What does “pleasant days per year” mean?

It counts days with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent, widely-used comfort measure rather than an invented weighting. Figures are computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023).

Should weather affect where I apply?

Weather is a genuine lifestyle factor but a secondary one next to fit, cost, and outcomes — and preferences differ (some students want warmth, others want four seasons). Use it as a tiebreaker, and model your admit odds and net price at each school before deciding.

Colleges with the Best Weather (Most Pleasant Days) — AdmitQuant

Colleges with the best weather

Selective colleges ranked by pleasant days per year — a transparent climate-comfort measure (mild temperature, little precipitation) computed from Open-Meteo history. Warm, dry coastal campuses top the list; model your odds and net price at each.

#	College	Location	Pleasant days	Accept.	Net price
1	Vanguard University of Southern California	Costa Mesa, CA	287	62%	$21,241
2	California State University-Long Beach	Long Beach, CA	277	46%	$10,440
3	Laguna College of Art and Design	Laguna Beach, CA	277	94%	$42,505
4	Concorde Career College-Garden Grove	Garden Grove, CA	276	97%	$24,698
5	California Miramar University	San Diego, CA	273	18%	$12,480
6	Concorde Career College-San Diego	San Diego, CA	272	100%	$25,394
7	Design Institute of San Diego	San Diego, CA	272	100%	$44,010
8	Newschool of Architecture and Design	San Diego, CA	272	100%	$52,570
9	UC San Diego	La Jolla, CA	272	27%	$12,470
10	California State University-Channel Islands	Camarillo, CA	271	95%	$9,849
11	University of San Diego	San Diego, CA	270	52%	$30,365
12	Concordia University-Irvine	Irvine, CA	268	66%	$28,115
13	UC Irvine	Irvine, CA	268	29%	$14,251
14	Pacific College	Costa Mesa, CA	267	56%	$29,363
15	Stanbridge University	Irvine, CA	267	10%	$45,372
16	Westcliff University	Irvine, CA	267	73%	$35,426
17	American University of Health Sciences	Signal Hill, CA	266	50%	—
18	Point Loma Nazarene University	San Diego, CA	265	84%	$38,729
19	Chapman University	Orange, CA	263	65%	$46,555
20	Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles, CA	263	45%	$48,381
21	Otis College of Art and Design	Los Angeles, CA	263	82%	$51,248
22	Soka	Aliso Viejo, CA	257	43%	$18,260
23	California State University-Fullerton	Fullerton, CA	252	91%	$6,555
24	Hope International University	Fullerton, CA	252	33%	$29,310
25	Pepperdine	Malibu, CA	252	63%	$58,098
26	Southern California Institute of Technology	Anaheim, CA	252	74%	$33,392
27	UCLA	Los Angeles, CA	250	9%	$12,548
28	UC Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	246	33%	$16,109
29	San Diego State University	San Diego, CA	243	36%	$15,364
30	USC	Los Angeles, CA	243	10%	$32,740
31	California State University-Dominguez Hills	Carson, CA	241	93%	$8,615
32	Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science	Los Angeles, CA	240	39%	$35,558
33	Biola University	La Mirada, CA	230	74%	$31,495
34	Musicians Institute	Hollywood, CA	230	78%	$46,518
35	Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad West Coast Talmudical Seminary	Los Angeles, CA	230	58%	$14,959
36	San Diego Christian College	Santee, CA	228	31%	$992
37	Southern California Institute of Architecture	Los Angeles, CA	226	77%	$43,923
38	The Chicago School at Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	226	46%	—
39	Westmont College	Santa Barbara, CA	223	77%	$29,053
40	California State University-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	221	91%	$3,967
41	University of the West	Rosemead, CA	221	100%	$6,845
42	Brand College	Glendale, CA	220	80%	—
43	Casa Loma College-Los Angeles	Sherman Oaks, CA	217	43%	$27,596
44	Mount Saint Mary's University	Los Angeles, CA	216	73%	$21,413
45	California State University-San Marcos	San Marcos, CA	215	95%	$10,229
46	Whittier College	Whittier, CA	212	81%	$25,757
47	University of Silicon Valley	San Jose, CA	210	51%	$27,815
48	Woodbury University	Burbank, CA	210	82%	$33,692
49	San Francisco Bay University	Fremont, CA	209	96%	—
50	California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks, CA	208	76%	$30,109
51	California College of Music	Pasadena, CA	207	100%	$25,065
52	Caltech	Pasadena, CA	207	3%	$16,075
53	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, CA	207	31%	$16,665
54	Los Angeles College of Music	Pasadena, CA	207	88%	$43,590
55	Occidental College	Los Angeles, CA	207	44%	$38,263
56	Pacific Oaks College	Pasadena, CA	207	34%	—
57	Providence Christian College	Pasadena, CA	207	100%	$25,163
58	John Paul the Great Catholic University	Escondido, CA	206	80%	$34,666
59	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Barranquitas	Barranquitas, PR	205	86%	$8,726
60	Reach University	Oakland, CA	203	100%	$22,423

Quick answers

What does “pleasant days per year” mean?: It counts days with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent, widely-used comfort measure rather than an invented weighting. Figures are computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023).
Should weather affect where I apply?: Weather is a genuine lifestyle factor but a secondary one next to fit, cost, and outcomes — and preferences differ (some students want warmth, others want four seasons). Use it as a tiebreaker, and model your admit odds and net price at each school before deciding.

Climate figures are modeled from Open-Meteo ERA5 history (2019–2023) and are a comfort proxy, not a forecast. Rankings improve as more schools are processed.

These outputs are estimates from a baseline model — not guarantees of admission, cost, or outcome.