If you don't see your school and think it should be included, please comment with a reason as to why.
Hampden-Sydney College, VA
The Official Preppy Handbook dubbed Hampden-Sydney the peppiest college in the country, as did the Huffington Post. It has been referred to as the "finishing school of southern gentlemen" and it is a general belief that single sex schools are always preppier than any co-ed university. It should also be noted that HS is one of only four all male colleges remaining in the United States. William Henry Harrison, our country's 9th president was a member of the class of 1791. HS students are known for sporting belts with their school's notable crest and it is said that they refer to themselves as "gentlemen." This school has even gone so far as to publish their own etiquette guide titled From Manor Born to Manners Bred, which has even been updated for the digital media age. If that doesn't say preppy, than I don't know what does.
Trinity College, CT
I've called the east coast the "bastion of preppy things," so of course it has many preppy colleges, but this one really does take the cake. A small, private liberal arts school nestled in the heart of New England, it seems to have everything a prep school grad could want for. The Official Preppy Handbook listed Trinity as one of the top 20 preppy colleges in America. True Prep also paid homage to this school, featuring a piece on a Trinity alumnus and his perfect wardrobe. Trinity was all male until 1969 and has graduated many fine men and women, including Edward Albee and Tucker Carlson, both of whom are featured on our "Prepdom Hall of Fame." Preppy Handbook and True Prep author Lisa Birnbach referred to Trinity as the "preppiest college in New England" which is definitely saying something. Looking at that photo, it's easy to see why so many students choose to go to college in New England. East coast represent!
Princeton University - NJ
Of course, no list of preppy school's would be complete without at least one representative from the Ivy League. In his book The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present, author James Axtell referred to the boat shoe (i,e the Sperry Top-Sider, the quintessential shoe of the New England prep school student) as a "notable symbol of Princeton."
If you didn't gather this from the book title, former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson was a Princeton alum. A columnist for the Daily Princetonian said of Princeton "The manliest men wore the most pink and the girliest girls swooned at their sides." New Jersey is also home to the elite Lawrenceville School, one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, which has been described as "looking and acting like a mini Princeton." It's also worth mentioning that the town of Princeton is home to stores such as J. McLaughlin, Palm Place, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew and many more, all of which are ideal for updating a preppy wardrobe.
University of Virginia, VA
Public and state schools don't tend to be preppy, but this flagship state university is certainly an exception. When Thomas Jefferson couldn't get his alma mater, The College of William and Mary declared the official university of Virginia, he started his own and thus UVA was born. It is one of the most selective public universities in the country and certainly the preppiest. It's greek system is well known and while most colleges have "Greek Row" or something similar for their greek houses, UVA has Rugby Road. The phrase "Guys in ties, girls in pearls," is a well known mantra around campus, but perhaps the most impressive preppy factor is this; At the nearby College of William and Mary, they have "dress like a UVA day" where all the students dress as preppy as they can, typically sporting pink and greek clothes with popped collars. It really is impressive when a state school can manage to be more preppy than a prestigious private one.
Connecticut College, CT
You've read about Trinity College above, now meet their sister school, Connecticut College. Located near the ocean in scenic, upscale Trinity went co-ed. The Official Preppy Handbook described it as being filled with students who were didn't get into Wesleyan or Brown so they retaliated by getting even preppier. Conn has also been mentioned on "Mad Men" as well as in John Updike's novel "The Witches of Eastwick." Located in the very upscale New London Connecticut, this small, private school has been nicknamed "Abercrombie U." While we don't consider Abercrombie to be a preppy brand, the message is clear. Conn is known for it's teams excelling in sports such as tennis, field hockey, squash and sailing, all the preppiest sports, as well as for their equestrian program. Founded in 1911 as an all woman's school, Conn remained single sex until 1969, the same year that
I've called the east coast the "bastion of preppy things," so of course it has many preppy colleges, but this one really does take the cake. A small, private liberal arts school nestled in the heart of New England, it seems to have everything a prep school grad could want for. The Official Preppy Handbook listed Trinity as one of the top 20 preppy colleges in America. True Prep also paid homage to this school, featuring a piece on a Trinity alumnus and his perfect wardrobe. Trinity was all male until 1969 and has graduated many fine men and women, including Edward Albee and Tucker Carlson, both of whom are featured on our "Prepdom Hall of Fame." Preppy Handbook and True Prep author Lisa Birnbach referred to Trinity as the "preppiest college in New England" which is definitely saying something. Looking at that photo, it's easy to see why so many students choose to go to college in New England. East coast represent!
Of course, no list of preppy school's would be complete without at least one representative from the Ivy League. In his book The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present, author James Axtell referred to the boat shoe (i,e the Sperry Top-Sider, the quintessential shoe of the New England prep school student) as a "notable symbol of Princeton."
If you didn't gather this from the book title, former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson was a Princeton alum. A columnist for the Daily Princetonian said of Princeton "The manliest men wore the most pink and the girliest girls swooned at their sides." New Jersey is also home to the elite Lawrenceville School, one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, which has been described as "looking and acting like a mini Princeton." It's also worth mentioning that the town of Princeton is home to stores such as J. McLaughlin, Palm Place, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew and many more, all of which are ideal for updating a preppy wardrobe.
