Pass the beer bong, bro. Despite the high cost of living, San Francisco just got named the top "major metro" for college students by the American Institute for Economic Research. According to the report, which was picked up by The Examiner, the honor is based more on students' future job prospects and quality of life than any particular institute of higher learning.
“The location you choose to go to college determines where you will likely spend the next four years of your life, and possibly where you will start your career," explained Amanda Knarr of AIER. "Our ranking reflects the characteristics that make cities attractive to the average college student.”
Denver, Austin, and Portland, Oregon, take the top three spots for mid-size cities. Ann Arbor, Tallahassee, and Durham came in at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for smaller cities.
San Francisco beat out Boston, D.C., Minneapolis, and Seattle — which came in at 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively — for the title. Interestingly, we were benefited in the rankings by our proximity to San Jose. "For the purposes of this study, San Francisco is a different city than San José, Calif.; nonetheless, it has a strong tech sector and legions of Silicon Valley workers who commute from San Francisco and Oakland," the study finds. "All of this means that college students who are looking for internships, jobs, and networking opportunities in tech will find opportunities in the San Francisco region."
In other words, San Francisco is great for students who want to work in tech (and can afford to live here in the first place). If they do (and can), then they'll likely fit right in — as Twitter's 2015 frat-themed office party made clear.
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