Best College Towns?

Many of us are working our tails off trying to get into a good college, one with prestige as well as some sort of personal factor that makes it appealing to us, however overlooking the cities just for the sake of the education is not the safest way to go.  Hopefully factoring in the surrounding cities may make our jobs as college applicants just a bit easier. 

With one of the lowest crime rates, a prestigious school and relatively affordable housing Princeton is of course one of those colleges on lists of good college towns. However other towns offer other benefits, Kearney Nebraska offers one of the lowest unemployment rates in the whole country. Although we already discussed that these numbers may be skewed due to how numbers of those who are unemployed are taken, it is still reassuring that those who look for jobs seem to get them. Yet another interesting requirement that could attract people towards a particular town is the life, the entertainment and the food. Bolder seems to offer this diversity in culture and entertainment. 

What criteria would you have as most important in a college town? Which surprised you? what other towns besides those which I mentioned did you expect to hear? Does this complicate or help those of you who have no strong feelings about college and which institutions are right for you? 

full list of college towns