Movies about college come in every form and shape, from charming coming-of-age tales to exciting adventures, thought-provoking documentaries, and surprising, underrated gems. This makes them the perfect choice of film from different kinds of audiences, whether you’re a student looking for something familiar and stress-free or simply feeling nostalgic about your uni days. And then, of course, if you’re just searching for some motivation, watching someone overcome challenges can be such a morale boost, and films that take place at college feature plenty of uplifting underdog stories.
We made a list of 5 movies about college that you can stream on Prime Video right now! Find them below in alphabetical order and keep scrolling for more recommendations at the end of the article. Happy watching!
1. Accepted (2006)
Steve Pink
This first college movie has a fantastic premise – one that many viewers will find relatable, especially in this day and age. A high school graduate named Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is really struggling to get into college. Why? Because despite his charismatic personality and talent for creating fake IDs, Bartleby hasn’t quite mastered the art of getting good grades – which makes him a likable character you’ll want to root for, especially if you’re a student facing the same issues: some of the students who search for online assignment help usually struggle with college demands and the stress of academic work.
But Bartleby has a plan, and it’s quite a clever one. After receiving one too many rejection letter, he decides to create a fake college, aptly named South Harmon Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.), as a means of putting a stop to his father’s pressures and gain his approval. To do so, Bartleby enlists the help of his brainy best friend Sherman (Jonah Hill), fellow slacker Rory (Maria Thayer), injured school athlete Darryl ‘Hands’ Holloway (Columbus Short), and an unlucky outcast named Glen (Adam Herschman). Soon Bartleby’s college has a functioning website, and it all looks very professional. But what happens when something goes wrong and the site starts actually accepting every student who applies, and all these applicants are rejects whom Bartleby doesn’t want to disappoint?
The answer is pure and utter mayhem, which makes Accepted such an enjoyable film. It’s also a movie with an uplifting message about growing up and the values that matter, with fantastic performances from an all-star cast – including a young Blake Lively as Bartleby’s high school crush. It’s also the directorial debut from Steve Pink, fresh off the success of Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) and High Fidelity (2000), whose scripts he co-wrote.
2. The Education of Charlie Banks (2007)
Fred Durst
Before captivating audiences as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg played another college student: the titular Charlie Banks, a young man whose reunion with a high school bully has him question his own reality. It all dates back to when Charlie was a kid, and used to idolize Mick Leary (Jason Ritter), a local kid who was just as charismatic as he was a bully. Back then, Charlie found out the hard way, when he witnessed Mick beat two students up. But our protagonist did the right thing, and reported Mick to the police despite the bully being his best friend Danny’s (Christopher Rodriguez Marquette) mate.
Cut to the present, three years after the incident, and Charlie and Danny are freshmen at college. All seems well until Mick shows up at their dorm and decides to move in, uninvited, to the two friends’ surprise. Not only that, but Mick soon starts borrowing their clothes and book, attending their classes, and even hitting on Charlie’s longtime crush Mary (Eva Amurri). And yet, what surprises Charlie the most is Mick’s attitude, which couldn’t be more different from his high school behavior. Has he truly changed, or is it a plot to take revenge on his old friends and take control of their lives? Watch the film to find out, and look our for an appearance from Sebastian Stan as a rich student named Leo.
3. Legally Blonde (2001)
Robert Luketic
You might have to rent this one, depending on where you live, but it’ll be worthy, as Legally Blonde will introduce you to your new favorite lawyer-to-be. But before being a law freshman, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) was something else entirely: a popular young woman whose interested included fashion, her beloved dog, and her boyfriend. But when said boyfriend dumps her after getting accepted to Harvard because he deems her not “serious” enough for him, our protagonist realizes it’s time to show the world what she’s worth.
It turns out, Elle Woods does have quite a lot to give to the world, as not only does she manage to get into Harvard, but she also finds herself enjoying, and above all, excelling, at an academic subject that she previously knew nothing about. Just like that, our protagonist grows, realizing that the priority in her own life shouldn’t be becoming the way someone else wants her to be, but being someone she can be proud of – and when it comes to inspirational college movies, it really doesn’t get better than this. Prepare to start channeling Elle in your daily life, and don’t forget to check out its two sequels as well.
4. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Roger Avary
Based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 1987 novel of the same name, The Rules of Attraction takes place at the elite Camden College in New Hampshire, where the school acts as a backdrop for a bizarre love triangle to form between three people who couldn’t be more different: Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder), and Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek). Chaos and drama ensue, of course, but just like in Ellis’ most beloved novels, there’s also a message to be learn here, which we’ll let you find out for yourself. The film is quite clearly a product of its time, so it will either make you nostalgic or alienate you, but in the latter case, it’s still worth a watch for its recognizable cast, also including Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth, and Faye Dunaway as Paul’s mother.
5. School Daze (1988)
Spike Lee
Before Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X and a series of influential classics, writer-director-producer Spike Lee gave us School Daze, a college-set musical comedy-drama that’s lighter than Lee’s later releases but that still deals with important, timely topics the filmmaker would continue to explore. It all starts when Vaughn Dap’ Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne), a senior at a fictional historically Black college in Atlanta, Georgia, organizes an anti-apartheid protest during homecoming that is interrupted right away by the ‘Gammites’ – aka the Gamma Phi Gamma Fraternity – and their president, Julian ‘Dean Big Brother Almighty’ Eaves (Giancarlo Esposito).
This sparks tensions between the politically active student and the elitist frat leader, who also used to be friends, and in the best Spike Lee tradition, it all leads to chaos at first, and a message about unity at the end. Despite its college-setting, School Daze deals with topics of activism, classism, and individualism, urging viewers to be united in the face of prejudice and division. Spike Lee also stars as Dap’s younger cousin ‘Half-Pint’.
These five movies are all available to watch on Prime Video and all set in a college. Most of all, they will all make for fantastic watches, and different audiences will be drawn to different titles depending on what they’re looking for. If you need more recommendations, check out the classic 21 & Over, recent sensation Saltburn, documentaries The College Tour and The College Admissions Scandal, and Japanese series Overprotected Kahoko. Enjoy!