Which schools outpace their location and vice versa?

[Anonymous]

We visited Baylor and, while we are Christians and Baylor is a good university that ticks all the boxes, Waco is a crappy town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited Baylor and, while we are Christians and Baylor is a good university that ticks all the boxes, Waco is a crappy town.

I thought Chip and Joanna slapped ship lap on it all and now its fabulous!

[Anonymous]

My HS senior was born and raised in DC, loves spending time in NYC.

But for college, he wanted to be in small town or even rural environment where the college is the center of activities.

Headed to a SLAC that is in a really unappealing, cold location (to me) and thrilled to be doing so. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited Baylor and, while we are Christians and Baylor is a good university that ticks all the boxes, Waco is a crappy town.

I thought Chip and Joanna slapped ship lap on it all and now its fabulous!

Ha ha! We thought so, too. Nope, the downtown area is pretty sketchy. We love their style but they still have a lot of work to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Carleton--all great schools in less-desirable locations.

Nashville is quite decent - not my cup of tea but I can see why certain - well many - people like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably not Penn, but Philadelphia drags down Drexel and Temple due to their location. Baltimore certainly drags down Johns Hopkins.

Conversely, Boston props up Boston University and Northeastern, while New York props up NYU and Fordham, but not necessarily Columbia.

There are a lot of mid-sized schools in depressing towns in New York and Pennsylvania that would have higher profiles if they were in nicer areas either in New England or the South. Hobart/William Smith, Bucknell, and Washington & Jefferson come to mind.

If temple and Drexel were in central pa an not in philly they would be less desireable.

Temple and Drexel are aided by Philly location

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Carleton--all great schools in less-desirable locations.

Vanderbilt? Seriously? Every single student I know who goes/went to Vandy cited Nashville as one of the best parts of the school. I can't imagine a better city for college kids, personally.

Northfield is small but really nice- with St. Olaf right there too it's a good college town. For the kind of kids who are attracted to a SLAC, it's ideal.

Rice- Houston isn't as cool as Nashville but it's a big, diverse, growing, thriving city. Rice is in a really nice neighborhood. Hardly less-desirable.

Wash U is in a GREAT part of St. Louis...St. Louis itself may not be a draw, but everyone I know who went to Wash U said it's in a great location.

Are you one of those "any city that's not in California or the Bos Wash corridor is automatically sh*t" types?

No - Boulder, Missoula, Bozeman are amazing college locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably not Penn, but Philadelphia drags down Drexel and Temple due to their location. Baltimore certainly drags down Johns Hopkins.

Conversely, Boston props up Boston University and Northeastern, while New York props up NYU and Fordham, but not necessarily Columbia.

There are a lot of mid-sized schools in depressing towns in New York and Pennsylvania that would have higher profiles if they were in nicer areas either in New England or the South. Hobart/William Smith, Bucknell, and Washington & Jefferson come to mind.

If temple and Drexel were in central pa an not in philly they would be less desireable.

Temple and Drexel are aided by Philly location

Maybe Im biased by the fact that I grew up in Philly suburbs but +1 to this. Although Bucknell gets is a top choice from the private school set despite being a college/prison town and not much else. We visited with DD#1 and I thought it was just a big boarding school that would get mighty small by senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably not Penn, but Philadelphia drags down Drexel and Temple due to their location. Baltimore certainly drags down Johns Hopkins.

Conversely, Boston props up Boston University and Northeastern, while New York props up NYU and Fordham, but not necessarily Columbia.

There are a lot of mid-sized schools in depressing towns in New York and Pennsylvania that would have higher profiles if they were in nicer areas either in New England or the South. Hobart/William Smith, Bucknell, and Washington & Jefferson come to mind.

If temple and Drexel were in central pa an not in philly they would be less desireable.

Temple and Drexel are aided by Philly location

And Drexel is literally right next to Penn. Practically across the street. True the campus is not as nice as Penn's, but that is about architecture and set up. the location is just the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale-New Haven and Brown-Providence, although both cities are nicer than they used to be.

I can't speak about what Providence used to be like, but it was a major selling point for my kid to choose Brown over Wesleyan (speaking of towns that drag a college down, Middletown was pretty bleak). The areas adjoining campus are great and the downtown - while a little sleepy - is nice.

Providence used to be referred to as the armpit of New England and it was not vibrant or particularly safe. It was revitalized in the 80s and 90s and is much nicer now.

Providence is a small and very manageable city with lots of culture and amazing restaurants. The river through the city is an attraction with the water fire events and even has gondolas cruising up and down the river. Try the grilled pizza at Alforno.

Just did that last week. The grilled pizza is fantastic!

[Anonymous]

I’m gonna need to know what grilled pizza is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale-New Haven and Brown-Providence, although both cities are nicer than they used to be.

I can't speak about what Providence used to be like, but it was a major selling point for my kid to choose Brown over Wesleyan (speaking of towns that drag a college down, Middletown was pretty bleak). The areas adjoining campus are great and the downtown - while a little sleepy - is nice.

Providence used to be referred to as the armpit of New England and it was not vibrant or particularly safe. It was revitalized in the 80s and 90s and is much nicer now.

Providence is a small and very manageable city with lots of culture and amazing restaurants. The river through the city is an attraction with the water fire events and even has gondolas cruising up and down the river. Try the grilled pizza at Alforno.

Just did that last week. The grilled pizza is fantastic!

Toured PC and it was a loooong tour. City is great. However, the immediate area around PC is crap. We couldn't believe it. Didn't have time to figure out what was beyond the perimeter and if it was better but it's not what we expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Carleton--all great schools in less-desirable locations.

Vanderbilt? Seriously? Every single student I know who goes/went to Vandy cited Nashville as one of the best parts of the school. I can't imagine a better city for college kids, personally.

Northfield is small but really nice- with St. Olaf right there too it's a good college town. For the kind of kids who are attracted to a SLAC, it's ideal.

Rice- Houston isn't as cool as Nashville but it's a big, diverse, growing, thriving city. Rice is in a really nice neighborhood. Hardly less-desirable.

Wash U is in a GREAT part of St. Louis...St. Louis itself may not be a draw, but everyone I know who went to Wash U said it's in a great location.

Are you one of those "any city that's not in California or the Bos Wash corridor is automatically sh*t" types?

I agree. What a curious comment for that pp to suggest Vandy is in a "less desirable" location. It's location is absolutely one of its drawing points. Lovely town.

And judging by the line at the recent independent schools college fair, Vandy is very desired as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biases aside, I'm learning a lot on this thread. How about Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, Rochester? Locations a plus or minus?

Northwestern is close to Chicago but in suburban Evanston and has a very cohesive campus. The El doesn’t even go to Evanston-you must bus to the nearest stop. It is close enough to the city for internships and fun, but not of the city.

The El does go to Evanston. I know this because I live here. It’s the purple line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biases aside, I'm learning a lot on this thread. How about Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, Rochester? Locations a plus or minus?

Northwestern is close to Chicago but in suburban Evanston and has a very cohesive campus. The El doesn’t even go to Evanston-you must bus to the nearest stop. It is close enough to the city for internships and fun, but not of the city.

Umm, yes it does. I know this because my daughter takes it to her internship every day. It is the purple line, and the Noyes stop is an 8 minute walk from her dorm.