The American Institute of Economic Research (requires a fee) has released its College Destinations Index, a list of the 75 best college locations in the country. The institute does not arrive at these rankings by interviewing students or visiting classes, but by studying government documents that detail the number of new businesses in the area, for example. In addition to observing the number of coffee shops, the institute looks at cultural outlets and how much the city spends on research and development. Among "college towns," or cities of fewer than 250,000 people, Ithaca, N.Y., home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, was No. 1. The top-ranked location among "major metros," or cities of more than 2.5 million, was New York City. Among "mid-sized metros" - cities with populations between 1 and 2.5 million - San Jose, Calif. was No. 1. "Small cities" were those with 250,000 to 1 million people, and of those, Boulder, Colo., was the winner.