Top 5 US Universities for Sun-Lovers

Looking to study in the US but not keen on snow and rain? Suffer from low spirits during winter? Would you rather spend your vacation in Majorca than in Reykjavik (every time)?

If you’ve answered yes to all of the above, then you might want to consider filtering your shortlist of US universities by average temperatures and sunshine hours, because after all, you shouldn’t be making any compromises when it comes to your education…

To prove that it’s entirely possible to choose both sun and academic reputation, here’s a rundown of the five top US universities for sun-lovers, with some temperature averages, rankings information, and pretty pictures…

1. University of Hawaii at Mañoa

Sunshine score:The weather in the US state of Hawaii is warm and sunny all year round. Our little birds tell us that temperatures averages are at their coldest in January when they range between 19 and 27°C, while they shoot up to between 24 and 31°C in August.

Report card: The University of Hawaii at Mañoa is the 67^th highest-ranked US entry in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017 (and within the global top 350). It’s particularly strong in English language and literature, linguistics, agriculture and forestry, biological sciences, medicine, Earth and marine sciences, environmental studies, and education and training, as highlighted by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016.

The verdict: Check out the price of one-way flights to Hawaii ASAP.

2. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Sunshine score:Probably a little chillier than Hawaii, but still denim-cut-off friendly, LA is okay during the winter – with temperatures ranging between 11 and 20°C in January – and awesome during the summer, with highs averaging 26°C in August and lows about 17°C.

Report card: 10/10. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is ranked 31^st in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2016-2017, and stands out in many of the subjects covered by the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Areas of excellence include, but are not limited to, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, English language and literature, philosophy and environmental studies.

The verdict: Discover LA with the street skateboarder Danny Montoya...

3. University of California, San Diego

Sunshine score: Like Los Angeles, San Diego’s temperature averages aren’t quite as high as Hawaii’s but remain fairly comfortable. Temperatures range between 9 and 19°C in January and climb up to 20 to 25°C in August. 

Report card: The 40^th best university worldwide according to theQS World University Rankings 2016-2017, the University of California, San Diego is competitive in a wide range of subjects, including English language and literature, philosophy,  medicine and many more listed here, as indicated by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016.

The verdict: Dream big.

4. University of Texas at Austin

Sunshine score: Temperature averages range from 24 to 36°Cin August, and 5 to 16°Cin January.

Report card: The 67^th best university in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2016-2017, the University of Texas at Austin excels in a number of subject rankings, such as civil engineering, mining engineering, communication and media studies, chemistry, environmental studies, mathematics, and many more.

The verdict: Take a break from the heat at one of Austin’s best indie coffee shops...

5. Arizona State University

Sunshine score:To quote Hillary Clinton: “Whew! Ok…” Arizona is… HOT. January averages range from 4 to 20 °C in January, while in August temperatures shoot up to averages between 24 to 40°C!

Report card: The 222^nd best university in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2016-2017, Arizona State University is particularly strong in archaeology, environmental studies, development studies, geography and other fields listed here, as assessed in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016.

The verdict: Check out all the cool places to go out in downtown Tempe, Arizona.

All temperature averages were gathered from US Climate Data. 

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