastern Washington University both have the only non-green playing surface in college football--Boise has blue, and EWU has red.
Northeastern University was founded in 1898 as the Evening Institute for Young Men, in association with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).
Northeastern University's Snell Library sees over one million visitors each year.
Northeastern University has been ranked Best in Internships/Co-ops and Best Career Services by both The Princeton Review and U.S.News & World Report.
Founded in 1909, Northeastern University's Cooperative Education ("co-op") Program is one of the first of its kind in the country.
Peyton Manning's major at University of Tennessee at Knoxville was speech communications; he also graduated in just 3 years and carried a 3.61 GPA.
The founder of Ebay (Pierre Omidyar) graduated from Tufts University.
University of Southern California stood in for Harvard in the movie Legally Blonde.
Pennsylvania State University -- University Park's Nittany Lion statue is rumored to be the second-most photographed object in Pennsylvania, just behind the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
Monmouth University's Wilson Hall, used for classrooms and administrative offices, was used in the 1982 production of Annie as the home of Daddy Warbucks.
Texas A&M University -- College Station, Virginia Tech, and North Georgia College & State University are the only three public schools to have a Corps of Cadets.
The Boston College fight song has been covered by the popular Boston-based rock band Dropkick Murphys.
Every year, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosts "Halloween on Franklin Street," a community gathering--up to 80,000 people--to celebrate the spooky holiday.
The largest state university by enrollment is Arizona State University in Tempe, with approximately 60,000 students.
The top three most expensive colleges in America are all in New York: Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Columbia University. Each one clocks in close to $60,000 per year for tuition, and room and board.
Mr. Rogers attended and Captain Kangaroo received an honorary doctorate degree from Dartmouth College.
The idea for the fraternity in Animal House was inspired by experiences at Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth College.
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) was a member of Dartmouth College's class of 1925.
Chris Miller, class of 1963, writer of the movie Animal House, and, Chris Miller, class of 1997, writer for the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, both attended Dartmouth College.
Dartmouth College, founded in 1769, was created initially created for the education of Native Americans.
Five women's hockey players in the 2006 Winter Olympics were from Dartmouth College (3 for Canada, 2 for USA).
The computer programming language BASIC was developed by John Kemeny, a professor at Dartmouth College.
Daniel Webster, class of 1801, helped shape U.S. legal history when defending Dartmouth College in a now famous 1819 Supreme Court case.
The University of Chicago has the first ever Heisman trophy on display, won by a student athlete there in 1935.
The movie Drumline was filmed at both Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College in Georgia.
The fraternity in the movie Drumline is a real Greek organization, Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity. Accurate Kappa Kappa Psi flags, colors, and chants are featured in the film.
Washington University in St. Louis' campus buildings are adorned by fearsome, whimsical, Gargoyle-esque sculptures called "bosses" or "grotesques." These medieval-inspired shapes include mermaids, scholars, owls, scholarly owls, angels, demons, and even students drinking beer!
Students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are careful not to step on The Seal found in the middle of the school's Quad--legend says students that do won't graduate on time!
A brick from the original McMicken Hall on the University of Cincinnati campus was placed in the foundation of the Golden Gate Bridge by its chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, a UC grad.
The University of Cincinnati's Medical Library boasts one of the world's most overdue library books, checked out in 1823 and returned by the student's grandson in 1968! Wonder if he had to pay a fee...
The Wren Building on the College of William and Mary campus, completed in 1700, is the oldest academic building in the U.S. to be used continuously.
The unofficial "Triathlon" at the College of William and Mary includes streaking, jumping over a wall, and swimming across a pond. Feats do not need to happen in succession, though some students do so--and sometimes totally naked.
Legend has it that couples who kiss at the crest of the Crim Dell bridge at the College of William and Mary will be together forever.
During freshman orientation at University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor, students walk through the fountain on campus. Following graduation, they walk back through the fountain in the opposite direction, signifying their commitment to lifelong learning.
Many students at University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor will avoid stepping on the brass block "M" in the Diag quad because legend is that any student who steps on it before taking their first blue book exam will fail that exam.
