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“There is no tradition more worth of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty, as the University of Georgia.” -University of Georgia Battle Hymn
There is no better choice I’ve made in my adult life than choosing to attend the great University of Georgia. I have many reasons to be a proud alumnus. The University of Georgia has been a leader in education, research, athletics, and, of course, partying for years. In fact, it is one of the more difficult schools to get into in the South. We have a beautiful campus, amazing traditions, an infamous nightlife, and beautiful people, all in a remote, small town setting. There is a place for everyone at the University of Georgia, from Greeks to hipsters, from future politicians to entrepreneurs to lawyers to businessmen and women. There are more than 600 student clubs and nearly 60 Greek chapters, in which about 25 percent of the student body is involved. We chosen Athenians also have a thriving music scene, producing artists like REM, B-52s, Drive By Truckers, and Widespread Panic. I miss it all. As they say, “UGA: the greatest four to five years of your life.”
Campus And Education
The University of Georgia easily has one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. Yes, the world. It was the first state-chartered university in these great United States, founded in 1785, and North Campus is a testament to the university’s history and greatness. The classical architectural style, amazing landscaping, beautiful trees and flowers, and of course UGA’s trademark Arch–it truly is a marvel to behold. We tailgate there, we study there, we lounge there, and North Campus even drew the attention of Hollywood when “Road Trip” was filmed there. It’s especially beautiful in the springtime, and should definitely be on anyone’s state of Georgia bucket list.
The University of Georgia has one of the best business schools and law schools in the South, as well as excellent educational, pharmaceutical, and journalism programs. We’re one of the top public education institutions in the country, drunk or sober.
Traditions
The University of Georgia, as well as the city of Athens, is a place of traditions. We have superstitions, like not walking under the Arch before graduation. We also have sports related traditions, like ringing the Chapel Bell after each Georgia athletic victory. We have Classic City Brewfest and the Twilight bike race, where every bar sets up on the sidewalk so they can serve the race observers well into the morning. And, of course, we have the UGA Battle Hymn before each football game. We also have the Dawg Walk before every football game, where we watch our players march to Sanford Stadium for an SEC gridiron battle. Tailgating on North Campus is a UGA staple, too.
Athens
Every UGA grad knows you haven’t partied unless you’ve partied in Athens. I’ve had friends visit from other SEC “party” schools and they were nearly blackout while we were just getting started. We’re consistently a top 15 party school while simultaneously–and paradoxically–being great at academics and athletics. We’re basically good at everything.
There are bars for every crowd, and every bar has regulars. There are dance clubs, dive bars, and slightly more upscale bars and restaurants. Downtown is almost always packed with gorgeous women and guys looking to snag one of them. The University of Georgia has really developed a reputation as a party school because of the vibrant Athens scene. Everyone I know who has lived in Athens or has visited Athens even for one night has gone home with a crazy, alcohol-soaked story from an unforgettable experience. I have too many to count.
Whenever you come into town as an alum, you are bound to run into old friends and get drunk off your ass. Automatically, you become a patron to one of downtown Athens’ many drunk food locations, like the famous diner The Grill or Little Italy Pizzeria. Why should Athens be on everyone’s party bucket list? Because even other SEC schools know it’s the best place to party. I had an Ole Miss alumnus tell me that Athens was like Oxford’s Grove on steroids. It sure as hell is, and it was my playground for five years. Go Dawgs.
Sports
Football at UGA is not just a sport, it’s a religion. From tailgates on North Campus to the Dawg Walk to game time to the post-game invasion of the downtown bars, there is nothing like game day in Athens. When we enter Sanford Stadium, whether it’s our first time or 50th time, we experience the larger-than-life feeling we cannot ignore. We all know the UGA Battle Hymn by heart. When we point at the upper deck above the south end zone and the Lone Bugler begins to play those few notes, we get goosebumps and our adrenaline spikes to near fatal levels. Our hearts pound in anticipation for the game as Larry Munson’s voice fills us with our well-deserved Bulldog pride. The stadium is a powder keg and the Bulldog players tearing through the Georgia logo to take the field detonates it into roars of Georgia pride. On game day, drunk or sober, we are all family, and we embrace all those who chant, “What’s that coming down the track? The mean machine in red and black! Ain’t nothin’ finer in the land than a drunk obnoxious Georgia fan! Gooooo Dawgs! Sic ‘em!”
Our other sports are worth noting, too, as we perennially have talented baseball, tennis, gymnastics, and swim teams. We occasionally have a decent basketball team. In fact, I may make it to Athens for the sole purpose of attending a baseball game this year. ESPN ranked Athens as one of the best sports towns in the country, and we sure as hell show it. We’re always proud of our athletes.
I’ll always love the University of Georgia, and although I’ll never be an Athens townie, I’ll always bleed red and black. Go Dawgs.
Respond
@5OClockShadow_
“The University of Georgia has one of the best . . . law schools in the South,”
Duke, UVA, Vanderbilt, Texas, and Emory would like a word. UGA has a decent law school if you want to work in a small firm or for local govt. in GA. Let’s not get carried away dude.
“We’re one of the top public education institutions in the country,”
LOL no. It’s not even the best public educational institution in GA (Tech), to say nothing of the fact that you’re already disregarding private national research universities.
UGA is a pretty fun massive state school and party school; let’s just leave it at that.
It is ranked #19 in the country. I would say that it is certainly among the top law schools in the South. Even if those schools you mentioned are actually better, Georgia would still be among the top law schools in the South. For the record, around 20% of each graduating class are immediately hired by NLJ 250 firms, so graduated have more options than small firms and “local government.” In fact, many Congressman, Senators, and Governors have attended UGA Law School as well as the CEO of Hanna Capital, the prime minister of Yemen, the president of Emory and Wesleyan, and the founder of Georgia Tech. Get some facts man. I’d also like to here where you attended college.
