University of California at San Diego (San Diego, CA, USA)

With a roughly $750 million endowment and over 30,000 students, no one would ever expect that the University of California at San Diego is younger than many of its faculty members.

The school lies on the frontiers of knowledge despite being founded in 1960. It is also unique in that unlike many of the private schools it competes with, UC San Diego is a public school with competitive costs. In-state students pay only $13,302 for tuition, and even out-of-state students will typically save $10,000 or more per year.

The school is one of the 10 largest centers for scientific research in America, which is why it has attracted 16 Nobel Laureates to teach there during the past 50 years.

Over 650 companies were launched or utilize technology developed at UC San Diego and, as of 2013, the university’s Technology Office managed over 400 license agreements. This propensity for innovation has been especially productive in the increasingly lucrative field of biotechnology.

Besides being ranked 14th in the world overall, UC San Diego is also ranked 15th for scientific impact (according to the Center for Science and Technology Studies), sixth for happiest freshmen in America (CBS News), and first for positive impact on the world (Washington Monthly).