On October 14, 1960, JFK stood on the steps of the University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor Student Union and challenged a group of 5,000 students to serve abroad and promote peace. This speech eventually led to the creation of the Peace Corps.
With a capacity of 109,901, University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor has the largest stadium in the United States, nicknamed the "Big House."
Spectators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's games typically get to see the school's mascot, Rameses the Ram, as both a costumed performer and a living Horned Dorset Sheep.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did not choose its nickname and mascot, a ram, based on the feisty animal; rather, they adopted the moniker in honor of the school's 1922 star fullback, Jack "The Battering Ram" Merritt.
Marymount Manhattan College's 55th Street Residence Hall is the tallest college dorm in America, housing undergraduate students in the first 32 stories of a 46-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.
Though he only met the man once, Stephen King named a character in his short story The Green Mile after former Emerson College professor Reverend John Coffey.
Every year, Emerson College presents a student-run awards show, the Evvy's, modeled after presentations like the Emmys and Academy Awards.
Freshman orientation at Gettysburg College is held at Stine Lake, which isn't a lake but a large quad that was previously soaked with drainage problems.
The Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College, founded in 1978, was the first college-based survey center in the United States to involve undergraduates in conducting survey research.
University of Missouri -- Columbia has a statue of former governor David R. Francis on campus, and students rub his nose to ensure they'll get an A on their next exam. However, the practice is so popular that the nose has been worn down to the point it needed to be replaced--several times!
Legend has it that Vassar College's Main Building was built so wide to allow for the then-all-female student body to comfortably pass each other while exercising in their hoop skirts.
Southern New Hampshire University was the first U.S. university to be approved to offer U.S. bachelor's degrees on site in Malaysia.
To start the fall 2012 semester, University of Massachusetts Amherst cooked and served 6,700 pounds of seafood stew--a world record! The previous year, they broke the record for the world's largest stir-fry, which weighed in at two tons.
Columbia University houses the most filmed lecture hall in America: Havemeyer 309 is featured in movies like Spiderman, Kinsey, Ghostbusters, and Mona Lisa Smile.
The modern concept of trivia was created in the 1960s by 2 Columbia University students, who hosted the first intercollegiate quiz bowls, which they called "trivia contests."
Columbia University's Baker Field was the site of the nation's first televised sports event, a baseball game between Columbia and Princeton universities, broadcast by NBC in 1939, and is also Manhattan's only football stadium.
Until 1985, Columbia University owned the land that Rockefeller Center, a famous New York City landmark, was built on.
The iconic lion logo for Goldwyn Pictures, which later became MGM Studios, was inspired by Columbia University's Lion mascot.
South Field, a grassy area in the heart of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, was once an athletic field where Lou Gehrig played baseball for Columbia.
Columbia University alumni founded several major publishing houses, such as Harcourt Brace, Random House, Alfred A. Knopf, and Simon & Schuster.
Though Harvard University prohibits filming on campus, the same flyover shot of the school appears in the movies Road Trip and Old School.
Kansas State University is located in Manhattan, Kansas, which is nicknamed "The Little Apple."
February 9, 1895: the day the first intercollegiate basketball game was played. The match up? Hamline University and the Minnesota School of Agriculture.
Haverford College boasts the only varsity cricket team in the nation, but the Fords find plenty of opposition from other colleges and clubs in both the fall and spring season.
Swarthmore College's first graduating class, the Class of 1873, consisted of 6 students: 5 women and 1 man.
Meta trivia! Every year since 1966, Williams College has hosted an all-night, eight-hour trivia contest. Winners get to moderate the following year's contest.
Michael Sorrentino, or "The Situation," from the popular MTV show The Jersey Shore dropped out of Monmouth University because of "partying a little too much."
There are nearly 800 Quidditch teams in the U.S., many on college campuses, including teams at Hendrix College, Emerson College, Texas A&M, Loyola University Chicago, and Marquette University--just to name a few!
Be ready to go for a swim on your birthday if you attend Hendrix College. It's tradition to throw the birthday boy or girl into the campus fountain!
