Alabama: University of Alabama
Where: Tuscaloosa
Date Founded: 1820
Fun fact: The University of Alabama is home to one of the top 10 most-winning football teams in NCAA history. Roll tide!
Alaska: University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Where: Fairbanks
Date founded: 1917
Fun fact: Psst, you just might see the Northern Lights from your dorm room.
Arizona: University of Arizona
Where: Tucson
Date founded: 1885
Fun fact: In addition to a beautiful campus, UA is also known for one of the best-looking student bodies in the country. Hmm...
Arkansas: University of Central Arkansas
Where: Conway
Date founded: 1907
Fun fact: Once called the Arkansas State Teacher's College, UCA was historically the number one educator of teachers in the state.
California: Scripps College
Where: Claremont
Date founded: 1926
Fun fact: The campus prides itself on its lush greenery, including its orange trees, birds of paradise, and other foliage. Best of all, students are allowed and encouraged to pick from the rose garden when flowers are in bloom.
Colorado: University of Colorado, Boulder
Where: Boulder
Date founded: 1876
Fun fact: A skiers paradise, CU Boulder has a dedicated ski bus that transports students from campus to the surrounding slopes of Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Vail.
Connecticut: Yale University
Where: New Haven
Date founded: 1701
Fun fact: Some of Yale's most notable alumni include George W. Bush, Meryl Streep, Hillary Clinton, Anderson Cooper, and James Franco. Talk about a stacked house.
Delaware: University of Delaware
Where: Newark
Date founded: 1743
Fun fact: Three of the original 10 class members who studied at the University of Delaware went on to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Florida: Flagler College
Where: St. Augustine
Date founded: 1968
Fun fact: At the center of campus is the former luxury hotel, the Ponce de Leon, built in the Spanish Renaissance style.
Georgia: Berry College
Where: Rome
Date founded: 1902
Fun fact: With the largest contiguous campus in the country, parts of Berry College's 27,000 acres contain hiking, cycling, and horseback riding trails.
Hawaii: Brigham Young University-Hawaii
Where: Laie
Date founded: 1955
Fun fact: Sister school to BYU, located in Provo, Utah, this Hawaii-based institution is owned and operated by the Mormon Church.
Idaho: University of Idaho
Where: Moscow
Date founded: 1892
Fun fact: One of the most beautiful spots on campus (and the best place to de-stress during finals period) is what's known as "Tree City." It's a 65-acre arboretum and botanical garden featuring gardens, ponds, and trees from around the world.
Illinois: University of Chicago
Where: Chicago
Date founded: 1890
Fun fact: This prestigious university's motto is "Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched," but you'll probably be more likely to remember the unofficial motto: "Where fun goes to die."
Indiana: University of Notre Dame
Where: Notre Dame
Date founded: 1842
Fun fact: The famous Golden Dome, which tops the university's main building, is gilded in 23.9-karat gold leaf. In fact, the very same same gold flake is used to paint the Notre Dame football helmets.
Iowa: Grinnell College
Where: Grinnell
Date founded: 1846
Fun fact: This tiny liberal arts college about halfway between Iowa City and Des Moines is one of the most selective and best value colleges in the whole country, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Kansas: Kansas State University
Where: Manhattan
Date founded: 1863
Fun fact: The on-campus KSU Dairy Bar is home to what's arguably the best ice cream in the state: the iconic Purple Pride blueberry ice cream (and the recipe is kept secret).
Kentucky: University of Louisville
Where: Louisville
Date founded: 1798
Fun fact: The university's medical school is credited with some pretty amazing breakthroughs, including the first artificial heart transplant and the first successful hand transplant.
Louisiana: Louisiana State University
Where: Baton Rouge
Date founded: 1853
Fun fact: True to the Creole culture in the state, LSU's French department offers an undergraduate Cajun studies program.
Maine: Bowdoin College
Where: Brunswick
Date founded: 1794
Fun fact: Bowdoin's mascot is the polar bear, in honor of Robert Peary, a naval officer and alumni who led the first expedition to the North Pole.
Maryland: Johns Hopkins University
Where: Baltimore
Date founded: 1876
Fun fact: If there's a lacrosse capital of the US, it's probably JHU. In fact, the campus is home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame.
Massachusetts: Williams College
Where: Williamstown
Date founded: 1793
Fun fact: This small liberal arts college in New England has an impressive list of alumni, including seven Pulitzer Prize winners, a Nobel Prize Laureate, over 50 US representatives, 18 governors, and former US president James Garfield.
Michigan: University of Michigan
Where: Ann Arbor
Date founded: 1817
Fun fact: While Ann Arbor is one of America's most beloved college towns today, the University of Michigan was originally in Detroit. It moved to its current location in Ann Arbor in 1837.
Minnesota: St. Olaf College
Mississippi: University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Where: Oxford
Date founded: 1848
Fun fact: In 1885, Ole Miss hired Sarah McGehee Isom, making her the first female professor at a co-ed institute for higher learning in the entire South. Today, Mississippi's Center for Women and Gender Studies bears her name.
Missouri: Washington University in St. Louis
Where: St. Louis
When: 1853
Fun fact: WashU has hosted more presidential and vice-presidential debates than any other institution in US history, including the first televised three-person debate among President George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot.
Montana: Carroll College
Where: Helena
Date founded: 1909
Fun fact: One of Carroll College's residence halls houses a boulder wall, which is open for all students to practice their rock climbing.
