Better than Burlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - thanks all for the responses. Looking back at my post, it seems I inadvertently gave some of you the impression that my kid is an extreme goldilocks - "a town is too small, a city too big!" What I meant to convey is that I already know a city would suit my kid but was looking at smaller places that might have enough there or around there to satisfy.
W&M - I think this was wishful thinking on my part as I think the college itself is a great fit. But definitely seems like not enough there.
Kalamazoo and Appleton(Lawrence) - these are both population bigger than Burlington but no one seems to think they are better.
5C Mass - this seems like a maybe
Worcester - I still don't get a sense of this at all. Some of you find it gritty and unwalkable but it also has great food and is a true small city.
Appreciate the Brown and Cornell suggestions but they may be too much of a reach for my kid and my checkbook!
College of Charleston and Tulane will be too red/south but great suggestions.
Will take a closer look at Skidmore and Pitt honor college. As stated in the first post, looking at small/medium schools (non-religious). CA has plenty of great large schools options w/UCs and CSUs.

I grew up in WI and have visited Burlington. Appleton doesn't come close to comparing to Burlington in terms of college atmosphere (or really anything else). Lawrence is supposed to be a nice school but there really isn't anything appealing about Appleton for a college kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Madison is what you want. Burlington is like Madison, but Madison is larger so you won't be able to explore it all in 2 days. Walking around the lakes with headphones is the perfect way to escape. But it isn't a major city, just a really nice sized city. There is a reason it is consistently ranked as one of the top college towns.

Op doesn’t want a huge school in a medium-sized city. Try U of Iowa…it has a lot of the features of U of Wisconsin, but school & city are much smaller & more manageable.

I am the one that posted this. I didn't really understand OP's criteria and now that OP has clarified, I agree with this. Iowa City is a nice college town and probably more manageable than Madison based on OP's criteria. Not particularly easy to get to however.

[Anonymous]

Davidson - town is darling (amazing ethnic food options!) and less than 30 minutes to Charlotte

[Anonymous]

I don't see how Wisconsin Madison is a smaller setup than Michigan Ann Arbor. Madison is much bigger than Ann Arbor. Michigan has an Honors College and a liberal arts, single-dorm-based Residential College.

My kid has not been too impressed with downtown Kalamazoo while in town for student conferences. However, Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University are appealing choices for students from our in-state high school who are not interested in the large flagships. Here are some Reddit threads about Kalamazoo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kzoo/comments/10ui98a/why_do_you_live_in_kalamazoo/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kzoo/comments/1ljpftz/10_free_hours_near_kalamazoo_looking_for_scenic/

Regarding Ithaca, there's always Ithaca College which used to be a place that journalists and book authors went to school. I've heard rumblings of financial issues but that is true of many smaller schools.

[Anonymous]

Ames, Iowa is quite underrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how Wisconsin Madison is a smaller setup than Michigan Ann Arbor. Madison is much bigger than Ann Arbor. Michigan has an Honors College and a liberal arts, single-dorm-based Residential College.

My kid has not been too impressed with downtown Kalamazoo while in town for student conferences. However, Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University are appealing choices for students from our in-state high school who are not interested in the large flagships. Here are some Reddit threads about Kalamazoo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kzoo/comments/10ui98a/why_do_you_live_in_kalamazoo/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kzoo/comments/1ljpftz/10_free_hours_near_kalamazoo_looking_for_scenic/

Regarding Ithaca, there's always Ithaca College which used to be a place that journalists and book authors went to school. I've heard rumblings of financial issues but that is true of many smaller schools.

I was going to suggest this, as well. Easier admit than Cornell but nearby. Lots of nature to explore, if that’s her thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, we are a CA family trying to figure out the Midwest/East Coast. My kid is looking for colleges that have walkable towns/ethnic food plus the ability to find some anonymity. We happened to spend 4 days in Burlington last summer. I thought it might be a fit (loved the houses w/porch hammocks) but my kid felt it was too small - they saw the whole town in 2 days plus there wasn’t anywhere else you could easily escape to. (Love public transportation/definitely no car freshman year)
Not looking for info on colleges in cities (Macalaster), big college towns (U mich) or ones with easy metro access (UMCP)
Trying to get a sense of places like:
Williamsburg- William &Mary
Mass 5 college consortium
Appleton WI - Lawrence
Kalamazoo MI
Worcester MA - Holy Cross, Clark
I think they could be a fit for a small/medium school but they are used to city living and are introverted so occasionally want a break from people they know. Want to be able to take a 2 hour walk and listen to headphones or go to lunch/cafe/bookstore without running into all people they know.
Welcome suggestions or if you had a similar kid, how did they deal/where did they go? Thanks

Not a small school but Lawrence KS is a great college town and he would get merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Think about Providence.

+1

[Anonymous]

This whole thread is ridiculous. The kid wants to be in a city and mommy is scared, looking for a place that's hip enough for the kid but also non-threatening enough for mommy.

Just let the kid go urban.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is ridiculous. The kid wants to be in a city and mommy is scared, looking for a place that's hip enough for the kid but also non-threatening enough for mommy.

Just let the kid go urban.

+1