We at Ivy Coach are nothing if not optimists. Why focus on the bad when there is so much to be pleased with when it comes to receiving an elite higher education? However, we also pride ourselves on our truth telling. And the fact of the matter is that some schools are more hospitable than others. College can be a stressful time for many, especially those who are living away from home for the first time and coping with high workloads and social pressures. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top ten schools where these various factors combine to create the unhappiest college students in the nation. 

Does this mean that every school on this list should be avoided at all costs? Not necessarily! Every undergraduate experience is different, and we’re sure there are plenty of students who are proud to call these universities home. But anecdotal reports of campus culture are often a reliable window into the cheeriness of a student body. Let’s take a look at the top ten schools with the least happy students.

Top 10 Unhappiest Colleges in the U.S.

10. Clarkson University

To top off this list, Clarkson University is a private research university located in Potsdam, NY. Greek life dominates this school’s party culture, in spite of a gender ratio of over two male students for every female student. If excessive drinking and fraternizing are not your thing, you will unfortunately be out of luck on this one-note campus. 

9. Cornell University

Cornell University has always suffered from bad PR, and a spate of infamous student suicides in the 2000s certainly didn’t help things. Unfortunately, Cornell combines some of the most strenuous aspects of an Ivy League education — high academic stress and a cut-throat competitive culture — with the relative isolation of its rural location in Ithaca, NY. 

8. CUNY Baruch College

A member of the CUNY system of public colleges in New York City, Baruch College’s claustrophobic campus takes the brutalist aesthetic to the max! Baruch is plagued by the same problem that plagues all New York City schools: students are drained away from campus life by the pull of the city at large. The result is a campus that lacks vitality.

7. Pace University

Pace University is the sort of place that many high schoolers dream about: an artsy campus smack dab in the middle of New York City. These dreams are quickly dashed when first years make it to Pace’s campus. It’s not that the students aren’t interesting, but the institution doesn’t have the academic or artistic resources to support most of them, and campus social life is no match for the pull of New York City.

6. Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Located on the outskirts of Newark, Seton Hall does not bring much to the table in regards to campus facilities, housing, dining, and parking. How could the students have much school spirit under these conditions?

5. Illinois Institute of Technology

The Illinois Institute of Technology is a private research university in Chicago, IL that does not want for a challenging curriculum. The university has a meager 61% graduation rate because so many students struggle to complete these STEM requirements on time, leading to widespread dissatisfaction in the student body.

4. St. John’s University

St. John’s University is a private Catholic university in Queens, NY. Students overwhelmingly report dissatisfaction with campus facilities, safety, faculty support, and job placement. Furthermore, this commuter school does not have much in the way of campus social life. 

3. United States Naval Academy

It might not come as a surprise that students subjected to the rigor of a federal service academy can get a bit frustrated with the United States Naval Academy. This is not to say that USNA alumni don’t graduate with a deep appreciation of their time there and with bright futures in the defense sector ahead of them, but let’s just say that student happiness is not necessarily a priority at this school.

2. University of Hawaii – Manoa

Even the beauty of Hawaii cannot distract the undergraduates at the University of Hawaii – Manoa from a school that fails to meet expectations. In fact, it’s exactly that geographic expectation to always be sunny and optimistic while surrounded by paradise that grates upon the psyche of many of the students here.

1. Simmons University

Tensions between students and administration run high at Simmons University, a private women’s college located in Boston, MA. In the midst of a city bustling with undergraduate life, students at Simmons are saddled with an underfunded liberal arts program and poor options for dining and partying.