Public and state schools don't tend to be preppy, but this flagship state university is certainly an exception. When Thomas Jefferson couldn't get his alma mater, The College of William and Mary declared the official university of Virginia, he started his own and thus UVA was born. It is one of the most selective public universities in the country and certainly the preppiest. It's greek system is well known and while most colleges have "Greek Row" or something similar for their greek houses, UVA has Rugby Road. The phrase "Guys in ties, girls in pearls," is a well known mantra around campus, but perhaps the most impressive preppy factor is this; At the nearby College of William and Mary, they have "dress like a UVA day" where all the students dress as preppy as they can, typically sporting pink and greek clothes with popped collars. It really is impressive when a state school can manage to be more preppy than a prestigious private one.
You've read about Trinity College above, now meet their sister school, Connecticut College. Located near the ocean in scenic, upscale Trinity went co-ed. The Official Preppy Handbook described it as being filled with students who were didn't get into Wesleyan or Brown so they retaliated by getting even preppier. Conn has also been mentioned on "Mad Men" as well as in John Updike's novel "The Witches of Eastwick." Located in the very upscale New London Connecticut, this small, private school has been nicknamed "Abercrombie U." While we don't consider Abercrombie to be a preppy brand, the message is clear. Conn is known for it's teams excelling in sports such as tennis, field hockey, squash and sailing, all the preppiest sports, as well as for their equestrian program. Founded in 1911 as an all woman's school, Conn remained single sex until 1969, the same year that
Boston College, MADubbed the "capitol of New England," Boston is known for many things. Since one of these things is old money, it makes sense that the preppy culture would be strong there, particularly in the upscale neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, where BC is located. The students at this historic private college have been described as looking like a "walking J. Crew catalogue" which would make perfect sense, given the great clothing shops that line the streets of Boston. BC upperclassmen joke that freshmen return from winter break while an entirely new wardrobe that "conforms more to the BC look." Although we don't know this for sure, it is also said that whenever BC faceed off against BU (Boston University) in hockey, the BC student body would chant "safety school" repeatedly.
This isolated NY liberal art school was ranked number 8 on the list of preppiest colleges by The Official Preppy Handbook. Known for it's constantly stellar teams in soccer, lacrosse, and most all hockey, St. Lawrence has been described as a "boarding school on steroids." Greek life is popular at SLU. So are ski weekends, as the campus isn't far from some great slopes in both Vermont and Canada. As the Preppy Handbook stated "Everyone has a Norwegian sweater and a brother who made the olympic trials." St. Lawrence wasn't named in the Huffington Post's list of Top Ten Preppiest Colleges, but many thought that it should have been. When I asked a current SLU student I know if his school was preppy he replied "Yes, it really is. You see a lot of pastels and popped collars."
This college is definitely the sleeper as far as preppy schools go. Both The Official Preppy Handbook and The Huffington Post failed to list it as one of the preppiest schools and we're still trying to figure out why.
Holy Cross is very much the Trinity College of Massachusetts, an insular private college located in a not-so-nice city (in their case, Worcester), but home to many beautiful, ivy covered buildings and white-bred, preppy students who are rumored to rarely mix with the outside world (although in a city such a Worcester you really can't blame them). Contrary to what it's name might suggest, Holy Cross is not a religious school by any means and although it's campus is home to a beautiful church, no one is required to go. As it is an exclusively undergraduate institution, almost all of their students go on to attend top graduate schools. Despite it's reputation for stellar academics, Holy Cross has been described as "Analogous with a J. Crew. Catalog" and "A drinking school with an intelligence problem." Certainly sounds preppy enough for me.
You might not expect to see a public school from the midwest on a list of preppy schools, but here you go. This "public ivy" is by far the preppiest college in the midwest and probably the preppiest public university, second only to UVA of course. UMiami Ohio has long been referred to as "J. Crew U" due to the dress of many of the students, which seems to include pressed jeans, oxford shirts, polos, monogramed clothing and, of course, Sperry Top-Siders for everyone. Despite being located in Oxford Ohio, it was named Miami university due to the Miami Native American tribe that once inhabited the area. In a student conducted survey in 2010, 85% of the students admitted to getting emails from J. Crew. Although fellow state school Ohio State University has a line of school clothing available from preppy fashion giant Vineyard Vines, it doesn't top what J. Crew U has accomplished.
As a prestigious, top-tier university located in our nation's capital, it seems only natural that Georgetown University would earn a place on this list. This former catholic college is said to be inhabited by students who love the area's strong cosmopolitan flavor. The Official Preppy Handbook referred to Georgetown as having a "southern feeling with a dash of diplomatic corps. It added that lacostes and top-siders were a must. The Huffington Post mentioned that at Georgetown, backpacks were almost a faux paux and socks were rarely worn because as everyone knows, no true prep would wear socks with Sperrys. It comes as no surprise that Georgetown would have many notable alumni in the fields of government and politics (including former United States President Bill Clinton), but they get extra prep points for graduate Abdullah of Jordan, reigning king of the Kingdom of Jordan who attended the Deerfield Academy in Deerfield Massachusetts.
Honorable Mentions -
Babson College
Bowdoin College
Colby College
Colgate University
College of Charleston
College of William & Mary
Duke University
Elon University
Hamilton College
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Hollins University
Sweet Briar College
Sewanee: University of the South
Union College
Vanderbilt University
Wheaton College
Williams College
