The Most Hipster Colleges

Way back in 2010, we ranked America's top 10 hipster schools to much fanfare. Tiny Hampshire College in Massachusetts was voted the "most" hipster school in the nation, prompting its then-president, Ralph Hexter, to dub himself "Hipster in Chief."

We couldn't let 2011 pass us by without ranking the country's most prominent hipster schools. This year, we scoured the country for campuses where skinny jeans, American Spirits and Moleskins are de rigueur. Check out our winners below -- and let the intellectual debate rage in the comments section.

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Grinnell College

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Iowa isn't necessarily a destination for the cool and connected, but isn't that the kind of thing hipsters love? It's pre-cool (or maybe post-cool) irony, like mom jeans, giant teddy bear sweaters and aviator glasses. In any case, Grinnell, a rural school of 1,600, is an oasis of liberal thought amid the plaintive Iowa cornfields. Under the tutelage of its savvy new president, Raynard Kington (campus nickname: Ray Kay), the school launched this year a cash prize for work in social justice. Plus, rent in the town of Grinnell is cheap, the city is eminently walkable and there's not a trace of Greek life.

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Iowa isn't necessarily a destination for the cool and connected, but isn't that the kind of thing hipsters love? It's pre-cool (or maybe post-cool) irony, like mom jeans, giant teddy bear sweaters and aviator glasses. In any case, Grinnell, a rural school of 1,600, is an oasis of liberal thought amid the plaintive Iowa cornfields. Under the tutelage of its savvy new president, Raynard Kington (campus nickname: Ray Kay), the school launched this year a cash prize for work in social justice. Plus, rent in the town of Grinnell is cheap, the city is eminently walkable and there's not a trace of Greek life.

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Comments

[Corey Elizabeth McCardle]

11:22 AM on 08/24/2011

would have to argue that MICA and Goucher College are SUPER hipster, Baltimore being their haven and whatnot

[Mistah Rankin]

09:39 PM on 08/22/2011

You missed Belmont University (in Nashville, TN), which has been noted as becoming eclipsed by hipsters here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Belmont+University. And it's true.

[infinityonhigh7]

02:02 PM on 08/15/2011

Brown absolutely belongs on the list, but i think wesleyan might be the most hipster school in the country

[Jelena C]

07:09 AM on 08/11/2011

No NYU? Really? Shocker! I think my alma mater, Middlebury College, should at least get an honorable mention. The place was positively infested with hipsters by the time I graduated. I escaped just in time.

[inkhosi]

10:43 AM on 08/04/2011

One cousin went to the New School and hated it and left (quality of the professors in her department were lacking, ostensibly). The other will be starting this fall.

[Nerdiac]

05:09 PM on 08/02/2011

Where's OSU?? It may not be predominately hipster, but there are more than enough to shake a stick at, plus, they're the only ones who stick around after graduating. The entire campus area is infested with them.

[MF OGShemmm]

12:32 PM on 08/01/2011

You guys totally forgot about Oberlin and Wesleyan!!!!!!!

[armstrong st]

10:08 AM on 08/01/2011

Are hipsters a new wave of culture now? Is baggy clothes out of fashion or what?

Steve from www.essaytask.com

[Chris Dietmann]

12:22 PM on 07/28/2011

No NYU?

[rofljen]

11:00 AM on 07/28/2011

Dear Huff Post: Portland really is not melancholy.

[natlieemartin]

10:33 AM on 07/28/2011

someone should really check out Virgina Commonwealth University

[gravity defiant]

01:40 AM on 07/27/2011

Ugh. It's not bad enough that I haven't learned a damn thing at Portland State; now it also makes the list of top hipster schools.

I want my money back.

[Brittany Lince]

09:20 PM on 07/26/2011

Portland State: so spot on

[bonanzajellybean]

12:02 PM on 07/26/2011

You missed Warren Wilson College in Asheville. Check it out.

[cosmiCataclysm]

06:07 PM on 07/22/2011

Vapid. Story.

[frank day]

06:11 PM on 07/22/2011

Vapid. Comment.

[cosmiCataclysm]

06:15 PM on 07/22/2011

Not really...