USNWR rankings for law are worthless as a measure of quality, and if you knew basically anything about law or legal hiring you’d know that.
UGA is in no way a biglaw feeder. In 2012, 9.3% of UGA grads were hired by NLJ250 firms. So for the record, the average graduate will be nowhere near sniffing distance of biglaw employment. Meanwhile, the average Duke or UVA grad has a decent shot at the largest and best-known firms in major markets. These schools are leaps and bounds better than UGA, and Vandy is maybe just a leap better. UGA law is nowhere near a top school.
Also it’s pretty worthless to judge a school by the positive outlier outcomes of people who graduated decades ago (especially when about a third of UGA’s 2012 class didn’t achieve full-time, bar-passage required jobs 9 months after graduation), so I won’t even discuss that part.
It doesn’t matter where I went to school. You’re still wrong.
Uhhhhh please provide evidence that Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan, Went to UGA Law. This is blasphemy and embarrassing for Wesleyan people…. Your FACTS don’t add up, bruh
+1 for GT reference. THWg.
Bring it. I thrive on the hate. Just let that big hateful chip on your shoulder go.
No hate bro, just the facts. If you’d just left it at “UGA is an insane party school” I’d be in 100%. Except the Grove hate. Athens has better bars, Ole Miss has better tailgating.
We’re actually a great academic school and research university. Business, pharma, law, ag…we’re definitely up there.
UGA is just another cheap state flagship like UF or Bama or whatever. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially the value proposition. It’s just not “up there” or impressive outside the state of GA.
I hate Florida, but I’m sure they are an AAU school. Comparing them to Alabama is not intelligent. I’d say UGA is somewhere in the middle there between the two. Florida is a step below UVA and UNC, but still a great academic school.
You say that with 100% blind bias. I can respect that.
You are coming off as stupid even comparing the Universities of Florida and Alabama. Morons get into Alabama. Florida, who I really hate by the way, is similar education-wise with Georgia, with each having the upper hand in specific areas. Of the public SEC schools, Georgia and Florida are always competing for the top spot.
It’s pretty worthless to bicker about the relative educational quality of “public SEC schools” brah, because none are elite or truly prestigious. Sorry.
Seconded. can’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole
^ this
I can’t believe that the HOPE Scholarship hasn’t been brought up here. I was able to graduate from the University of Georgia in 4 years without paying a cent of tuition. I believe it’s been changed where HOPE only covers 90% of tuition now, but that is still an unbelievable deal.
And even if you are out of state, as my sister was once my parents moved to SC, Georgia has one of the most lenient residency requirements, and you will be able to get in state tuition by your sophomore year. You really can’t beat the value of UGA on top of everything else.
Good point. Totally slipped my mind.
and the HOPE scholarship has paid for more boob jobs than Hugh Hefner
Your bars close at 2:00. End of story.
2:30. Last call is at 2.
Since when did this website allow people to have a personal plug for their school and college town? This same article could be written for a many other schools.
Athens is pretty cool though.
I agree with your point, but if someone can write “Why (insert city I live in here) is the best city ever to live in” then this is along the same lines. I think the authors should switch the titles to “Why (insert city) is an awesome place to visit”. I’m not going to move to a different city because it is “the best city ever” but I might visit.
Coming from a Vol…Athens was hands down one of the most fun weekends of my four years of college.
Back in ’82, I used be able to a throw a football a quarter mile
Or… nah.
Cuban would be disappointed 5OClock. Indiana all the way.
Go Dawgs.
Anyone who says otherwise has never visited. Period. Go Dawgs.
Oxford, MS. Hotty Toddy all the way. But no hate for Athens, GA. Always found a mutual respect for each other’s town/school culture when talking to my UGA friends. It showed a little insecurity when you had to specifically mention the Grove… no one is arguing the amount or quality of bars in Athens, or that tailgating is fun. Just quit while you’re ahead. There is no other place like the Grove, that is not a comparison to others, just a statement that the Grove is unique. Also, as good as your baseball atmosphere may be, Ole Miss has one of the best college baseball student sections in the country. Everyone knows the Grove, baseball is the hidden jewel of student life at Ole Miss.
“One of the best baseball student sections in the country” ?
That seems pretty objective – I’d love to know the research that went into that statement.
Insecurity? I was recounting a conversation I had with an Ole Miss alum.
Insecurity wasn’t the right word, it was just more fun. The point was comparing unique and awesome atmospheres is endless… in reality you must hold the Grove is high esteem if that Ole Miss alum’s opinion was worth mentioning. As for this Ole Miss alum, I count the game I saw in Athens on my college football bucket list. Not as loud as I expected, but beautiful campus and stadium. For the most part UGA folks were good hosts. I’d be happy to lend you some bourbon in the Grove… well, before the game anyway.
Our stadium isn’t as loud for 2 reasons. First, our old alumni sit on their hands the entire game, which drives me insane.
But the biggest reason is because of the open endzone. Sound just escapes the stadium because of it, but we will never close it off because 1) tradition and 2) there’s no reason to expand a stadium with the current trend of attendance at games.
I understand the old folks sitting on their hands. It has been better in Oxford lately, but we have our fair share of that. I don’t know why it is difficult for people to grasp the idea that being loud after the snap helps very little, before the snap helps much more. As far as UGA’s stadium, it is pretty awesome as it is. I’ve been to a game in Austin, TX (yeah the one where Ole Miss beat their ass) and that place, while big, had nothing on UGA or UTK. Just looked like a big block of concrete.
Oklahoma and Texas are not the South.
Oklahoma is borderline, but Texas is for sure the South.