Katy Rushlau

The odds are finally in our favor—The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part - 1 is now in theaters.

Have you ever wondered where your college would fall if campuses became Hunger Games districts? We’ve rounded up 13 colleges and their Panem district equivalent. Read on and see if you agree. If not, leave a comment with your revisions!

The Capitol: Columbia University

Any Hunger Games fan knows the Capitol is the creme de la creme of Panem. With citizens’ outrageous clothing and, er, eccentric hairstyles (who could forget Effie’s pink wig?), all it takes is one quick glance at your surroundings to realize you’re not in District 12 anymore.

The Capitol is known for its power and elite prowess, and the school that seems most similar is Columbia University. Nestled in a Manhattan neighborhood in New York City, Columbia falls within the top five universities ranked by U.S. and News World Report. With a 6.9% acceptance rate, it’s safe to say Columbia University is as elite as the Capitol itself.

District 1: Parsons The New School for Design

“Elegance. Luxury. Wonder. Why does life exist? The meaning of life is beauty.”



Responsible for creating all luxury goods for Capitol citizens, District 1 is probably the only district even remotely similar to the Capitol. Its emphasis on beauty and the creation of clothing and jewelry is highly valued.

And what college could be more like District 1 than Parsons The New School for Design in New York? The school is the definition of elite, boasting famous graduates like designer Marc Jacobs and Jenna Lyons of J. Crew (15% student discount, anyone?). Students take classes in subjects ranging from marketing to textiles as they learn how to create their own clothing and other designs that scream glamour — just like the citizens of District 1.

District 2: Milwaukee Area Technical College

District 2 citizens are strong, skilled and know how to work with their hands. From stonework and bricklaying to mining and manufacturing, their work is — quite literally — the foundation of Panem.

Milwaukee Area Technical College offers courses that train students for exactly this type of work. The school offers classes in masonry, carpentry and metal working — all skills that would build students into model District 2 citizens.

District 3: Georgia Institute of Technology

District 3 is all about technology. People make electronic items like televisions and computers, and some of the citizens pursue careers as engineers.

Georgia Institute of Technology is known for producing top-notch future engineers as well. All of GA Tech’s undergraduate engineering programs fall within the top 10 engineering programs in the country, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report,and its industrial and systems engineering program earned the #1 spot in September.

District 4: Davidson College

With fishing as their primary industry, the people of District 4 know everything there is to know about the sea. In addition to fishing, citizens are also skilled in swimming and can operate ships and boats.

Students at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. also love the water. Davidson features its own lake campus, where students go to relax and enjoy time away from schoolwork. They can even take classes on the water for physical education credit.

“I took a sailing class my freshman year and loved it,” says junior Stephanie Pool. “We learned different sailing terminologies, and it was fun to be out on the lake.”

District 5: Oregon Institute of Technology

Charged with generating power and electricity for the nation, District 5 is the powerhouse of Panem.

In April, the Oregon Institute of Technology became the first campus in the country to generate heat using geothermal energy. According to the school’s Geo-Heat Center site, the institute has received grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to make their resources publicly available—much like how District 5 provides energy resources to the public of Panem.

District 6: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The transportation district, District 6, provides hovercrafts, high-speed trains and cargo trains to all of Panem, though, “ironically, the citizens here have little love for travel.”

Like this district, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. specializes in science and engineering. Students can choose from majors like mechanical engineering, where they’ll learn through hands-on experience in design, production and operation of machinery and tools.

District 7: Northwest College of Constructions

In Catching Fire, tributes note that Johanna Mason from District 7 “probably threw and used axes since she was a toddler.” Citizens of the lumber district are not afraid of hard work, and they used the abundance of lush forests to supply lumber and paper for the entire nation.

Students at the Northwest College of Constructions in Portland, Ore. are basically District 7-ers-in-training. The college offers a host of woodworking and carpentry programs, where students study everything from lumber to furniture building.

District 8: Fashion Institute of Technology

Katniss describes District 8 as “an urban place stinking of industrial fumes with no greenery, the people housed in run-down tenements, barely a blade of grass in sight.”

While the aesthetics of this district leave something to be desired, the textiles and clothing they produce are always on point. From the simple fabrics used throughout Panem to the elaborate garments favored in the Capital, the factory workers, weavers, designers, tailors and seamstresses make it all.

It’s been said that the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City offers the best textile and apparel studies program in the U.S. Known as the college where creativity meets business, students emerge from the program with expert skills in art, design, communications and entrepreneurship.

District 9: Hampshire College

District 9 is thought of as the nation’s bread bowl. Seems fitting considering their number one responsibility is providing grain to the other districts. They’ve got plenty of factories, and many farmers, harvesters and the like are said to live there.

Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. has a community farm and garden on its campus. Students can plant, grow, and harvest their own food all while learning the ethics of food production and consumption.

District 10: Crowder College

This is one of the poorer districts, managing the livestock and providing beef for the Capitol. The majority of the district is farmland and we see everything from farmers and milkers to ranchers and barn managers coming out of this district.

You can major in livestock management at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. The college goes beyond the traditional agriculture course of study and focuses on the business side, with requirements in accounting, transportation and international trading.

District 11: The University of Vermont

Orchards, and fields and cotton — oh my! Known for its bountiful agriculture, District 11 residents spend their days among fruit trees and farmlands. Almost everything they grow goes to the Capital, not surprisingly, and workers are not allowed to eat from the crops.

The University of Vermont offers a top-tier agricultural program with an emphasis on hands-on experience. With the state’s longstanding tradition of quality agriculture, UVM connects students with local farms for technical and research-based education.

District 12: Colorado School of Mines

Coal mining was the initial center of District 12. Oddly enough, after the second rebellion, their main industry shifted to medicine. Either way, the hardy workers in this district produce some crazy-hard workers and determined spirits.

One of the top mining schools in the country, the Colorado School of Mines, lets students study both mining science and engineering. The school promotes resource availability and environmental protection, and encourages students to focus on solutions for the issues.

District 13: United States Naval Academy

While District 13 is hidden underground, as Katniss said, “this nation wouldn’t be a nation without the 13th district of Panem.”

As a major catalyst in the rebellion, defense is essential. District 13’s specialty? Nuclear weapons.

Colleges like the United States Naval Academy train students not only academically, but also for preparation in the military. Students at these schools receive free tuition, but must serve in active duty after graduating.

---

Think your school resembles one of the districts? Tell us which one and why in the comments below!



Brooke Metz is a junior at Wake Forest University and Katy Rushlau is a senior at Emerson College.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.