The 12 Greatest College Movies Of All Time

Whether your college years were wild and crazy or studious and subdued, no doubt you can relate to some of these Greatest College Movies of All Time. Are you down for a Road Trip and a return to Old School frat life? Check ‘em out:

12. Accepted (2006)

Justin Long
Jonah Hill
Blake Lively
Anthony Heald
Lewis Black

Accepted isn’t as well-known as some of the others listed, but it does have a tiny place in our ranking of college movies. Check out the Mac guy (Justin Long) and pals (including Jonah Hill) as the rejected lot create their own college where anyone is accepted. Creating the fake South Harmon Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.) website and building an actual campus goes to show that slackers have entrepreneurial spirit too.


11. Road Trip (2000)

Breckin Meyer
Seann William Scott
Amy Smart
Tom Green

The ultimate college road trip – where anything can go wrong. And everything does go wrong. Four friends hit the road to retrieve a sex tape sent to one of the buddies’ girlfriends, in an attempt to keep her from ever seeing his hookup. Can they get from point A to point B and save the long-distance relationship? All in all, it makes for one hilarious trip.


10. Rudy (1993)

Sean Astin
Jon Favreau
Ned Beatty
Charles S. Dutton

You can’t knock the inspiring true story of a college football underdog. Don’t even try it. Sean Astin shows how hard work and determination paid off for Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger – an undersized kid from a blue collar family who got a chance from the football coach at the University of Notre Dame. Too inspirational for you?… Let’s move on.


9. Wonder Boys (2000)

Michael Douglas
Tobey Maguire
Frances McDormand
Robert Downey, Jr.

Okay, it’s not your fun-lovin, crazy college party movie, but this collegiate flick has a lot of heart. Young Tobey Maguire learns a lot from his tortured writing professor Michael Douglas – the bond between prof and student looking for inspiration has never been so interesting or quirky. Seriously? A dead dog in the trunk? You don’t get that in every college movie.


8. Back To School (1986)

Rodney Dangerfield
Sally Kellerman
Burt Young
Keith Gordon

Rodney Dangerfield is the ultimate rags-to-riches success, but his depressed college kid who wants to drop out inspires the old man to go to college too. Dear old dad throws money around to get into school and is such a fun loving rich dude that his son suddenly becomes more popular. Classic Dangerfield line: “Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until somebody passes out. And then bring one every ten minutes.”


7. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002)

Ryan Reynolds
Tara Reid
Kal Penn

The ultimate college student, Van Wilder is a legend who has been at his college for 7 years. A professional college student, you could say, Van Wilder has the hots for pre-trainwreck Tara Reid, who is dating frat boy Richard. The war is on between Van Wilder and Richard… and oh, there has never been such a disgusting pastry filling ever prepared on film.


6. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Robert Carradine
Anthony Edwards
Timothy Busfield
Curtis Armstrong
Ted McGinley

What would happen if nerds got the upper hand? Impossible, you say? Well, check out Louis and Gilbert and some of their badass nerd friends (Poindexter, Lamar, Wormser, Booger, Takashi), who form their own fraternity and overthrow the jocks from Alpha Beta. Hell, even Lewis gets Ted McGinley’s girl, Betty. And c’mon, who doesn’t love Lamar’s rap?


5. Good Will Hunting (1997)

Matt Damon
Robin Williams
Ben Affleck
Stellan Skarsgård
Minnie Driver

A smarter college movie than most on this list, pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon hit this one out of the park with the tale of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with more smarts than anyone at MIT. He’s a janitor. He’s troubled. But he’s a friggin math genius. How do you like them apples?


4. Old School (2003)

Luke Wilson
Will Ferrell
Vince Vaughn
Ellen Pompeo
Jeremy Piven

What if you could go back to college and do it all over again? Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn give it the old college try in Old School. The trio start a fraternity for anyone and everyone, letting the buddies relive their youth in the frat party scene (Ferrell streaking, anyone?). They get back at the Dean trying to shut them down and they (maybe?) actually grow up through the process.


3. Real Genius (1985)

Val Kilmer
Gabriel Jarret
William Atherton
Jon Gries

Genius Chris Knight, played hilariously by Kilmer, is the laid back prankster of the college scene. New student Mitch Taylor is the serious student paired with Chris Knight, who shows the uptight kid how to unclench. Along the way, they build a chemical laser, antagonize Kent and effectively shut down their professor’s evil plot. Bonus points for the big popcorn ending. Seriously – how cool was all that popcorn?


2. PCU (1994)

Jeremy Piven
David Spade
Chris Young
Jon Favreau

Before Jeremy Piven became Hollywood’s biggest douche, he stole the show in a little college movie called PCU. Reminiscent of Animal House, PCU features every faction of this politically correct campus against the slackers at “The Pit.” Pre-frosh Tom Lawrence (Chris Young) is thrown into the war between the preppy “Balls and Shaft” guys and The Pit residents - and although the college president (Jessica Walter) tries to shut them down, The Pit hosts a monster party to pay their debts and ultimately they get the president fired.


1. Animal House (1978)

John Belushi
Tim Matheson
John Vernon
Verna Bloom
Thomas Hulce

It’s the quintessential college movie – Animal House no doubt tops the list for this classic tale of frat boy partying at the Delta House Fraternity. It’s got it all: Food fight. Toga party. Drinking. Drugs. Sex. Add a fight against the administration (and those rich assy Omega boys)… and, well… college life has never been so outrageous.