Nebraska: Creighton University
Where: Omaha
Date founded 1878
Fun fact: Creighton offers a scholarship for students who serve as the school mascot, Billy Bluejay.
Nevada: Sierra Nevada College
Where: Incline Village
Date founded: 1969
Fun fact: A nature-lover's dream school, Sierra Nevada College is just blocks away from the shores of Lake Tahoe.
New Hampshire: Dartmouth College
Where: Hanover
Date founded: 1769
Fun fact: Chris Miller wrote the movie Animal House based on his experience in Dartmouth's Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
New Jersey: Princeton University
Where: Princeton
Date founded: 1746
Fun fact: In 1869, Princeton played in the first US intercollegiate football game against Rutgers College.
New Mexico: New Mexico State University
Where: Las Cruces
Date founded: 1888
Fun fact: If you've ever eaten green chile sauce, you can thank New Mexico State. The university is home to the Chile Pepper Institute, a department that researches and develops new strains of the Hatch green chile.
New York: Vassar College
Where: Poughkeepsie
Date founded: 1861
Fun fact: Vassar was the first institution of higher education that granted degrees to women, and in 1969 it became co-ed.
North Carolina: Elon University
Where: Elon
Date founded: 1889
Fun fact: Each year, every new Elon student receives an acorn under the oak trees; the tradition is meant to symbolize their new beginning and personal growth.
North Dakota: Valley City State University
Where: Valley City
Date founded: 1890
Fun fact: Located in Valley City, which was named "Most Beautiful Town" in the state by Expedia, VCSU is bordered by the Sheyenne River on one side and lush, forested hillside on the other.
Ohio: Kenyon College
Where: Gambier
Date founded: 1824
Fun fact: Each new student signs the school's matriculation book upon beginning their studies. It's one of Kenyon's longest-standing traditions that dates back over a century.
Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma
Where: Norman
Date founded: 1890
Fun fact: The campus houses the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, where you can find find the world's known largest skeleton of the pentaceratops dinosaur.
Oregon: Lewis and Clark College
Where: Portland
Date founded: 1867
Fun fact: The heavily forested campus, set in a quiet neighborhood of Portland, feels more like a park than a college. One of the highlights: a peaceful reflecting pool offering views of nearby Mount Hood.
Pennsylvania: Swarthmore College
Where: Swarthmore
Date founded: 1864
Fun fact: This liberal arts college is part of a consortium with Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the University of Pennsylvania, meaning students can take classes at any of the four institutions.
Rhode Island: Brown University
Where: Providence
Date Founded: 1764
Fun fact: One of Brown's most famous alumni is Emma Watson; the Harry Potter star graduated in 2014 with a degree in English.
South Carolina: College of Charleston
Where: Charleston
Date founded: 1770
Fun fact: There have been a handful of movies and TV shows filmed at this well-manicured campus, including The Notebook, General Hospital, and Cold Mountain.
South Dakota: Augustana University
Where: Sioux Falls
Date founded: 1860
Fun fact: Augustana University was once nicknamed "the College on Wheels" because it moved so frequently in the 19th century. The college moved all across Illinois before finding its permanent campus in South Dakota.
Tennessee: Sewanee, the University of the South
Where: Sewanee
Date founded: 1857
Fun fact: Nicknamed "the Mountain," Sewanee's campus is made up of Gothic-style architecture spread across the Cumberland Pleateau overlooking the Tennessee Valley.
Texas: Rice University
Where: Houston
Date founded: 1912
Fun fact: Rice has a long history of pranking, and the university keeps a running list of superlatives. The most disgusting, according to the archives, was in 1966, when Gregory Curtis convinced the freshmen and sophomore classes to line up at the health center carrying urine samples.
Utah: University of Utah
Where: Salt Lake City
Date founded: 1850
Fun fact: The University of Utah was established for 46 years before Utah even became a state.
Vermont: Middlebury College
Where: Middlebury
Date founded:1800
Fun fact: This liberal arts school has its very own ski slope called the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. It's the only college to own a slope in the US besides Dartmouth.
Virginia: University of Virginia
Where: Charlottesville
Date founded: 1819
Fun fact: Ever since its first class of students, UVA has had secret societies. Today, six societies still remain that are more than 100 years old. Members of the most secretive — the Seven Society — are revealed only after they die.
Washington: University of Washington
Where: Seattle
Date founded: 1861
Fun fact: Every year around the end of March, people swam the University of Washington to see the rows of flowering cherry blossom trees.
Washington, DC: Georgetown University
Where: Washington, DC
Date founded: 1789
Fun fact: This university boasts an array of famous alumni, including Bill Clinton, Bradley Cooper, and Allen Iverson.
West Virginia: Marshall University
Where: Huntington
Date founded: 1837
Fun fact Marshall is known for its forensic science program; it is home to one of 20 such graduate programs in the country, and it's constantly ranked among one of the best.
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin
Where: Madison
Date founded: 1848
Fun fact: One of the university's most beloved traditions is a yearly snowball fight. Each winter, two opposing dorm locations get together for a duel, and let's just say things get pretty intense.
Wyoming: University of Wyoming
Where: Laramie
Date founded: 1886
Fun fact: It isn't Wyoming's campus itself but rather its stunning natural setting on the Laramie Plains before the Snowy Range Mountains that makes it so unique.