Depending on which college you attend, you might spend more time hitting the books than your peers elsewhere.
Many of the colleges on this list — which ranks schools by how much students study — have rigorous curricula, small class sizes, and an interdisciplinary approach to learning.
The list is from the Princeton Review’s “The Best 391 Colleges,” which surveyed 170,000 students at 391 colleges about their experiences and was published in August 2025.
The following ranking was compiled from college student responses to the question: “How many out-of-class hours do you spend studying each day?”
Based on the responses, the Princeton Review published a list of the 25 schools where students study the most, but did not share the average number of study hours reported by students at each college.
The results are based on students’ self-reported study hours, so they reflect respondents’ estimates rather than time that has been independently tracked.
Here are the 25 colleges where students reported studying the most outside class, ranked from No. 25 to No. 1.
25. Rice University
Rice University is a private research university in Houston, Texas. hapabapa/Getty Images
Rice University offers over 50 undergraduate majors across disciplines such as business, humanities, and natural sciences. Its student-to-faculty ratio for undergraduates is 6-to-1.
One student told the Princeton Review: “People work on the weekdays and during the day on weekends, and then on Friday and Saturday everyone does something fun, whether partying or spending time with friends.”
24. University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington. ivanastar/Getty Images
The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, offers over 50 undergraduate majors, and all students participate in an experiential learning opportunity, such as study abroad or an internship.
Students at Puget Sound said in the survey that they are “very dedicated to their studies” while also invested in extracurriculars.
23. Hamilton College
Hamilton College’s Sage Rink is pictured here. Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
Hamilton College, in Clinton, New York, offers an open curriculum with 44 majors and 58 areas of study. The school says on its website that almost 70% of people graduate with two majors or a major and a minor.
One person told the Princeton Review that Hamilton students are “friendly and academic, but not cut-throat or competitive in any way.”
22. Webb Institute
Webb Institute is a private college located in Glen Cove, New York. Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Webb Institute, in Glen Cove, New York, offers a dual bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Students begin studying their major on the first day of college.
The curriculum is intense; students said in the survey that they usually can have a day off on the weekend if they are on top of their studies.
21. Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private liberal arts university in Spokane, Washington : Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Washington, offers 16 undergraduate degrees across a wide range of majors, minors, and concentrations. The average class size is 22.
“My best professors…encouraged us to draw connections on our own, and taught according to what struck us as important,” one student told the Princeton Review about their Gonzaga experience.
20. Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Amherst College in Massachusetts offers students 43 majors and an open curriculum. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1, class sizes are small, and students and professors are close.
Students in the survey said the open curriculum provides a lot of “space and freedom to take a variety of classes” and that it’s an “academically rigorous undergraduate education.”
19. Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is located in St. Louis. Philip Rozenski/Getty Images
Washington University in St. Louis has nine different schools, including the School of Medicine and the Olin Business School. It also offers opportunities for interdisciplinary studies.
A student told the Princeton Review that the classes are “very rigorous and challenging.”
18. Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. : Catherine Robotis/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Brunswick, Maine’s Bowdoin College, prides itself on face-to-face, specialized learning. Chalkboards are still in use, and every first-year student has to complete a writing seminar.
Survey respondents said students are generally “academically competitive” yet supportive.
17. Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. Gordon Chibroski/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, says on its website that courses go beyond the classroom, with experiential learning, research, and project-based problem solving part of its teaching.
Students in the Princeton Review survey said that the “classes are very rigorous and there is a high expectation for reading and work outside class.”
16. St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Courtesy of St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College, in Northfield, Minnesota, offers a range of interdisciplinary majors, such as environmental studies and quantitative economics, and concentrations such as applied linguistics and Middle Eastern studies.
“Studying is also a form of hanging out for many people,” a student told the Princeton Review survey.
15. Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Gerald Zaffuts/Getty Images
Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, offers more than 50 areas of study, from Chinese to mathematics.
The students themselves said they are “always busy, always a little bit stressed” in the survey, but that the college offers a “perfect combination of…liberal arts and research opportunities; neither one has to be sacrificed.”
14. Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Kirkikis/Getty Images
Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, offers over 60 majors and 70 minors across its three colleges: Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and the Freeman College of Management.
