Competition's intense and there are scores of colleges. Large, small, public, private, urban, rural—what's best for you? Here are our top picks for the places that everyone's talking about for 2005.

America's 25

Hot Schools

by Barbara Kantrowitz, Newsweek with Jordana Lewis, Cathleen McGuigan and Vanessa Juarez

Pull apart the DNA of a student's dream school and you'll find so many different strands. Perhaps it's the location, either in the rolling countryside far from anything that resembles a sidewalk, or in the midst of a hip urban neighborhood. It could be a college's unique educational mission or the array of quirky personalities on campus. Maybe it's the outstanding labs or libraries or theaters, even the fitness center. All 25 colleges on the Hot List for 2005 have one thing in common: they provide an outstanding education. But what makes them hot is their differences and special traits.

Although all these schools have demonstrated continuing excellence, various qualities made many of them stand out in 2004. The Iraq war, as well as its aftermath, highlighted the importance of well-educated military leadership and made some students think of applying to Annapolis or West Point. The debate over Early Decision (ED) admissions policies prompted a number of applicants to try schools like Yale or Stanford that have led the effort to reduce ED stress on students. The controversy over affirmative action motivated other students to seek out schools like Wesleyan that celebrate diversity. Another trend has been increased attention to quality-of-life issues: good dorms, good food, an active social life, a range of student organizations. There's also a growing focus on what happens at the end of four years. Is the career center helpful? How many students get jobs or are accepted into the graduate schools of their choice? With tuition and fees at private universities topping $40,000 a year, these are serious questions.

To compile this admittedly subjective list, we interviewed students, admissions officers and longtime observers of the admissions process. The applicant pool for all these schools has grown much stronger in recent years—not only in sheer numbers of students applying but also in test scores, grades and extracurricular accomplishments. Some schools on our list have international reputations. Others aren't widely known outside their region. But they are all someone's dream school.

THE PUBLICATION'S PROFILE OF UCSB

If there's a more beautiful campus than this one at the edge of the Pacific, we haven't seen it. For many students, that would seal the deal, but UCSB also boasts Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, top research centers in science and technology and an extensive study-abroad program. The number of applicants has doubled in the past decade, with 36,651 applying for admission to the class of 2008 (19,325 were accepted). Aside from the top academics, a big draw for many is the variety of recreation. The campus has its own beaches where students can surf, and the Big Bear ski resort is just a few hours' drive away.

THE COMPLETE "HOTTEST COLLEGES" LIST

• HOTTEST IVY
  Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
• HOTTEST SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS
  Juilliard School, New York, N.Y.
• HOTTEST BIG 10 SCHOOL
  Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
• HOTTEST LIBRARY
  Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
• HOTTEST RIDING SCHOOL
  Hollins University, Roanoke, Va.
• HOTTEST ARCHITECTURE
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
• HOTTEST FOR FITNESS
  University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
• HOTTEST FOR DIVERSITY
  Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
• HOTTEST FOR THE TECH-SAVVY
  Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
• HOTTEST FOR STUDYING ABROAD
  Tufts University, Medford, Mass.
• HOTTEST FOR ITS HONOR CODE
  Haverford College, Haverford, Pa.
• HOTTEST FOR POLITICAL JUNKIES
  George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• HOTTEST FOR GREEKS WITH BRAINS
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• HOTTEST FOR DOUBLE MAJORS
  Rice University, Houston, Texas
• HOTTEST FOR HOT AND DRY
  Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.
• HOTTEST STATE UNIVERSITY
  University of Texas at Austin
• HOTTEST FOR GETTING A JOB
  Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• HOTTEST FOR ENTREPRENEURS
  Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.
• HOTTEST FOR HEALTH CAREERS
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
• HOTTEST FOR INDIVIDUALISTS
  Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
• HOTTEST FOR CITY HATERS
  Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
• HOTTEST FOR CITY LOVERS
  New York University, New York, N.Y.
• HOTTEST MILITARY SCHOOL
  U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
• HOTTEST FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
  Berea College, Berea, Ky.
• HOTTEST FOR SURF-AND-SKI
  University of California, Santa Barbara