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Texas A&M at College Station is known for students and alumni who revere a collie named Reveille and for traditions that date back over 100 years.
That's why it should come as little surprise that a new study ranked a pair of Lone Star State campuses — Texas A&M College Station and the University of Texas at Austin — among the "cultiest colleges" in the nation.
Texas A&M took the No. 4 spot in the ranking compiled by scholarship-resource service BrokeScholar. Meanwhile, UT-Austin landed at No. 22.
Texas A&M is known for students' almost religious devotion to a complex set of traditions that purportedly cultivate the "Aggie Spirit." Many of those date back more than 100 years.
Meanwhile, UT students are known for their devotion to the school mascot Bevo and breaking into "The Eyes of Texas" any time they're given the chance.
"Some universities take [school spirit] to another level," Broke Scholar wrote in the report. "They go beyond school colors and face painting. They have secret societies. Chanting in unison. Hand gestures that look like gang signs. And your family might joke that they'll disown you if you transfer to a rival school."
To figure out which colleges were the most cult-like, researchers analyzed behaviors and traditions at 198 campuses across the nation, giving them grades based on four categories: Community Loyalty, Social Prestige, Academic Excellence and School Spirit.
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor took the top spot as the nation's cultiest college campus, with the University of Virginia and the University of Florida took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. The University of California at Los Angeles came in at No. 5.
Overall, 14 of the top 25 cultiest colleges were located in the South.
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