Keep an eye out for any sparkling, glittery "Disco Trays" in the Hendrix College dining hall. These survivors from the 1960s are said to bring good luck!
Texas A&M University -- College Station students put a penny at the foot of the Sul Ross statue on campus for good luck on their next exam. Legend has it this practice started because a former college president would refuse payment for his tutoring services--except for a single penny.
During the famed Texas A&M University -- College Station Midnight Yell pep rally, students with a date kiss during a period when the lights are turned off. If students don't have a date, they "flick their Bic (a lighter)" to signal other singles so they might too find a kissing partner . . .
The northernmost college in the continental United States is Western Washington University.
Stonehill College is home to the Stonehill Industrial History Center, more commonly known as the Shovel Museum, as it houses a large glass case full of shovels.
Because of its surprisingly strategic location, Plattsburgh, New York, was once a top Soviet nuclear strike target. The giant siren on the SUNY -- Plattsburgh campus was to warn of a nuclear attack.
Contrary to spookier assumptions, the "catacombs" under the MacDonough Hall dorm at SUNY -- Plattsburgh were to serve as bomb shelters, due to fears of a Soviet nuclear strike.
While visiting campus, you may think you see a certain monkey gargoyle "thumbing his nose" at a bust of a former University of Southern California president--you're not imagining it. Allegedly, the building's architect and the president had a feud.
To attend the University of Southern California the year it was founded, 1880, you would've needed to cough up a whopping . . . $15 per semester.
A University of Southern California alumnus has been nominated for an Academy Award every year since they were first presented in 1929.
The Purdue University -- West Lafayette marching band has the largest drum in the world--measuring a whopping 10 feet tall--which was first given to the school in 1921.
Rankin Hall on the The University of Montana campus is said to be haunted by the ghost of its namesake, Jeannette Rankin, the first Congresswoman.
A League of American Bicyclists "Bike Friendly University," Michigan State University has over 12 miles of biking trails and 20,000 bicycle parking spaces on campus.
The Little 500 annual bicycle race, held at Indiana University Bloomington, inspired the 1979 Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away.
Students at Messiah College and other schools take part in a "primal scream" during finals to yell out their stress!
Students at University of California, Berkeley participate in The Big Game Bonfire Rally, a pep and bonfire rally that takes place at Hearst Greek Theatre on the eve of the "Big Game" against Stanford.
University of Notre Dame's colors, though now blue and gold, were originally blue and yellow--blue to represent truth and yellow to represent light.
Before the curmudgeonly Fighting Irish mascot we know and love today, University of Notre Dame's mascot was an Irish Terrier dog.
The mascot for Vesalius College in Belgium is the silver weasel!
The Roanoke, Virginia, area has the most undergraduate students per capita--yes, even more than Boston or San Francisco--which includes schools like Roanoke College, Virginia Tech, and Liberty University.
The state of Delaware has the fewest number of colleges or universities out of all 50 states--only 10 schools!
The world's first kidney-pancreas transplant took place at University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities in 1966.
There are two mascots at Bowling Green State University: Freddie and Frieda the Falcons! Freddie came about in 1950, and Frieda joined in 1966 as Mrs. Freddie Falcon, but re-emerged in 1980 as Freddie's little sister sidekick.
Love Bill Nye the Science Guy? He's a graduate of Cornell University, and often teaches there as part of the Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professorship program.
Clemson University was originally part of the University of South Carolina as the Clemson Agricultural College. Agriculture students demanded the expansion of the agriculture department, and after the involvement of Benjamin Tillman, became a separate school.
Cornell University has the distinction of being both a private (endowed) and public (federal land grant) institution. Monies are allocated to fund specific schools within the university: three of its seven undergraduate schools are public; the rest, private.
Cornell University is both a public and private school as a privately endowed university, and also as a partner of the State University of New York. Cornell is the federal land-grant institution of New York State.
We wonder if Stephen Colbert perfected his flair for satire--and his perfectly arched eyebrow--while attending his alma mater, Northwestern University.
