This College Ranked The 'Cultiest' In The US & It Beat Out Every University In The South
The rankings also settled a huge fan debate!
The University of Michigan campus. Right: University of Michigan fans.
Ever heard a person yell "Roll Tide!" or "Gig 'Em!" and wondered what in the world they meant? Well, there are so many colleges and universities around the U.S. that have some pretty intense traditions that are unique to being a fan or student there.
According to a recent study, there's one institution that takes the title for most fanatical, or rather the "cultiest" of them all, based on factors like fan loyalty, overall school spirit, social prestige, and academic excellence.
Out of the 198 American universities that BrokeScholar analyzed, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI was found to be the most “cult-like," beating out every single popular Southern university.
As famously spirited as the Southern college traditions are, many well-known schools didn't make the top ranks. Right behind Michigan are the University of Virginia-Main Campus (No.2) and the University of Florida (No. 3).
Unfortunately, for the seventh-place ranked Ohio State Buckeye fans, your Michigan rivals have y'all beat, too!
The Michigan school tops the charts for football attendance — the study states that it's even higher than the stadium's actual capacity — the number of students graduating on time, and the array of school spirit hashtags fans use.
So how did other well-known "culty" academic institutions score on the list? The rankings might surprise you with the Aggies of Texas A&M University (No.4), University of California-Los Angeles (No. 5), Duke University (No. 6), the Ohio State University (No. 7), Stanford University (No. 8), Harvard University (No. 9), and University of Southern California (No. 10).
Are you a fan, or have you ever attended any of these universities? Let us know the "cultiest" tradition you experienced in the comments!