Random College Generator
Random US colleges and universities to discover.
Random College Generator
The Random College Generator picks a random US college or university with its location – from Harvard and Stanford to the University of Michigan, Pomona College, Howard University or the Colorado School of Mines. Use it to discover schools, settle a bet, or give a fictional character a backstory.
College groups
- Ivy League – all eight: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale.
- Top private universities – MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and more.
- Public universities – UC Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, UVA, UNC, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, Ohio State, Purdue and other flagships.
- Liberal arts colleges – Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury and Reed.
- HBCUs – Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, Hampton, Tuskegee, FAMU, NC A&T and Xavier.
- Tech & specialty – RPI, WPI, Harvey Mudd, Olin, Juilliard, RISD, Berklee and the US service academies.
Ideas
College search kickoff. High school students often only know a handful of famous names. Generate ten colleges, read about each one, and you'll quickly learn what you like – big or small, city or campus town, research or teaching focus.
Classroom activities. Counselors can assign each student a random college to research and present: location, size, famous programs and mascot.
Writing and role-play. Give a character a degree from a real school, or roll for the rival college in a campus story.
Trivia. Ask friends to guess the state or the mascot of a random school.
How to use
Pick a group or keep All, set how many colleges you want and press Generate. Starts with filters by first letter and No repeats prevents duplicates. Results can be copied or downloaded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which colleges are included?
About 105 well-known US colleges and universities with their city and state, grouped as Ivy League, top private universities, public universities, liberal arts colleges, HBCUs, and tech and specialty schools (including the service academies and arts schools).
Should I choose where to apply with this?
Not on its own. It's a discovery tool – use it to find schools you might not have considered, then compare programs, cost, financial aid and admission rates on each college's own website.
Can I use it for fictional characters?
Yes. Writers and game masters use it to give a character a believable alma mater, and the city tells you where the story might take place.
Are rankings or admission rates shown?
No. Rankings change every year, so the tool only lists the name and location. The groups give a rough idea of the type of school.