The Preppiest Colleges Of 2012

Being a preppy person isn't all about knowing how to sail and wearing sailing clothes. Anyone in the world can be preppy, if they just want to try it!

After extensive research, HuffPost has rounded up the preppiest colleges of 2012. What did it take to make the cut? A love of Brooks Brothers, a passion for lacrosse, a hatred of regular shoes. Check out our list and then tell us what you think!

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• Georgetown University

  All it takes is one trip to The Tombs -- a hidden <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/the-tombs,792063/critic-review.html" target="_hplink">bar and restaurant near</a> the Georgetown campus, called a "<a href="http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/1656.html" target="_hplink">Good Ol' Boy haunt</a>" -- to realize students here like to imagine they're living in a real life version of the <em>Social Network</em>. Backpacks are a faux pas and socks <a href="http://www.collegefashionista.com/school/georgetown" target="_hplink">are rarely worn</a>, because obviously they'd look silly with your Sperry Top Siders and short shorts. Off campus, Georgetown is planted in a neighborhood frequented by diplomats and Senators, where President Obama holds fundraisers, and the M Street shopping area has stores like Brooks Brothers, Jack Wills, Lacoste and Rugby as some of its main draws. (picture). The downside? Built on a swamp, seeing rats run on the sidewalk is more common than squirrels. How plebian.

• University of Virginia

  The quad is referred to as "the Lawn," most of the frat and sorority houses are situated along "Rugby Road." The phrase "Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls" is well-known motto on campus, and on Facebook, you can find students <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/2200202117/ " target="_hplink">griping when not enough people</a> wear ties or sundresses to the games. UVA was even referenced in the book "<a href="http://www.theu.com/college_reviews_view/university_of_virginia/uva_is_amazing_despite_the_haters_1867" target="_hplink">True Prep</a>", a guide to preppy college life. The most damning evidence? William & Mary, no stranger to preps, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/14/the-preppiest-colleges-ph_n_537912.html#s80752&title=Vanderbilt_University" target="_hplink">even have their own</a> holiday called "Dress like UVa For A Day."

• Boston College

  Even the east coast sports-bro website, Barstool Sports, thinks Boston College is <a href="http://www.bcheights.com/news/column-hop-off-of-your-barstool-1.2766055#.TzQ3AL8gNRA" target="_hplink">a bit too preppy</a>. Boston College has been <a href=" a href="http://collegeprowler.com/boston-college/guys--and--girls/" target="_hplink"" target="_hplink">described</a> as "preppy" and "homogeneous," and that "Most students [at BC] put a lot of emphasis on appearance -- for better or worse."

• Wheaton

  The "Official Preppy Handbook" ranked this as a <a href="http://www.pleasurablerevelation.com/2010/03/official-preppy-handbook-or-of-virtues.html " target="_hplink">runner up, but the blogosphere puts</a> Wheaton College a little higher on the preppy barometer today. "Wheaties" commonly hang around Harvard and Brown on weekends decked out in green and pink apparel and Bermuda bags. "There are the preppy people," a Wheaton student on <a href="http://collegeprowler.com/wheaton-college----massachusetts/guys--and--girls/" target="_hplink">College Prowler</a> concedes, however, "Don't rely on stereotypes, because, generally, everyone is kind and helpful."

• Cornell

  It's the school that educated <a href="http://www.adweek.com/files/adfreak/6a00d8341c51c053ef01310f84cd3e970c-450wi" target="_hplink">Andy Bernard from the Office</a>; ever heard of it? Blogs about Cornell will give you <a href="http://blogs.kitschmag.com/watch/2010/09/09/leave-a-really-preppy-tweet-in-the-comments-and-well-give-you-free-stuff/" target="_hplink">free SWAG</a> if you leave "preppy comments" or tweets. Oh, and don't forget <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/80903787/cornell-crest-preppy-handbag" target="_hplink">your preppy handbag</a>!

• Ohio State

  At Ohio State you can get official school <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vineyard-Vines-Ohio-State-Flag-Tie-Preppy-Handbook-NEW-/220926213051" target="_hplink">gear by Vineyard Vines</a>, or an <a href="http://www.lostlettermen.com/store-ohio-state-buckeyes-scarlet-argyle-preppy-jersey-tote-bag/" target="_hplink">argyle handbag</a> in OSU colors. Even that bastion of preppiness <a href="http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=1178&section_size=&section_color=&sortby=newArrivals" target="_hplink">Brooks Brothers</a> is making a line of Ohio State clothes. (O's on the cufflinks) Gawker <a href="http://gawker.com/5815919/brooks-brothers-inadvertently-reveals-americas-whitest-colleges" target="_hplink">has said (snarkily) </a> that Ohio State was "infested by unbearably-preppy" kids.

• Alabama

  Urban Dictionary <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=preppy" target="_hplink">talks about the Southern Preppies</a> in Alabama wearing Patagonia, Lacoste and Brooks Brothers -- which, by the way, <a href="http://gawker.com/5815919/brooks-brothers-inadvertently-reveals-americas-whitest-colleges" target="_hplink">also has a</a> University of Alabama line. For those Alabama fans feeling like they don't look enough like a prep in their U of A gear, <a href="http://www.preppyprincess.com/universityofalabama.aspx" target="_hplink">PreppyPrincess.com has you covered</a> with a line of aprons, tote bags, and cloth napkins.

