Why do kids prefer urban campuses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looking at the USNews rankings of the top 50 National colleges, the breakdown is as follows:

12 of the top 20 are in cities, with Providence the smallest city;
3 of the 20 are suburbs of large cities (Stanford, CalTech and UCB);
2 of the 20 are small cities (ND and Duke);
1 is Princeton which is hard to classify...not a city, not a suburb, but definitely a little hamlet within NJ sprawl
2 of the 20 are I guess rural...Cornell and Dartmouth

Of the top 50:

28 are in cities
6 are in suburbs of large cities
11 are in small/medium cities
5 are I guess rural/ruralish (Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Purdue, UGA)

It's not necessarily that kids want an urban campus, but they want a top 50 school...and that's where they are.

Princeton is a suburb
- Princeton, NJ resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking at the USNews rankings of the top 50 National colleges, the breakdown is as follows:

12 of the top 20 are in cities, with Providence the smallest city;
3 of the 20 are suburbs of large cities (Stanford, CalTech and UCB);
2 of the 20 are small cities (ND and Duke);
1 is Princeton which is hard to classify...not a city, not a suburb, but definitely a little hamlet within NJ sprawl
2 of the 20 are I guess rural...Cornell and Dartmouth

Of the top 50:

28 are in cities
6 are in suburbs of large cities
11 are in small/medium cities
5 are I guess rural/ruralish (Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Purdue, UGA)

It's not necessarily that kids want an urban campus, but they want a top 50 school...and that's where they are.

Princeton is a suburb
- Princeton, NJ resident

A suburb of NYC, I gather is your claim? I suppose it is equivalent to Stanford to San Francisco.

[Anonymous]

Princeton is around 40 to 50 miles (as the crow flies) from both NYC and Philadelphia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking at the USNews rankings of the top 50 National colleges, the breakdown is as follows:

12 of the top 20 are in cities, with Providence the smallest city;
3 of the 20 are suburbs of large cities (Stanford, CalTech and UCB);
2 of the 20 are small cities (ND and Duke);
1 is Princeton which is hard to classify...not a city, not a suburb, but definitely a little hamlet within NJ sprawl
2 of the 20 are I guess rural...Cornell and Dartmouth

Of the top 50:

28 are in cities
6 are in suburbs of large cities
11 are in small/medium cities
5 are I guess rural/ruralish (Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Purdue, UGA)

It's not necessarily that kids want an urban campus, but they want a top 50 school...and that's where they are.

Princeton is a suburb
- Princeton, NJ resident

A suburb of NYC, I gather is your claim? I suppose it is equivalent to Stanford to San Francisco.

Yes. Many people I know commute to NYC (yes, on the daily) via the NJ Transit out of Princeton Junction station

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Because they hear other kids say it. Honestly, how much are these kids really taking advantage of being in a city? It's a stupid trend.

This is a silly comment…my kid takes advantage of the city all the time…gets free tickets to professional sporting events, goes to restaurants, etc.

How is it a “stupid trend” considering some of the oldest, most prestigious universities in the country are located in cities.

New Haven... Baltimore... great cities! /s

Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago

Of the cities you listed, only Boston is somewhat appealing. The others are crime ridden hell holes.

You sound like someone hiding in your basement watching OAN all day.

They aren’t crime ridden hell holes by any stretch.

I’ve never watched OAN in my life, but anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that those cities are indeed crime ridden. You sound like someone in utter denial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If everything else is equal, why would anyone choose middle of nowhere vs a city.

What would you choose(hypothetically), Cornell in Ithaca or Cornell in Boston or NYC

LOL

Because people are different and like different things.

Why are the urban campus boosters so defensive? Why not just accept that not everyone likes the big city? It’s ok if you do. It’s ok if I don’t.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If everything else is equal, why would anyone choose middle of nowhere vs a city.

What would you choose(hypothetically), Cornell in Ithaca or Cornell in Boston or NYC

LOL

Because people are different and like different things.

