We can’t say we recommend just applying to schools because they are in lovely, warm climates, but it’s something that we see students hope for time and time again. Hey, we get it, who wouldn’t want to go to the beach every day after class? Maybe it shouldn’t be your number one consideration when looking for schools, but it can certainly be on the list. Harvard is Harvard…. But Boston is freezing. So for all our warm-weather lovers, we have compiled a list of amazing colleges in warm-weather climates.
The UCs
There are 9 UCs, but we are going to lump them all together for this spot on the list. Mostly because they all share the same application. TL;DR: if you apply to one, you can easily apply to multiple. All of them have “good weather,” but they do have different types of weather. You have to ask yourself, do you want the mild, cloudy but never truly cold days at UC Berkeley, Davis, or Santa Cruz or do you want the hot and sunny days at UCLA, Santa Barbara, and San Diego? If you are thinking of applying to the UCs, do little research into the specific schools. They range a little in size and quite a bit in acceptance rate. See what works best for you.
University of Southern California
Don’t get confused, while USC sounds like it might be connected to the UC system, it is a private school… in fact, it is the oldest private research university in California. USC is located near Downtown Los Angeles. It’s a pretty competitive school to get into, their acceptance rate has recently been as low as 12%. They are popular not only for their LA location, but for their great sports, 22 academic schools, and impressive research opportunities.
University of Miami
You can’t get much hotter than Miami. The University of Miami is located in Coral Gables, Florida. While it might sound like a public school, Miami is another private school. They have around 19k undergrads and a popular business school. They have recently become more competitive and this year had about a 19% acceptance rate… we get it, who doesn’t want to live in Miami?
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech isn’t for everyone. It is a tech school meaning they only really have STEM programs… They have a couple of non-tech programs, but honestly, you really need to be a math and science person to go. Located in Atlanta, people freak out the one day a year you might get frost on the ground. Tech is probably the largest school on this list with around 40k undergrads.
PS if you are looking for Tech Schools in warm places, it’s worth looking at CalTech and Florida Institute of Technology. CalTech especially should have been on this list, but we didn’t want to only give options in Southern California.
Rice
Rice or William Marsh Rice University if we are being specific is located in Houston TX’s museum district. Texas in general has hot weather and Houston has great weather due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. Rice is most famous for its STEM programs but there are many other wonderful academic programs and majors at Rice. Rice has about 4K undergrads and a competitive 8% acceptance rate.
The Claremont Colleges
This is another entry on this list which is actually more than one college. The Claremont colleges include 5 small liberal arts colleges in a consortium: Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona, and Scripps Colleges. This means no matter which of these colleges you go to you can take classes and use opportunities across the schools. All of these campuses are in the LA suburbs and are the perfect choice for those looking for a rigorous liberal arts education in the LA area.
Stanford
Stanford is probably the closest you are going to get to an Ivy League school so where that doesn’t snow. While it’s not actually in the Ivy League, it is incredibly competitive to get into. (Seriously, recently they had a record-low acceptance of 3.9%.) And for good reason. They have amazing academics, great research opportunities, and much more. Stanford is located in Palo Alto, California. It’s much closer to San Francisco than it is to LA, so get ready for fog and some chilly mornings, but it’s California… people wear a North Face coat when it gets under 65 degrees.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UNC-Chapel Hill, or simply Chapel Hill, is located in the suburbs of Durham NC, it might not be quite as hot as some of the other schools on this list, but NC enjoys some consistently mild and sunny weather. The school is one of the oldest public universities in America and houses 20K undergrads across 14 academic schools. They also have great sports and research opportunities.
Duke University
Duke is another North Carolina choice. Much like Chapel Hill, Duke enjoys mild, sunny weather. They are another highly competitive school. Their acceptance rate has recently been around 6%. Duke is great for those looking to go to college in the south and those interested in Undergraduate research opportunities.
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a private Catholic school in San Diego California. California has a couple of great religious schools in warm areas including Pepperdine and Santa Clara. While USD is a religious school, you don’t need to be religious to go to these schools. USD has one of the highest acceptance rates on this list with an acceptance rate of about 48%. While it might not be the most competitive, it probably has the best weather of any of the schools on this list.
We see great weather as a perk of an already great school. However, some of our students value it even more highly. Whatever “the perfect school” means to you, we can help you get in whether it's a freezing east coast Ivy League or the University of Hawaii.
Want to find your dream school? We can help (and help you get in)! Contact us here.