The Daily Show frontrunner Jon Stewart was in close proximity to Washington politics as a student at College of William and Mary.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, fall 2012 saw a record number of college student--21.6 million--up by 6.2 million since fall 2000.
Need room to roam as you pump iron? The weight room at the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln is three-quarters of an acre, making it the largest in the country.
Gettysburg College's Pennsylvania Hall, the school's oldest and most central building, was used as a field hospital during the Civil War battle with which the school shares its name. Many stories allege that the soldiers who died there still linger . . .
Another one of Gettysburg College's many resident ghosts is the Blue Boy, an orphan who some believe froze to death outside Stevens Hall--the dorm he now haunts.
The first students at Ohio University paid $8 each school year in fees, which went toward paying for firewood.
Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, lost a shipment of books due to the English department that was traveling aboard the doomed Titanic.
Dancing was not permitted at Cornell College until 1926, and even then, from 1926 to 1931, students needed permission from their parents to dance.
Edward Kennedy, brother of JFK and future U.S. senator, scored the only touchdown for Harvard University when they played Yale in 1955.
During University of Wisconsin -- Madison football games, it's a tradition for the fans to jump to House of Pain's song "Jump Around" between the third and fourth quarter.
Stephan Jenkins, the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, graduated as valedictorian of his class from University of California, Berkeley.
The first fraternity founded in the South was the W.W.W. (Rainbow Society, not the World Wide Web) at University of Mississippi in 1848.
President Ronald Reagan wasn't only a U.S. President, but student president at Eureka College. He even led a revolt against the college president after his attempt to cut the faculty.
From as early as 1917, each Simmons College class would chose a mascot that would accompany them throughout their four years and well into their time as alumnae.
Before its moving to a new facility in Irving, Texas, the Boy Scouts of America's National Scouting Museum was located on the campus of Murray State University in Kentucky.
In the show Seinfeld, characters Jerry and George attended CUNY -- Queens College together.
Shaw Hall at Mount Ida College was named for Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, Jr., the famous Civil War commander who led the all-black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He is also the subject of the hit film Glory.
Psy, the one-hit wonder behind "Gangnam Style," attended classes at Berklee College of Music and Boston University, but apparently skipped a lot of classes, calling himself "young and stupid" in a reddit interview.
Scenic Sarah Lawrence College appears in many books, either as a setting or a destination for its characters, including Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Franny & Zooey by J.D. Salinger.
Shrewish character Kat Stratford, played by Julia Stiles, wishes to attend and is accepted by Sarah Lawrence College in the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You. In real life, Stiles' costar Larisa Oleynik graduated from the school in 2004.
What do TV characters Eric van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl), Lloyd Lee (Entourage), and Karen Walker (Will & Grace) have in common? They all "attended" Sarah Lawrence College!
Since the establishment of the new SAT, only 1,874 students scored a perfect 2400.
In the 1970s, Princeton University seminary students become unwitting participants in a compassion study, in which they passed an actor pretending to be in distress on campus. Their reactions--kind and not so kind--were recorded by a social psychology class.
The University of Rochester's Omega Laser Facility is home to two of the world's most powerful high-energy and high-intensity lasers.
The University of Rochester's a cappella ensembles are among the best in the nation. The Yellowjackets appeared on NBC's The Sing-Off in 2011.
The University of Rochester has a Quidditch team!
Franciscan University of Steubenville is the only college with a minor in human life studies.
St. Lawrence University's alma mater was written by a graduate who also wrote "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and every time the holiday song is performed, St. Lawrence receives a royalty payment.
St. Lawrence University has the second largest number of intercollegiate teams: 32.
SUNY Canton College of Technology and St. Lawrence University, both in Canton, New York, are both the closest U.S. universities to the capital of another nation (Ottawa, Canada).
University of Wyoming has the largest single scholarship endowment for study abroad support in the United States.
The Indian mounds on Louisiana State University -- Baton Rouge's campus were created by Native Americans more than 5,000 years ago and functioned as territorial markers or symbols of group identity.
