Definitely NO no brilliant idea here

-- BUT when we lived in Mississippi for a year almost 20 years ago, I really liked Oxford, and to a lesser degree Memphis, TN. When I map-quested though, both are still a LONG way to Blairsville. That whole north Georgia/Eastern Tennessee area is a region I am just not that familiar with.
Another thought -- you might want to check out US World and News 100 best colleges (They have a web presence -- as I remember there is some info there about social climate on campus) Here is the URL:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college