Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a large private institution with about 15,000 undergrads and another 6,600 students in its graduate and professional schools. The university's 13 schools and colleges offer about 200 majors and 100 minors, among them illustration, Arabic, ethics, and jazz studies. The Holden Observatory, the second oldest building on campus, is a brick marvel renovated to be of use in research conducted by undergrad and graduate physics students. All 50 states and more than 120 other countries are represented in the student body. On the weekends, sporting events, frat and house parties, and trips to off-campus Marshall Street dominate the social landscape. Students also have their choice of more than 300 campus organizations to join; represented special interests include information security, service dogs, and comics. School pride is written all over Syracuse, especially whenever Otto's Army student section shows up, and on any given day, half the students are likely to be sporting their trademark orange gear for the 'Cuse. But don't take winter-weather warnings lightly: Crossing the large campus can prove bone-chilling without the right clothes, or, better yet, a car.