Founded in 1842, Willamette University started as a school designed to educate local Native American children. Today, the school's relationship with Native Americans continues to thrive, including through annual campus Powwows.
In the more than 125 years since its founding, Alma College has stayed true to its roots by keeping its Scottish heritage alive with the team name "Scots" and a marching band clad in kilts.
Folk musician John Denver had one of his first college venue performances at Alma College. The last time he visited, his car broke down and he walked two miles through a blizzard to perform to a full gymnasium of students.
Looking for a college with a view? Look no further than Wagner College. Located on top of Grymes Hill on Staten Island, the campus and dorms offer a view of the New York City skyline and harbor.
The Baldwin Wallace University Riemenschneider Bach Institute is one of only five institutions in North and South America containing manuscripts written in Bach's own hand.
Baldwin Wallace University was the first college in Ohio to offer an undergraduate program in sustainability.
In 1900, when the first athletic team to ever represent DePaul University was organized, the monogram "D" was selected for the uniforms. From this originated the nickname D-Men, which evolved into Demons.
Each winter, students at Northwest Missouri State University jump in the frigid Colden Pond to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Eckerd College was one of the first pet-friendly campuses, with over 300 pets reported living in their four pet-friendly dorms.
Eckerd College has its own Search and Rescue Team that works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and local agencies. The student team provides maritime assistance to the boaters of Tampa Bay, responding to over 500 calls a year.
The Thunderbirds athletic teams of The University of British Columbia have won 105 national championships, more than any other university in Canada.
Among its research resources, The University of British Columbia has the largest mercury telescope in the world, the largest cyclotron particle accelerator in the world, and three real boreal forests.
Keystone College alum and baseball legend Christy Mathewson attended the school from 1895-1898. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame's charter class, along with Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.
Keystone College purchased the nine and half-inch refracting telescope in its Thomas G. Cupillari '60 Astronomical Observatory in 1971 from former NBC Today host David Garroway.
Graceland University Coach LD Weldon trained two athletes to achievement in the Olympic Decathlon: Jack Parker (Bronze 1936) and Bruce Jenner (Gold, 1976).
Graceland University graduate Jeff Criswell was offensive tackle for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs over a stretch of 12 years.
Graceland University graduate Teresa Carpenter received the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1981. One of her winning stories, published in the Village Voice, was about an institutionalized psychiatric patient who killed his wife on a three-day pass.
The cheerleaders at the University of Wisconsin -- Green Bay also cheer for the Green Bay Packers at all of the games played at historic Lambeau Field!
Monmouth College's military heritage began with the Civil War, when it furnished 232 soldiers and sailors from the student body, faculty, and trustees. A quarter were wounded and one in eight was killed. Two were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Monmouth College is the only Division III school in the Midwest to offer both men's and women's water polo as a varsity sport.
Plant Hall on University of Tampa campus was once the Tampa Bay Hotel, a luxurious winter retreat visited by Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, the Queen of England, and Red Cross founder Clara Barton.
The William Jessup University campus was once the Herman Miller Furniture Factory. The campus renovations received the Best Rebuild/Renovation Award from the Sacramento Business Journal in March 2005.
Kansas State University students show their purple pride by donating to K-State Proud, an all-university student campaign that has raised more than $550,000 to help fellow students who are struggling financially.
Famed poet Emily Dickinson attended Mount Holyoke College.
The intramural sport flickerball is unique to Davidson College. The College banned touch football due to injuries, so students created a game of tag football with basketball-type passing rules, which is still avidly played to this day.
Former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson attended Davidson College for a year before becoming ill, and later enrolling at Princeton.
The first X-rays ever taken in America were by three Davidson College physics students who snuck into a lab in 1896. They kept their experiments secret for many years, fearing they would be punished.
Messiah College is home to Old Zeke, a human skeleton left to the school in the early 1900s. He was used in Messiah classes from 1909 until 1998. He now hangs out in the school's Oakes Museum.
Students at the Maryland Institute College of Art can take classes in Mount Royal Station, a refurbished train depot and official historic landmark the school acquired and converted into campus spaces in 1964.
