The idea of the “ramen-eating college student on a budget” isn’t just a stereotype: tuition and room and board are expensive, and many, if not most, students have to live simply and frugally while they’re in college (though scholarships help!). But there are a few schools that offer some seriously fun and luxurious amenities that will leave even the most impecunious (if you don’t know what that word means, look it up—it’ll be on the SAT) students feeling pampered. Here are just a few of today’s coolest campus accommodations:
- Students at Georgia Tech can blow off steam at the school’s legendary aquatic facility, which features a competition pool, a leisure pool, a hot tub, and—wait for it—a 184-foot waterslide!
- At the University of Missouri, it’s always Spring Break at the Tiger Grotto, a resort-quality facility where students can relax in the lazy river or the hot tub. There’s even a waterfall!
- MIT’s Simmons Hall features a two-story movie theater, a ball pit, and, according to its fun-loving residents, “an unknown population of velociraptors.”
- Kenyon College, an architecturally idyllic liberal arts school in Gambier, Ohio, offers students what is possibly the world’s greatest meal plan: unlimited dining at Peirce Hall (which, visually, rivals the dining hall at Hogwarts), no meal card required.
- At Stanford University, students can make use of the school’s famed golf course, where Tiger Woods hit the links as an undergrad in the mid-1990s.
- Can’t live without Fido? Eckerd College allows resident students to bring their pets with them, including dogs up to 40 pounds.
- As John Lennon once said, “Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself.” Students at New York University can take advantage of the cultural mecca that is Manhattan with the school’s Museum Gateway program, which gives them free access to many of the city’s best museums and galleries.
- That John Belushi “College” poster is so been there, done that. What if you could get your hands on an authentic Dali, Matisse, or Picasso? At Oberlin College, aspirational art enthusiasts take their dorm décor to the next level through the school’s art rental program.
- High Point University may be winning what Forbes recently referred to as “the college amenities arms race.” High Point students enjoy country club-caliber accommodations like free ice cream, a movie theater, a steakhouse, a free arcade, and, best of all, puppy study breaks.
- Michigan Tech has its very own ski hill, Mont Ripley, where students can hit the slopes free of charge.
- At Purdue University, students can unwind at the aquatic complex, which features a recreational pool with a vortex, a spa, a bubble bench, and space to play water basketball or volleyball.
Do you know of a killer campus amenity that’s not on this list? Let us know in the comments!
