SoCal rival universities beat thousands of schools in best campus life 2027 rankings

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Forget the textbooks — California college students are getting an A+ in living the good life.

Two Los Angeles rivals have cracked the nation’s top 10 schools for student life, with UCLA landing at No. 4 and USC coming in at No. 6 in Niche’s 2027 rankings.

The Golden State schools beat out thousands of colleges across the country, proving there’s more to the college experience than hitting the books.

The annual rankings measure everything from nightlife and athletics to campus food, housing, safety and the surrounding community.

Student survey’s account for 25% of each school’s score, while the party scene makes up another 15%. Athletics, campus quality and the surrounding neighborhood each contribute 10%.

At UCLA, which earned an A+ for student life, one graduate praised the school for striking “a great balance of academic rigor” while offering plenty of opportunities to socialize beyond the classroom.

The Bruins also have bragging rights beyond their social scene. Niche separately ranked UCLA the No. 1 public university in America and gave it the top spot nationally for college campuses and campus food.

Across town, USC wasn’t far behind, earned its own A+ for student life and taking sixth place nationally.

One former Trojan praised the university for delivering “a really quintessential college experience,” highlighting its sprawling campus, student organizations and numerous opportunities to get involved.

The latest rankings add to a growing collection of accolades for California’s universities.

Earlier this week, four California colleges in WalletHub’s 2027 rankings — including Caltech at No. 4 and Stanford at No. 9 — were ranked among the nation’s best.

Meanwhile, Times Higher Education rankings listed three colleges — Stanford, Caltech and UC Berkeley — among the world’s top 10.

And in August, five California schools earned spots among LinkedIn’s top 40 colleges for long-term career success.

Niche’s top 10 colleges for student life in 2027:

1. University of Texas at Austin
2. University of Michigan
3. Florida State University
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. University of Georgia
6. University of Southern California
7. Clemson University
8. Ohio State University
9. University of Miami
10. University of Wisconsin-Madison

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