Comments

[CollegeTrad]

11:00 PM on 02/21/2013

@ Standard's first comment: Not going against your whole stand, but Alabama belongs there, and so do most of the SEC schools. Some southern schools are dressier than many northern schools. I mean, this is 'publican country, you know they love their repp ties and high heels. You'll see the greeks dressed up at games all the time.

Do agree about OSU. I mean really?

And just off note, but to everyone wondering why So-and-So weren't ranked, check back in past years and you'll probably see them. College of Charleston and Sewanee were in 2011. Duke and Princeton in 2010. It's an annual water cooler story....Huffington doesn't want to reuse the same schools over and over.

[CollegeTrad]

10:53 PM on 02/21/2013

@Standard's first comment: Alabama deserves to be there; actually most if not all SEC schools do. The deep south schools can be better dressed than many northern schools. I mean, we're talking about 'Publican country. You know they love their repp ties and pearls.

Do agree about OHU. I mean really.

[standard]

04:39 AM on 12/31/2012

The authors seem to confuse dressing like a preppy (a transient matter of on-campus fashion) with being preppy (and so, part of a well-defined social order). I mean, Ohio State? Alabama? Get real! They're basically degree-granting football venues! A true prep will tailgate at a lightly-attended but well-catered party at a soccer game against Lawrenceville or Deerfield long before considering going to a post-season bowl game (except with a client). Bowl games are what State and Bama live for.

And any list that excludes the likes of Colgate, Lafayette, Trinity (in Connecticut) or Colorado College yet ranks Cornell (but for Columbia, before it went co-ed, pretty much the least preppy place in the actual Ivies) ahead of Brown just isn't well-researched.

All the same, credit is due for the shot of the co-ed in the White Sox cap: probably evidence of a North Shore Chicagoan gone east for school--even if, in Chicago itself, the Cubbies are the preps' favored team (probably for the far-better bar scene in Wrigleyville).

[Digimixus]

07:35 PM on 12/17/2012

Preppy college clothing starts with polo shirts. Elegante Polo is the best store for prepsters in Palm Beach Florida which is even more awesome that they have an online store.

[Goldenbeardog]

02:42 PM on 10/13/2012

Public colleges and universities can never be "preppy," it's a contradiction in terms.

[standard]

03:37 AM on 12/31/2012

Not entirely: U.Va. and William and Mary--both are state school--certainly qualify.

[antaeus]

12:11 PM on 08/17/2012

preppy = conformity = cliché = lack of creativity = 4 regrettable years

[Jimmy Rawl]

11:01 PM on 05/02/2012

its true, i go to ohio state....i wish i could afford out of state tuition

[trand1114]

08:44 AM on 04/11/2012

Awe, look at all those good conforming libs in the picture

[GhostDog9]

12:02 PM on 04/10/2012

A preppy list without Duke on it has to be invalid as all get-out. And no Princeton ? Or Wake Forest ? No U of Vermont ? Or Colgate ? Or U. of Colorado ? Person who penned this lame article needs to get out more.

[standard]

03:38 AM on 12/31/2012

Absolutely! And Ohio State? Michigan, maybe. But Ohio State?

[Kaylee Doncouse]

04:53 PM on 04/09/2012

How is Miami University (OH) not included in this????? .... ever heard of J CREW U

[Aleks Perpalaj]

04:43 PM on 04/09/2012

I think that DICKINSON COLLEGE should of been one of the schools as well!

[JJaco47]

07:30 AM on 04/09/2012

really? Cornell? Apparently I've been going to a different Cornell for the last 4 years...

[saucylaxer]

02:10 AM on 04/09/2012

What a poorly written article...

First of all, how can a school as large as OSU be uniformly categorized as preppy? People from all walks of life attend, most of whom can't afford/have no interest whatsoever in dressing preppy.

Only one SEC school makes the list...really??!

Virginia and Bama are spot on, though.

IMO, schools in northeast/mid-Atlantic that should be on here: Colgate, Lafayette, Syracuse, Hobard & William Smith Colleges, Connecticut College.

[Noah Swimmer]

08:38 AM on 04/24/2012

I agree that it's a poorly written article however your comment contradicts itself.

You criticize the author for their choice of OSU because of it's size. Yet you refer to the choices of UVA and Alabama as "spot on"... do you know how large the student body at those two schools are? I'd say they also fall under the category of being too large uniformly sum up.

[Jimmy Rawl]

11:04 PM on 05/02/2012

all the preppy kids at osu live in central university district by campus, everyon else(that is at least not uncool) live around the edges

[hazyafternoonsunshine]

02:50 PM on 02/26/2012

My kid went to Exeter, and my observation of real preppy kids is that the stereotype does not at all fit. This seems to be about what people think is preppy, as opposed to what actually is. Wannabe preppies.

[smoker]

08:54 PM on 02/28/2012

That's what I thought too.

[Paige Baker]

08:47 PM on 02/21/2012

Roll TIDE!