College Rankings 2013

20 Happiest Colleges (photos)

Want to know which colleges have the happiest students? The Daily Beast analyzed retention rate and student opinions to find out. Oh joy.

By The Daily BeastOct 16, 2013

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/happiest_vrfuy5 — Student happiness is one of the most sought-after characteristics of four-year colleges and incoming students. To measure how well the nation’s schools are doing, we considered full-time freshman retention rate according to the National Center for Education Statistics for 25% of the methodology. For the remaining 75%, we turned to College Prowler for student ratings on the overall student experience and whether they would do it all over again, as well as the quality of the student health center.

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-texas-am-university-college-station_u30jx0 — College Station, Texas

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 92%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.3

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 10.0

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.8
Scott Halleran/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-stanford-university_yhs8rv — Stanford, California

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 98%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 8.9

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.9
Paul Sakuma/AP

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-wisconsin-madison_xy8nii — Madison, Wisconsin

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 94%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.4

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.8

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
Jonathan Daniel/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-florida-state-university_rv0izm — Tallahassee, Florida

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 92%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.0

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.8

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.9
Streeter Lecka/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-north-carolina-chapel-hill_tctste — Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 97%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 8.8

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.8
Lance King/Replay Photos via Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-florida_gxonzw — Gainesville, Florida

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 95%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.3

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
Sam Greenwood/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-brigham-young-university-provo_y1pxg1 — Provo, Utah

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 87%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.1

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.9

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-georgia_zcge6k — Athens, Georgia

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 94%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.5

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.6
Scott Cunningham/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-texas-austin_s2qu25 — Austin, Texas

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 92%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.5

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7

Ronald Martinez/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-kansas-state-university_dqzesb — Manhattan, Kansas

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 82%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.2

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.8

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.9
Allen Holder/Kansas City Star via Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-central-florida_qwbdph — Orlando, Florida

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 87%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 10

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.6

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
John Raoux/AP

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-ohio-state-university_llvabj — Columbus, Ohio

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 93%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.6

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.6

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.6
Courtesy of Ohio State University

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-virginia-tech_bttqfc — Blacksburg, Virginia

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 91%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 8.8

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
Gerald Herbert/AP

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-purdue-university_clf89p — West Lafayette, Indiana

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 90%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 8.7

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.6

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.9
Mark Simons/Purdue University

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-oklahoma-state-university_trvfu3 — Stillwater, Oklahoma

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 80%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.2

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.6

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 10.0
Brett Deering/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-southern-california_eoyxzg — Los Angeles, California

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 97%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 8.9

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.5
Sports Studio Photos/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-university-of-alabama_vdl9yi — Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 86%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.2

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
Dave Martin/AP

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-indiana-university-bloomington_x1udcj — Bloomington, Indiana

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 89%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.4

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.7

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.5
James Brosher/AP

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-penn-state-university_vr4uei — University Park, Pennsylvania

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 92%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.3

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.6

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.5
Rob Carr/Getty

galleries/2013/10/16/20-happiest-colleges-photos/2013-college-rankings-brown-university_lfuotd — Providence, Rhode Island

Full-time Freshman Retention Rate: 98%

Best Student Health Center (score out of 10): 9.4

Best Overall Student Experience (score out of 10): 9.2

Would Do It All Over Again (score out of 10): 9.7
Steven Senne/AP

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