There are a lot of super cool educational institutions in fantasy and sci-fi that are MUCH more interesting than the schools of our reality. Whether they like math or not, there’s not very many kids who would take learning about prime numbers over learning how to transform a cat into a dragon. It’s true that a lot of sci-fi and fantasy schools have high mortality rates, but most of us would totally risk it for a chance to go on world-saving magic adventures. So let’s take a look at some of the raddest schools we all dreamed of attending as kids!
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
This Harry Potter school is a no-brainer. How many of us were hoping desperately to receive their Hogwarts letter as children, even if we knew it was unlikely? How many of us were absolutely heartbroken when we didn’t? I know I was. It doesn’t matter that you have to deal with a dangerous gang of criminals led by a noseless, nearly-soulless serial killer repeatedly targeting the school, monstrous creatures sometimes getting loose in the bathrooms, extremely irresponsible adults, a completely corrupt government and anti-Muggleborn discrimination- it’s worth it just for the endless bevy of magical sweets and ridiculously lavish feasts in the Great Hall.
That’s not even getting into the opportunity to see unicorns, centaurs, mermaids and all kinds of super amazing creatures. You even have ghosts wandering around! You’ll also learn spells that make mundane tasks completely irrelevant! No more cleaning or having to fix things! You can fly, you can transform into animals and you can even pretty much teleport. Honestly, how many readers wanted to scream every time Harry and Ron complained about homework? I know I’d be Hermione if I went to Hogwarts- I’d want to know everything about magic there is to know.
Unseen University
The school of Wizardry in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld universe is another magical one, but unlike Hogwarts, nobody bothers to pretend they know what the hell they’re doing. We see a lot of weird experiements with magic rather than busywork. The wizards who run the place are reckless and a bit unhinged, but I’d want to go there anyway. I mean, it has the best library ever- you can read every book ever written in the past, present and future. This library is also run by former-wizard-turned-orangutan.
One drawback is that there aren’t many women attending, so girls might feel pretty awkward (and the lack of women and general celibacy might be a bummer for any dudes interested in girls as well). Due to the strict gender divide in the magical culture of Discworld, it was quite a while before the first girl attended the university (her name was Eskarina Smith). Witches in Discworld operate differently from wizards and don’t really do formal higher education.
Thanks to Eskarina’s trailblazing, though, girls presumably can attend the school now, even if they’re currently in the minority. And admittedly, hanging out with the badass witch Granny Weatherwax and being taught by her would be just as cool, if not cooler, than going to Unseen University.
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Xavier’s School from X-Men might be the most dangerous out of all these options, considering how ridiculously frequently the place gets blown up. The mortality rate is probably one of the highest out there. On the other hand, if you make yourself a prominent enough superhero, death will be a minor inconvenience for you at best. “Mutant heaven doesn’t have gates but revolving doors” is an actual thing that was said in the Marvel universe.
And let’s face it, having cool superpowers and getting training and the chance to kick serious bad guy ass is kinda worth a few trips to the afterlife. The world may hate and fear you, but you get to hang out with Storm! And Wolverine! And all kinds of other awesome heroes!
True, all the people around you will be involved in an endless soap opera of tangled relationships and betrayals, but if you keep your head down and stay out of it, that makes for good entertainment. And you’d get to fight robots and wear silly costumes! What’s better than that?
Starfleet Academy
The training academy from Star Trek might be one of the safest schools on this list while being awesome. Your survival chances are pretty high as long as you avoid red shirts. What’s more, you live in an semi-utopian future where humanity is united and we can freely explore the furthest reaches of outer space and boldly go where no man had gone before. The end result of Starfleet academy training is that you get to be part of a spaceship crew and discover new worlds and races and go on all kinds of adventures. That’s pretty freakin’ rad.
Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches
Since we mentioned a male-dominated magic academy, it’s only fair to mention a female-dominated one. Miss Cackle’s Academy from Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch (first published in 1974) was basically Hogwarts before Hogwarts was even a thing. The school is very similar with all the fun magic, but a lot less dangerous- there’s no Voldemort as an omnipresent threat and or the endless possibility of violent death. Inspired by the author’s experiences at a convent, the school is for girls, though wizards definitely exist in this world and at one point the headmistress considered letting a boy in.
Battle School
The Battle School from Enders Game is a mixed bag- you have to be REALLY smart to get in and learn stuff like advanced at a young age. It’s also a military academy training you to fight aliens in a deadly war and you have to go through a lot of invasive monitoring. But a lot of people on the internet express a desire to join simply because anti-gravity laser fights are part of the curriculum. Also there’s basically advanced video-game stuff going on.
The Jedi Praxuem
The Jedi Praxuem is mostly a thing in the Star Wars Extended Universe, so who knows how much of that’s canon now. But how great would it be to train at Luke Skywalker’s academy to be a Jedi? With lightsabers? Sure, there’s the pesky issues of it being taken over by threats like Yuuzghan Vong, but still.
Gunnerkrigg Court: The School
The eponoymous Gunnerkrigg Court in Tom Sidell’s webcomic is an academy that has the best of both worlds- sci-fi and fantasy. There’s tons of supernatural creatures alongside robots and other awesome technology. The school is mostly focused on science, using magical energy to power all other kind of experiments, but it sits near some magical woods and some students act as a bridge between the two worlds. Meaning you’ll see ghosts, fairies and even mysterious coyote gods getting up to shenanigans at the school on occasion.
Sure, there’s a probably some dark conspiracy going on behind the scenes, but doesn’t that just make it more fun? Whether you’re more into robots or ethereal beings, Gunnerkrigg Court has something for you!
The School of Magic at Roke Island
The School of Magic in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series is another interesting magic school to consider.
Of course, it depends on the era whether you want to deal with it if you’re a girl. For quite a while in the books, women are not only excluded from the school but denigrated with it being said their magic is “weak and wicked” (all the men are also supposed to be celibate). But things eventually begin to shift in the Earthsea universe and it is shown women actually had a central role in founding the school and that all the stereotypes about female magic are, naturally, false. It’s also strongly implied a woman will take over as archchancellor at the school.
Honestly, before looking back at all these schools for this article, I hadn't realized how man of them involved gender issues. That's unexpected.
Death Weapon Meister Academy
From the anime Soul Eater, this is definitely an Academy that would be a wild experience to attend. For one thing, it’s run by Death himself. And he’s a pretty jolly guy. This academy is located in Nevada and it trains kids to reap the souls of witches. There are two types of students- Meisters, who weild “demon weapons” to kill the witches and “demon weapons”, kids who transform into the weapons capable of killing the witches. Yep, how it basically works is a meister’s partner will transform into a weapon and the meister will use them to kill the witch.
Being trained to fight monsters is pretty cool, and the academy just seems like a fun place to hang out in general. One of the teachers is a zombie, your classmates include Death’s son and the place even looks kind of like a fun house. Due to the nature of the academy though, it’s attacked by witches and the like pretty often and it’s even had been known to get embroiled in wars. Also it has a torture chamber, which is pretty creepy. But still, who doesn’t want to be part of a meister team?