<p>To find good “midcore” universities for your interests, try this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to the NRC/Chronicle page for graduate psychology department rankings
([NRC</a> Rankings Overview: Psychology - Faculty - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“NRC Rankings Overview: Psychology”>NRC Rankings Overview: Psychology)). You can click-sort on the column headings to rank according to various criteria.</p></li>
<li><p>Of the NRC top 20 or so (by, let’s say, S-Rank High), eliminate the schools with relatively high or low undergraduate US News Rankings ([National</a> University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities)). Look for state “flagship” universities in the top 100 or better.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Possibilities:
U of California - San Diego (NRC S-Rank High #5, USNWR #35)
University of Wisconsin - Madison (NRC S-Rank High #3, USNWR #45)
University of Colorado - Boulder (NRC S-Rank High #6, USNWR #86)</p>
<ol>
<li>Now research each school on the resulting, initial list for quality of life characteristics that appeal to you. UC-Boulder, for example, is located in a lively college town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains (great social life, world-class skiing).</li>
</ol>
<p>If those USNWR ranks look low, remember that the USA has >3000 institutions of higher learning spread across 50 states. </p>
<p>One excellent smaller, private university is the University of Rochester (NRC S-Rank High #4, USNWR #37, ~4600 undergrads).</p>