Top 10 Tech-Savvy College Towns

From innovative courses to citywide wifi, some college towns know how to bring out your inner geek. Computer science majors and casual Web junkies alike appreciate the high-tech offerings in these college towns.

College Town Perks for Techies

In the rapidly evolving world of technology, even small college towns can get in on the action. Here are ten of the hottest college towns for tech lovers.
  1. Cambridge, MA. It's a safe bet to call this college town a tech center. Home to M.I.T., where students in one dorm installed an "Emergency Pizza Button" that automatically summons Domino's with a cheese pizza within an hour.
  2. Seattle, WA. Between the wireless access at every corner coffee shop and the close proximity to Microsoft headquarters, this metropolis is a high-tech Mecca. Local colleges and universities welcome the trend.
  3. Palo Alto, CA. Technology is a must in this college town, home to Stanford University. Ninety percent of students own a laptop, and the wireless network on campus is set at 4 Mbps for Internet access and 12 Mbps for file transfers.
  4. Pittsburgh, PA. Between Google's new engineering office and the robotics startups founded by Carnegie Mellon alumni, the tech scene in this college town is thriving.
  5. Charlottesville, VA. The extensive tech support at the University of Virginia means that networks in this college town don't stay down for long. Local game design experts have come to campus to give presentations to computer engineering majors.
  6. Orlando, FL. High tech meets the big screen in this college town. University of Central Florida students may work their way into internships at Walt Disney World and Epcot Center, applying technology to the entertainment industry.
  7. Los Angeles, CA. Besides the obvious post-graduate benefits of living in a city with major high-tech opportunities, students at the University of Southern California enjoy high-resolution video conferencing and webcams in every classroom.
  8. West Point, NY. Attention, cadets! The United States Military Academy at West Point seamlessly integrates technology into the curriculum, with all 580+ courses posted online and free laptops upgraded every two years for every student.
  9. Omaha, NE. What makes this college town a tech central? Omaha hosts GameFest, an annual video gaming expo. Local students at Creighton University enjoy no limits on their network music and application downloads.
  10. Minneapolis, MN. When it's cold outside, students of the University of Minnesota like to cuddle up with their external hard drives. The school provides a generous 5GB of storage space that should last an entire college career.

High Tech Education for the Future

High-tech college campuses can make the college life easier, and they give students necessary training for their eventual careers. The best high-tech campuses give students the chance to work with materials they may need to know later in life.

Sources
"Ten Top Tech Towns" Wired 15.01
"Top 20 Wired Colleges" PCMag