University of Iowa

Iowa City is regularly cited as one of the best college towns in America, and the downtown bar scene on the Pedestrian Mall is a genuine social hub where you'll run into everyone you know on a Saturday night. The Hawkeye football tailgate culture is massive, and the 'Iowa Wave' to children's hospital has become one of college sports' most emotional traditions. Greek life is present and active but doesn't dominate — the Writers' Workshop and strong arts scene give the town a creative, literary undercurrent that's unusual for a Big Ten school.

The Pentacrest with its Greek Revival Old Capitol -- a National Historic Landmark -- provides a genuinely beautiful focal point, complemented by Collegiate Gothic buildings along the Iowa River. Beyond the historic core, the campus becomes more architecturally mixed and less distinctive.