The Blue Demon athletic teams at DePaul University acquired their deathly pallor in 1901 by a vote of the student body. The color blue signifies loyalty.
The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability at The University of British Columbia is housed in one of the world's greenest institutional buildings, which contributes more energy and water resources to the environment than it consumes.
New students at Elon University receive an acorn, and after graduating they receive an oak sapling. These woodsy gifts celebrate the beginning of their college careers and subsequent growth, respectively.
Furman Moseley, an Elon University alum, inspired the school's tradition of giving each graduate a sapling after he gave the graduating class of 1991 a redwood sapling, commemorating their future growth--as well as his career in timber.
Randolph-Macon College guarantees in writing that freshmen who meet the Four-Year Degree Guarantee requirements will graduate within four calendar years. If not, the College will waive tuition costs for courses needed to complete the degree.
Eckerd College has more Hollings Scholars than any other college or university in the country, with 46.
150: the number of free, community yellow bikes Eckerd College has available for students, faculty, and staff to use to get around campus.
Environmentally friendly Drury University recycles over 220 tons of material each year, and the school has a 2:1 "student-to-tree" ratio.
Though Northwest Missouri State University's mascot is the bearcat (Bobby the Bearcat, to be precise), an unofficial yeti mascot has been known to make appearances at events.
Roberta Hall, a sorority dorm at Northwest Missouri State University, is said to be haunted by its namesake, Roberta Steele, a student who died following a 1951 dorm fire.
The Cutler Majestic Theater, owned and operated by Emerson College, is said to be haunted by former actors, stagehands, and others. The balcony is particularly prone to hauntings; spring-loaded seats will stay open on their own. Those in the know say "excuse me" when they pass those seats, since they're blocking the ghost's view!
In 2013, the Marist College women's basketball team won its 8th consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.
Davidson College was founded as a "manual labor" institution in 1837, meaning that students paid for their education by tending crops and livestock. They didn't enjoy the duty much, however, and tuition charges were instated within a very few years.
In the early 1900s, Davidson College kept live versions of its mascots. The beloved wildcat Felix II was stuffed, mounted, and placed in the trophy room upon his demise. Two new wildcats were then procured. The student body purchased the yearling Min for $35. Min was fairly tame and could be led about. Tom was captured in the wild and noted for his ferocity and fighting spirit.
At Davidson College, having your cake and eating it too has since 1930 required two fleet feet! The college annually challenges its incoming students to win their own dessert at the Cake Race, which is the concluding event of Orientation activities. Men and women run separate 1.7 mile races to win one of about 200 cakes on a first finished, first served basis.
In the Davidson College archives is an Arabic Bible that belonged to Omar Ibn Sayyid, a Muslim African slave who lived in the southern states in the early 1800s. He was likely the most educated slave in North Carolina, as well as the author of the only known slave autobiography written in a native language. His 1811 Bible was donated to Davidson in 1871.
With its founding in 1830, Randolph-Macon College is the oldest school affiliated with the Methodist church in the country.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke was founded as Croatan Normal School to educate members of the local Cherokee tribe.
Missouri Baptist University actually started as an extension of Hannibal-LaGrange College in 1957.
Ty Pennington, perhaps best known for hosting ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, attended Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
The Wheaton College Lyon is the official mascot and nickname for Wheaton's athletics teams.
The Dimple is the quad in the center of the Wheaton College campus, and "Dimple Diving" means sliding down the hills in snow (or mud!).
The Head of the Peacock is an annual race that takes place on the pond in "boats" built by students at Wheaton College.
Cowduck, the unofficial school pet at Wheaton College, is a well-fed duck who lives in Peacock Pond. He even has a column in the school newspaper.
The Wheaton College synchronized swim team appeared in the movie Mona Lisa Smile.
Anyone who auditions can join the cast of Northwestern College's annual dance concert, RUSH. Completely student led, over 200 participants perform many different dances, ranging from hip-hop to steam punk!
