Going to college is one of the best decisions that you can make. It offers the opportunity to get away from family and experience complete freedom for the first time. If you are planning to head to college or just want to relive the feeling of being in college, here are the 15 best college movies of all time that you need to know about.
15. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
Starring Demi Moore, Brat Pack, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, and Andrew McCarthy, St. Elmo’s Fire is a college classic that you need to watch at least once in your life.
Watch entitled and obnoxious Georgetown University students navigate adulthood. How they realize they have one another and are not entirely alone. Besides, you will fall in love with the charm of a bygone era.
14. Night of the Creeps (1986)
“The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is: they’re dead.”
Possibly the best tagline for a college movie, ever? Right off the bat, Night of the Creeps makes no bones about its influences. It mixes sci-fi, horror, and college comedy for a gloriously thick genre soup. In the first sequence alone, every component is covered: you’ve got alien bugs, ax-wielding lunatics, and a couple trying to find a quiet make-out spot.
13. Legally Blonde (2001)
Legally Blonde is an iconic college film about Elle Woods, starring Reese Witherspoon who heads to Harvard University to study law and prove to her disinterested boyfriend that she is more than just beauty. This classic comedy has a lot to offer.
Elle Woods studies hard to win back her boyfriend. She even lands an internship to give it her all. The movie is packed with wit and passion and allows you to experience studying at an Ivy League University.
12. Higher Learning (1995)
The issues tackled by Higher Learning are highlighted to this day despite being released towards the end of the 20th century. John Singleton approached sexual assault, moral responsibility, and race relations on campus better than most films do today.
This heavy drama investigates the effects of diversity. The fictional university of Columbus is filled with Afrocentrists, white supremacists, feminists, and gays. Watch how three freshmen navigate academics.
11. Rudy (1993)
Another excellent college movie that sheds light on the experience is Rudy. It inspires football fans to pursue their dreams.
When Sean Astin, a scrappy, small-town player ends up playing for Notre Dame, he does not let his lack of money, social status, mediocre performance, and short stature come in the way. His fighting spirit is what makes the movie worth watching.
10. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
National Lampoon’s Animal House has proven to be a college movie benchmark. It is a classic comedy that is both moronic and brilliant at the same time. Great performances, a beautiful campus, and clever scripting make it a must-watch.
It revolves around misfits who only aspire to secure drugs and booze. They pledge to join a frat house to have a good time.
9. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Involving a love triangle between Camden College freshmen, Sean Bateman falls in love with a fellow student who is waiting for her boyfriend to return while the other is in love with Sean. There is a lot of fun drama in the movie that will keep you going.
The fact is that college is not always as simple as you might think it is. It is a time when everyone is exploring and trying to better understand themselves.
8. Wonder Boys (2000)
Michael Douglas is a professor who has dedicated most of his life to looking up to alpha males. However, he changes pace when his wife leaves him and ends up having an affair.
Watch how he navigates his life on campus while trying to complete his novel. There is plenty of drama to keep you on your seat.
7. Everybody Wants Some (2016)
Directed by Richard Linklater, Everybody Wants Some is a work of inspiration as it has set the tone for comedy films. The humor shown perfectly captures typical college days.
The film follows Texas freshmen as they join the college baseball team. Jake arrives at the fraternity to meet fellow teammates who try to copy him. Despite being handsome, none of them is smart. It is the laidback attitude of the movie that resulted in its huge success.
6. EuroTrip (2004)
Although EuroTrip is mostly set outside the campus it follows a group of friends who travel through Europe as one of them hopes to meet a German girl, his pen pal whom he finds beautiful. After his girlfriend, who had cheated on him dumps him, he tries his chance at love by traveling to the other side of the world to give it one last shot.
It is a truly hilarious movie that reveals just how laidback life in Europe can be.
5. Old School (2003)
Old School is about collegiate life. It shows the lengths to which students will go for pranks and drugs. Starring Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Ferrell, the trio try to bring back their youthful days by opening up a frat house next to the university they used to study at.
Vaughn throws a party for his buddy, Mitch who caught his girlfriend cheating on him. When things go out of hand at the party, the friends decide to turn the house into a fraternity.
4. Happy Death Day (2016)
Happy Death Day proves that the horror genre has a lot to offer. It is a hilarious slasher movie that is set on campus. Tree is a badass, caring, and funny college student who wakes up at someone’s dorm and carries on with her day while trying to deal with the worst hangover when she gets brutally murdered by a masked killer and the day restarts.
She quickly realizes that she is trapped in some endless time loop and decides to unmask her killer.
3. Pitch Perfect (2012)
Pitch Perfect is the perfect option for some light-hearted fun. It stars Anna Kendrick who tries her best to achieve her dream of becoming a musical sensation.
Watch how she makes her way through freshman year at Barden University when she joins an acapella group.
2. Scream 2 (1997)
A popular college slasher movie that will give you thrills is Scream 2. It is a solid sequel that is funny, mysterious, and scary.
There are many memorable scenes that you will look back on even when you are done watching the film. It follows college students who are being targeted by a senseless killer.
1. Neighbors (2014)
Photo by Glen Wilson – © Universal Pictures
Living near a frat house is not easy. The music, the parties, the drugs, and the hotties are not worth it. Neighbors is about a couple, Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen who try to tolerate living next to a frat house.
However, when they realize that they can no longer take it, they try to break things up.
Honorable Mentions
- The Social Network (2010)
- PCU (1994)
- American Pie 2 (2001)
- 100 Girls (2000)
Studying, doing a keg stand, making friends, and finding love are just some of the things that you can expect when in college. Watch the above college movies to prepare yourself for the experience of a lifetime. Leave a comment below to let us know if you have seen any of the above-mentioned flicks.
