How important is the college town?

[Anonymous]

The only thing that matters 99% of the time for 99% of the kids is the immediate surrounding area - like across the street from the college. Most kids don’t have cars or don’t want to pack a group into one or several cars, and driving after drinking is no good. Also, on a day-to-day basis, kids are not going far to eat or gather - it’s the dining hall, the park bench, the coffee house, the bagel store, or the corner restaurant. Most clothes shopping is done on breaks or online/by mail. Kids are mostly too busy with classes, studying, working out, and hanging out to go on big city, out-of-the-way adventures, especially during the week.

[Anonymous]

For my kids having a town with the basics that was walkable from campus was important. They didn't have cars (at least not at first, my junior does now have a car at school) and do want to get off campus to go to the grocery store, see a movie, eat someplace different, shop at thrift stores.

DD ended up at a small, residential college in what to me is a fairly blah small town but she likes it. Says it has everything she needs. She did rule out one college because there wasn't a town walkable to it.

DS is at Virginia Tech where nearly all students move off campus after 1st year so the town is important because that's where you live. My experience was the same in a mid-size public university in a college town where most students lived in apartments and houses off campus.

[Anonymous]

I like a school where there is something to walk to - even a few restaurants, shops etc. I tried to encourage my kids to consider that and they did. Some students love being in a rural setting with nothing to walk to, some want a ton of stuff around. Really depends. Important consideration IMO either way.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in West Lafayette and in his words it’s a bustling campus with a cute surrounding area dumped in the middle of a bunch of cornfields. That being said there are plenty of decent restaurants, quaint shops, coffeehouses, student type needs stores (drugstores, bars, ect). We always have a good time when we visit (there’s a nice state park nearby and some nice nature paths). He is PLENTY busy with his classes and “college life” so I think if he was in a larger city it would be distracting in a bad way. If he really gets the urge he heads to Indianapolis (less than an hour drive) or Chicago (2ish hours). He only does this maybe once a semester to hit up Costco, IKEA, the “fancy” mall ….

[Anonymous]

I think the college environment. My kid started at a small T20 SLAC in a small, boring town and found that campus life focused on drinking and there was nothing else if you did not want to drink all weekend. Transferred to a city school with coffee shops, restaurants, museums, etc to build a better, more interesting life. Much happier, never looked back.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the kid. My DC is in a tiny town and adores it. She will move to a big city after graduation, so feels like there's plenty of time for what bigger locales offer. In the meantime, the small town feels both cozy and expansive -- like the town is a whole world that belongs to her and her classmates.

In general, I think kids 18-22 are really good at making their own fun, regardless of what's around.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the kid. My sister and I ended up in the same city for college but at different colleges. I spent a lot of time off campus doing all sorts of things like restaurants, shopping, bars and different things in the city. I moved into an apartment after freshman year with roommates and only went to campus for classes. I always had a part time job somewhere in the city and met many people not associated with the school.

In the same city, my sister lived on campus the entire time and was totally into the college culture. Her entire social life and her friends were there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that matters 99% of the time for 99% of the kids is the immediate surrounding area - like across the street from the college. Most kids don’t have cars or don’t want to pack a group into one or several cars, and driving after drinking is no good. Also, on a day-to-day basis, kids are not going far to eat or gather - it’s the dining hall, the park bench, the coffee house, the bagel store, or the corner restaurant. Most clothes shopping is done on breaks or online/by mail. Kids are mostly too busy with classes, studying, working out, and hanging out to go on big city, out-of-the-way adventures, especially during the week.

Unless they live IN a big city, and the opposite of everything you said is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that matters 99% of the time for 99% of the kids is the immediate surrounding area - like across the street from the college. Most kids don’t have cars or don’t want to pack a group into one or several cars, and driving after drinking is no good. Also, on a day-to-day basis, kids are not going far to eat or gather - it’s the dining hall, the park bench, the coffee house, the bagel store, or the corner restaurant. Most clothes shopping is done on breaks or online/by mail. Kids are mostly too busy with classes, studying, working out, and hanging out to go on big city, out-of-the-way adventures, especially during the week.