The University of West Alabama offers both men's and women's rodeo--yeehaw!
Willamette University (located in Salem, Oregon) is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1842!
Nancy Lieberman, the first woman to coach a professional men's basketball team, got her start as an Old Dominion University Lady Monarch.
During the second half of home basketball games at Old Dominion University, the whole arena uses a time out to take part in the one of a kind cheer/dance Ice Cream and Cake.
An annual tradition at Old Dominion University is the Painting of the Paws, where students paint mascot Big Blue's paw prints throughout the campus.
Just south of Kansas State University you'll find the Konza Prairie, one of North America's largest tallgrass prairies. The school also operates the Konza Prairie Biological Field Station.
Manhattan, Kansas, home to Kansas State University, kicks off football season with Purple Power Play on Poyntz, when the city closes downtown's main street so fans can watch fireworks and rally around the football team.
Kansas State University's lecture series has drawn seven U.S. presidents, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and international leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Vicente Fox. Inaugurated in 1966 by former university President James A. McCain, the series is a tribute to the late Kansas Gov. Alfred M. Landon.
Bust out your Terrible Towels for Indiana University of Pennsylvania alum and Pittsburgh Steelers' founder Art Rooney! Black and yellow! Black and yellow!
Morehouse College has produced three Rhodes Scholars. Only 165 colleges or universities have produced three or more.
President Emeritus Todd A. Milano, who led Central Penn College from 1989-2012, brightened students' days with his "Keep Smiling" motto.
Central Penn College's Fall Harvest tradition includes a polar bear plunge in the school's outdoor swimming pool.
You wont find students in sweatpants at Central Penn College. An appearance policy helps students build a professional wardrobe.
A wrought iron structure built in 1869, Henszeys Bridge, connects Central Penn College's Summerdale campus.
Graduates of Central Penn College can connect with each other through a Graduates Around the Globe interactive, online map.
Look closely at the weathervane atop Kirk Memorial building on the Truman State University campus: it doesn't move! But that's intentional; in 1996, the school welded the weathervane in place so it always points northeast, as an homage to the school's former name, Northeast Missouri State.
Texas Christian University's school colors of purple and white were chosen to represent royalty and clean play.
The horned frog--which is, incidentally, not a frog but a lizard--has been Texas Christian University's mascot since 1897.
The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth began as two local textile schools. The University traces its roots to 1895, when the Massachusetts state legislature chartered the New Bedford Textile School and the Bradford Durfee Textile School in Fall River.
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has a 710-acre campus which began in 1964. The dramatic campus design for the university was the work of architect Paul Rudolph then dean of Yale's school of Art and Architecture.
The mascot for the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth dates back to 1966 when the Corsair was selected as the athletic logo. A Corsair is defined as a pirate, especially formerly of the Barbary Coast, or a fast ship used for piracy.
University of Alabama, Birmingham offers an Undergraduate Neuroscience Program that provides the hands on research and close mentoring found only at the graduate level at most universities.
University of Alabama, Birmingham is ranked No. 1 nationally among public universities based on federal research funding per incoming freshman.
Best College Reviews named the Campus Recreation Center at University of Alabama, Birmingham as one of the 25 Most Amazing Campus Student Recreation Centers in the nation.
DePaul University's McGowan Environmental Science and Chemistry Building was the first university science building in Illinois to earn Gold LEED-certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which recognizes leadership in energy efficiency and environmental design.
Ray Meyer, DePaul University's long-time head varsity basketball coach, earned his 600th career victory in the third game of the 1979 season, one of a handful of coaches to reach this career milestone. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, only the fourth active coach to be so honored.
In 1978, DePaul University bought the storied but soon-to-close Goodman School of Drama from the Art Institute of Chicago, turning luminaries like Linda Hunt and Joe Mantegna into alumni and DePaul's theater school into a nationally ranked program.
Who says gardens need to be Earth-bound? DePaul University students can enjoy a rooftop garden atop the DePaul Center in Chicago's Loop. The school also has a rooftop greenhouse and garden on its Lincoln Park Campus.