Students told the Princeton Review that there is a “work hard, play hard” mentality and that they all have a shared goal of learning.
13. Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college located in Portland, Oregon. Png-Studio/Getty Images
Portland’s Reed College offers 38 majors — 13 of which are interdisciplinary. Humanities 110 is a yearlong course where students are introduced to humanistic inquiry.
According to the students themselves, “Reedies are invested in the learning process” and “academically driven.”
12. College of the Atlantic
College of the Atlantic is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Courtesy of College of the Atlantic
All students at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, earn a human ecology degree, a program they curate themselves based on their interests.
As a result, students told the Princeton Review that the school “attracts a self-selected group of passionate, driven, and deeply curious individuals who are committed to interdisciplinary learning and environmental and social justice.”
11. Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women’s liberal arts college located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Photographer name/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Wellesley College in Massachusetts describes itself as “one of the most academically challenging institutions of higher education in the country.”
The survey responses reflect this, with one student saying that Wellesley’s “workload is not for the faint of heart.” Another added, “Even when classes are stressful, there is a beautiful campus that sparks happiness at random moments.”
10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has topped the QS World University Rankings for 15 years in a row, and is renowned for its STEM teaching and research.
MIT students told the Princeton Review that the academics “definitely push [you] beyond your comfort level.”
9. Princeton University
Princeton University is an Ivy League private university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Leonid Andronov/Getty Images
As a member of the Ivy League, it may not be surprising that surveyed students said Princeton is an “intellectually challenging place.”
They added that there is a “tendency to overwork” but that nearly everyone is also talented at something outside the classroom.
8. Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. CynthiaAnnF/Getty Images
Lafayette College, located in Easton, Pennsylvania, offers degree programs in both engineering and the liberal arts, and prides itself on this interdisciplinary curriculum.
The students “tend to be athletic, very preppy, and serious about their education,” according to the Princeton Review.
7. Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. Courtesy of Centre College
Public speaking, writing, community engagement, and experiential learning all form part of Centre College’s general education curriculum. Located in Danville, Kentucky, the school offers majors across a range of arts and sciences disciplines.
Students told the Princeton Review that the “academic rigor is great preparation for graduate school and fellowships.”
6. Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Kyle Little/Getty Images
Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania offers a liberal arts and sciences education. Students take a wide range of classes and can form their own major.
There was consensus among the students surveyed by the Princeton Review that, at Gettysburg, Mondays through Fridays are “rigorous,” with most students busy studying.
5. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a STEM college located in Terre Haute, Indiana. Courtesy of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in Terre Haute, Indiana, has been ranked as having the No. 1 undergraduate engineering program for 27 consecutive years by the US News & World Report.
Students told the Princeton Review that they fill their “days with studying and homework,” but that there is a “great support system, both socially and academically.”
4. Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college located in Grinnell, Iowa. Wolterk/Getty Images
With no general education requirements or core curriculum, Grinnell College in Iowa allows students to curate their own curricula.
However, if you think this makes academic life a breeze, think again. In the survey, students at Grinnell told the Princeton Review that it is a “very academically oriented” school and that they spend a lot of time studying.
3. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering is based in Needham, Massachusetts. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts, emphasizes a project-based curriculum in which, from semester one, students work on real-world engineering solutions.
Students told the Princeton Review, “academically, classes are challenging, but there are many resources.”
2. Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is a private liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. Jim Brown/Getty Images
Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, is unique among liberal arts colleges; its mission is to educate the next generation of STEM leaders.
The school’s core curriculum includes courses in engineering, mathematics, biology, and computer science, as well as college writing and a critical inquiry class.
Students surveyed said “the course load is rigorous,” yet “rewarding.”
1. California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is located in Pasadena, California. JHVEPhoto/Getty Images
With a student-to-faculty ratio of only 3:1, the California Institute of Technology has small class sizes and a rigorous academic curriculum.
While its name reflects the school’s strong reputation and focus toward the sciences and engineering, you can also major in the humanities and social sciences.
Pasadena’s Caltech is great at “keeping students occupied and entertained while at the same time cramming a ridiculous amount of information into our heads,” one of the surveyed students told the Princeton Review.