Holy crap, are you posting from Mankato, Minn? Thats the only plausible explanation I can think of for your opinions on whether a vibrant city is or is not a draw to 20 year olds. My anecdotal rebuttal is that every young adult on my District of Columbia block attends college in an actual city of size, ranging from Houston to New Haven to Nashville to Los Angeles. Not a Northfield in the bunch.

The 99% figures are just plain wrong. I mean, we can't know empirically what the actual proportion is of kids who never leave the student center vs. those who go to a concert.

[Anonymous]

The university has to be large enough so the students don't need to find action off campus. Imo, it would he horrible to attend a very small college with nothing around it. Or, having a college town, while attending a large university, that's a bonus.

Outside of the surrounding area, no. I wouldn't hope for a large city to be nearby. I would hope that did not draw students away from the university.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't this depend on the person? I purposely chose a school in the Boston area. Boston was the major draw and then I found the school I liked best there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the college environment. My kid started at a small T20 SLAC in a small, boring town and found that campus life focused on drinking and there was nothing else if you did not want to drink all weekend. Transferred to a city school with coffee shops, restaurants, museums, etc to build a better, more interesting life. Much happier, never looked back.

+1. My kid transferred from a similar school for virtually the same reasons to one in a major city. Make sure your child really wants to be in a college town. Mine thought they did but turns out they really didn't. I'd recommend spending more than just a tour there. Perhaps an extended weekend just to make sure that's what they really want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's an interesting question. I love the quaint college town my DC's college is in, but I don't think they necessarily go off campus a lot. It's not a big town--it is just a small main street with cute restaurants, shops, and a couple bars. That being said, I think it adds to the school's charm and makes it a more fun place to visit. Some of the schools we have visited are nice, but the surrounding areas are so depressing.

My college town was like that and it was fine. We could have used some more clothing stores and perhaps a drug store, but we didn't have the Internet to order from like kids do now.

My DD is at school in a small city that's an absolute s#ithole. While there are some bars and restaurants, they are all in a two-block area. She seems to go there occasionally but it's a cab ride away, not right off campus. The rest of the city is a dump and I worry about her safety. I would much rather her be in a small, cute town.

What school/city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's an interesting question. I love the quaint college town my DC's college is in, but I don't think they necessarily go off campus a lot. It's not a big town--it is just a small main street with cute restaurants, shops, and a couple bars. That being said, I think it adds to the school's charm and makes it a more fun place to visit. Some of the schools we have visited are nice, but the surrounding areas are so depressing.

My college town was like that and it was fine. We could have used some more clothing stores and perhaps a drug store, but we didn't have the Internet to order from like kids do now.

My DD is at school in a small city that's an absolute s#ithole. While there are some bars and restaurants, they are all in a two-block area. She seems to go there occasionally but it's a cab ride away, not right off campus. The rest of the city is a dump and I worry about her safety. I would much rather her be in a small, cute town.

What school/city?

Colby - Waterville, ME.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's an interesting question. I love the quaint college town my DC's college is in, but I don't think they necessarily go off campus a lot. It's not a big town--it is just a small main street with cute restaurants, shops, and a couple bars. That being said, I think it adds to the school's charm and makes it a more fun place to visit. Some of the schools we have visited are nice, but the surrounding areas are so depressing.

My college town was like that and it was fine. We could have used some more clothing stores and perhaps a drug store, but we didn't have the Internet to order from like kids do now.

My DD is at school in a small city that's an absolute s#ithole. While there are some bars and restaurants, they are all in a two-block area. She seems to go there occasionally but it's a cab ride away, not right off campus. The rest of the city is a dump and I worry about her safety. I would much rather her be in a small, cute town.

What school/city?

Syracuse