DePaul University's Seton Hall was ranked #3 among the nation's 15 best residence halls in the 2012 Dormy Awards.
DePaul University's first two graduates were Mark Ignatius Sheridan, who became superintendent of the City of Chicago Water Department , and William David O'Brien, who became auxiliary bishop of Chicago and later titular archbishop and president of the Catholic Church Extension Society.
DePaul University's green initiatives include over 70 water-bottle refill stations.
DePaul University's College of Law was one of the first law schools in Illinois to admit women and Jewish students.
DePaul University's mascot is named Dibs, which stands for Demon in a Blue Suit.
DePaul University was originally named St. Vincent's College.
DePaul University Theatre School alumnus Michael Rooker co-stars in The Walking Dead.
Three members of the rock band Chicago graduated from DePaul University. The band's original name was Chicago Transit Authority.
DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business is one of the 10 oldest business schools in the nation.
In 1911, DePaul University became one of the first Catholic universities in the nation to admit women to coeducational classes.
The first female civilian scientist in space, Dr. Millie Hughes-Fulford, earned her Ph.D. at Texas Woman's University after being refused admission by other universities because she was a young mother.
Texas Woman's University's longest athletics winning streak stands at 61 consecutive semesters--that's how long student athletes have achieved an overall team GPA of 3.0 or higher. TWU also has been undefeated in football since the University's founding in 1901.
Built in 1939, the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods on the Texas Woman's University Denton campus is one of Texas' outstanding architectural achievements, and Eleanor Roosevelt actually dedicated the building on November 1, 1939.
Dorothy and friends from The Wizard of Oz, scurvy pirates, and various land and sea animals all have made appearances during the annual Spring Fling Golf Cart parade at Texas Woman's University.
Dorothy and friends from The Wizard of Oz, scurvy pirates, and various land and sea animals all have made appearances during the annual Spring Fling Golf Cart parade at Texas Woman's University.
Renowned for its beauty, the Texas Woman's University Denton campus has been a location for several television series, including the original Dallas.
The school's name may be Texas Woman's University, but almost 10% of TWU's enrollment is male. Men have been admitted to TWU since 1972.
Tough guys Dwane "The Rock" Johnson and Sylvester Stallone both attended the University of Miami.
Michigan State University was founded as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan.
From 1862 to 1865, a student could pay $30 in fees to cover all four years of an undergraduate education at Michigan State University.
The State News, the official newspaper of Michigan State University, has a circulation of over 30,000 copies.
During the Great Depression, a weekly meal ticket at Michigan State University cost $2.50.
Purdue University -- West Lafayette educates and inspires many grade school youth by providing reading materials and workshops for Indiana 4-H clubs.
Andy Griffith, Michael Jordan, and James K. Polk all went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Southeastern Bible College was founded because of a challenge made in 1933 by Dr. Harry A. Ironside, charging a group of businessmen to establish a Bible school.
In their fields, 99% of Kenyon College's tenure-track faculty hold a Ph.D. or other terminal degree.
Over 85% of Kenyon College students participate in an intercultural, international, and meaningful experience, such as home stays or cultural research projects, in durations of three to nine months. There are 59 programs in 25 countries on six continents.
Harvard University Stadium was the first reinforced concrete structure in the entire world.
While at Harvard University as an undergraduate, Conan O'Brien wrote for its comedy publication, The Harvard Lampoon.
In the United States, the words "college" and "university" have similar meaning. However, in other countries "college" tends to mean junior or trade school, where the word "university" describes a larger research-oriented institution, which contains many colleges.
Yale University has the second-largest academic library in the nation, with over 9.5 million volumes.
President Henry Hoover met his wife, Lou, as a senior at Stanford University.
If you¿re the funniest guy on the men¿s soccer team at to win the College of William and Mary, you may be luck enough to take its Leibo Award home, named in honor of alum Jon (Leibowitz) Stewart.
At the University of Idaho, you'll find the Hello Walk, a campus pathway named for former university Alfred Upham, who insisted--and later mandated--that people greet every person they passed.