Why are the urban campus boosters so defensive? Why not just accept that not everyone likes the big city? It’s ok if you do. It’s ok if I don’t.

+100

yes, figure out what your kid wants and choose accordingly. The right school in a rural area might work for some kids, even those who wanted Urban. But that is the first part of deciding where to apply---rural, suburban, small city, large city or don't really care. Then you look at size (2K, 5K, 15K+, etc)

If your kid wants to live in a rural college town that is 75 miles from the nearest airport, so be it. Some will, others would hate it

[Anonymous]

Thank goodness some do or admissions would be that much worse. Something for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they hear other kids say it. Honestly, how much are these kids really taking advantage of being in a city? It's a stupid trend.

This is a silly comment…my kid takes advantage of the city all the time…gets free tickets to professional sporting events, goes to restaurants, etc.

How is it a “stupid trend” considering some of the oldest, most prestigious universities in the country are located in cities.

New Haven... Baltimore... great cities! /s

Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago

Of the cities you listed, only Boston is somewhat appealing. The others are crime ridden hell holes.

You sound like someone hiding in your basement watching OAN all day.

They aren’t crime ridden hell holes by any stretch.

I’ve never watched OAN in my life, but anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that those cities are indeed crime ridden. You sound like someone in utter denial.

Baltimore isn't even in the top 25. But Nashville, home of DCUM darling Vanderbilt, is.
https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/most-dangerous-places

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG. THE FOOD. My kid's campus is traditional, quiet, quintessential NE university--leafy, tons of green space, etc...but also next to a city. The campus is defined by itself. The food options are some of the best in the country, and great places to stay when we visit. We could go out to 4-5 top restaurants every time we go up and still not hit them all by the time they graduate. Lots of art and cultural stuff as well.

My spouse wants to move there. lol

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they hear other kids say it. Honestly, how much are these kids really taking advantage of being in a city? It's a stupid trend.

This is a silly comment…my kid takes advantage of the city all the time…gets free tickets to professional sporting events, goes to restaurants, etc.

How is it a “stupid trend” considering some of the oldest, most prestigious universities in the country are located in cities.

New Haven... Baltimore... great cities! /s

Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago

Of the cities you listed, only Boston is somewhat appealing. The others are crime ridden hell holes.

You sound like someone hiding in your basement watching OAN all day.

They aren’t crime ridden hell holes by any stretch.

I’ve never watched OAN in my life, but anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that those cities are indeed crime ridden. You sound like someone in utter denial.

Please, go back into your suburban basement and lock the doors as you live in fear. We live in these cities and understand they are not crime ridden.

BTW, the actual most crime ridden cities are all smallish/ruralish towns in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas on a per capita basis for violent crime. A city like NYC doesn't even come close.

[Anonymous]

My daughter recently said that attending the school she’s at now — a very urban school — is the best decision she’s ever made. She’s experiencing a vibrant and fulfilling life there.

After seeing kids attend different types of schools, I’ve come to realize that there are certain dynamics you just can’t experience in the middle of nowhere — and those experiences can be a huge asset in life.

Though every kid is different, you have to make the most of the environment you’re in, even if it’s an urban one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Of the cities you listed, only Boston is somewhat appealing. The others are crime ridden hell holes.

Did you know that red states have higher per capita crime rates than blue states or blue cities? Because it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other potentially appealing part of urban settings not as available in smaller towns/suburbs is having another large pool of young people in their early 20s for social opportunities (dating or otherwise).

Absolutely. This has been my kid’s experience at Vanderbilt. Spends as much time doing Nashville things with non-Vanderbilt friends as with their college classmates. Playing music, watching live music etc.

They initially met through restaurant/ catering work

[Anonymous]

That's why visiting colleges ahead of time is important. My kid loved Ohio State. Pretty campus in a small city. Lots of shops and restaurants literally by the campus. And 15 minute car ride to the airport.