Alabama, "The Heart of Dixie," stretches from the sugary sands of the Gulf Coast to the craggy foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Alabama is host to good private schools, state colleges, and universities. And when they're not studying, Alabama students enjoy the bustling night life in campus cities like Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Birmingham, and Auburn, or sun themselves on miles of pristine beaches near historic Mobile.
The state's principal state colleges and universities are located in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Auburn, Troy, and Tuskegee. Founded in 1856, Auburn University is the largest land-grant college south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Among the more well-known colleges and universities in the state, the University of Alabama, with main campuses in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville, has developed an international reputation for medicine, law, space science, and business.