The typical college rigmarole makes it seemingly impossible to be healthy. After all, a steady diet of cramming books and beers is no ones idea of living a clean and fit lifestyle. So how do you go about leading a college life that won't belittle all of your hard work in the gym? It's simple! When creating your plan for your new academic lifestyle, try to select the healthiest college you can find.
The Gym
You can tell a lot about a college simply by visiting its gym. A school's dedication to student fitness is evident by the amount of money they dump into their training facilities. Check for a few key things: Are the machines new? Who's working out in the gym? Do they have any fitness classes? When a school has a new gym, athletic people hitting the weights and organized opportunities for fitness, you know that you've hit the right place.
Intramural Activities
So maybe you burned yourself out team sports in high school, but still feel like being active outside of the gym. Welcome to the wonderful world of intramural college sports. Without the overbearing sense of commitment, you can have a fun time leading a healthy lifestyle and meeting new people if your school offers these types of activities. Most colleges have a list of intramural sports on their website, but while checking out the gym, be sure to look out for a bulletin board with even more listed.
The Cafeteria
You know better and always pack your meals ahead of time in your college backpack, but when you need something on the fly, the cafeteria is always waiting. Yet, at most schools, cafeterias are dominated by everything unhealthy. When considering the healthiest college for you, look to see what kind of food is served. There will always be waffles and pizza at any college, but if your school offers healthy options than you know you are making a wise choice.
Making The Grade
If you're serious about your health, there are rankings and grades that you can study to see how healthy a college environment can be. Hit the web, do some research and you'll easily be able to find out how a prospective school measures up, courtesy of ranking sites like
Niche. However, if you need a quick answer,
USA Today ranks the healthiest colleges as Bowdoin College, Stanford University, Virginia Tech and Rice University.
Staying fit while in school and having a plan for doing so is extremely important. By choosing to go to a school that puts an emphasis on healthy living, it'll be that much easier to keep your regimen intact and living the life you want to lead.