The Fittest College

My alma mater, Brigham Young University, recently received the distinction of being named the nation's fittest campus according to Men's Fitness Magazine. Now, having gone to BYU and still working there as staff, I have grown accustomed to BYU's accolades. We don't win national championships in football or basketball, nor do we have amazing PhD programs (we don't have many at all).
Nevertheless, BYU still ranks in the top 75 schools in the nation (where PhD programs pull weight in the rankings) because of our great undergraduate education, we're usually the #1 Stone Cold Sober School (in which the student body takes great pride), and we have the #1 college library in the nation (which I must attest for. Our library is amazing, and far better than ANY other college library I've ever been to).

So, I must say that I'm not surprised that we're the fittest campus. The student population is 98% Mormon (according to BYU demographics), and students sign an honor code in which they promise to live the standards of the Mormon church. This means almost all students don't drink, smoke, use tobacco, or drugs. In addition to the "dont's," BYU has a very large intramural program, mandatory physical education classes, and probably near the most Gold's Gym/24 Fitness/other fitness centers per capita in Provo, Utah. The streets are full of students biking or running at all hours of the day or night. And, honestly, it's not hard for me to eat healthy at school. My daily lunch usually consists of 1-2 fresh fruit, 8-10 oz yogurt, 1-2 bagels, and juice.


For a full list of accolades showered on this oft-forgotten private school nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, go here.

Please excuse this horn-tooting. I've seen many a student from Harvard or elsewhere brag about how great a school they have, and I don't disagree, but sitting in classes with professors is only one small part of the undergraduate education. I have and will continue to rant about stupid things BYU's administration does, but I have to give credit where credit is due. BYU's faculty is great, intelligent, and challeges students, the learning atmosphere is top-notch, and fellow students are kind and fun-loving.