When I saw there was a list of the "most recognized" universities in America, I thought it was referring to schools that have received the most recognition (awards, honors, etc.). The list is actually for the schools that are literally the most recognized - as in, "Hey, I recognize you." And how cool is it that a school from Indiana is right there near the top of the list?

If you assumed the most recognized school in Indiana was the old Crimson and Cream of Indiana University, you'd be wrong. In fact, IU was much further down the rankings. To find Indiana's most recognized college, you'll need to head north from Bloomington for a couple of hours to Lafayette, the home of Purdue University.

Purdue University campus
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Here's how the firm American Caldwell conducted it's "Global University Visibility" study...

To rank these universities by global brand visibility, the researchers evaluated numerous data points across several key categories to determine the most visible university brands.

READ MORE: This Indiana College Has Been Named the Safest in America

Those metrics included News Mentions, Public Interest, Social Media, Website Visitors, Web References, Online Footprint, and Video Views. The study ranked a total of 772 colleges and universities, most of which are American, although there were several international schools as well.

According to the data, Purdue University ranks as the 9th most recognized college in the world in 2024, behind some historically well-known private schools. Purdue, however, reigns supreme as THE most recognized public college in America.

READ MORE: 10 High-Paying Careers in So. Indiana That Don’t Require a College Degree

If you were surprised to see the Boilermakers ranked that high, you might also be surprised to see the rankings of these other Indiana colleges...

  • #100 - Indiana University
  • #115 - University of Notre Dame
  • #321 - Ball State University
  • #437 - University of Indianapolis
  • #482 - Indiana State University
  • #510 - DePauw University
  • #532 - Valparaiso University
  • #649 - Wabash College
  • #669 - Hanover College

The entire list is massive and quite extensive. If you enjoy looking through numbers and data, you're gonna have a blast with this one.

[h/t: wfli.com]

16 Indiana Towns with Dirty-Sounding Names

A majority of these towns were given their names in the mid-to-late 1800s as settlers making their way across the country found unclaimed plots of land and decided to make them their own. While I imagine they thought the names they came up with were innocent, and perhaps a tribute to something in their lives, pop culture has warped our minds to the point since then that we can't help but think of something about the town that was never intended by its founders. Take a look at this list. I guarantee there's at least one name that will make you chuckle.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

LOOK: Here's Why Indiana is Pretty Much the Best Place on Earth [As Told by Hoosiers]

Reddit user, u/youcanneverbanme recently asked their fellow Hoosiers in the Indiana subreddit what they liked about living here. The question received hundreds of responses and the vast majority of them were positive. Of course, there were some that were negative because there are sad people who are perpetually angry on the internet and want everyone to know it for some reason, but we won't concern ourselves with those. We want to focus on the good, and when it comes to the good, there's plenty of it to enjoy.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

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