Rural Campuses

[Anonymous]

My DH and I are city people, and our kids have grown up in the city, as well. DS is a rising senior and has bee thinking about city schools, but with everything going on, he now wonders whether he would feel comfortable being in a rural setting. Yes, we understand covid is everywhere and that the kids will be coming from all over. But it’s the idea of him walking around a city campus with all the extra people walking around. He may change his mind if things change a lot in the next several months, but right now he wants to start researching a whole different path than he planned.

Does any of your kids go to a school in a rural area? If so, which one? Was it a hard transition to go from city to a rural area? My DS initially ruled them out because he thought it would be boring. Remember, he only knows city life.

[Anonymous]

* Do any of your kids

[Anonymous]

Urban schools are closer to better medical resources though so it is a trade off. My kid goes to a rural school in Update NY but he has always been outdoorsy so it is perfect for him. He did not consider any urban campuses.

[Anonymous]

CLEMSON is rural and they had one of the worst football COVID outbreaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CLEMSON is rural and they had one of the worst football COVID outbreaks.

Not as bad as Rutgers.

[Anonymous]

He will really have to do this college by college.

If he is worried about the virus enough so that it drives his college selection, then it's not really a city/rural divide.

Some rural colleges don't require masks, just suggest they be worn. Some "city" schools are really suburban but surrounded by rural. Think Penn State or Cornell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He will really have to do this college by college.

If he is worried about the virus enough so that it drives his college selection, then it's not really a city/rural divide.

Some rural colleges don't require masks, just suggest they be worn. Some "city" schools are really suburban but surrounded by rural. Think Penn State or Cornell.

PP is right--very individual to the college itself. College culture is a real thing. You could have a rural college where the student population just refuses to mask, their families don't mask at home, the college doesn't push it. You could have a more urban campus where the college is strict about distancing and masking and more proactive than the rural college. And vice versa. Please get your son to focus on the academics he wants first and foremost, and let the rural vs. urban idea come only way after that. The fact he has only known city life is a bit troubling because unless he visits, he may have an idealized notion of what rural really is like. It can be great or it can be isolating -- all depends on the kid.

Also: Rural schools might not have adequate access to major hospitals if there is an outbreak on campus (of Covid or anything else, really). Something to bear in mind.

You said your son is a rising senior, OP. I'm sorry he won't get to visit schools in person this fall because visits really were make or break for our DC. Your DC might think he's fine with rural but discover a place out in the cornfields is really just too isolated for him, or he might love the idea of a big-city school and discover it's very cramped and too crowded-feeling. Maybe lots of virtual tours, lots of online investigating if he can't visit in person, and if you're near enough to schools to make some virus-safe drive-throughs, do it even if you can't tour. Many schools are doing "distanced" in-person tours with masks and limited numbers etc. but getting out to some rural areas might not be wise right now or this fall, unfortunately -- the virus is now spreading in many rural areas.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you should make a decision about a rural vs city school because of COVID. They are very different experiences and students who choose one option over another value different aspects of the college experience. I can't imagine that someone who really wants to be in the city for school would be happy at a rural college (or vice verse).

The rural campus my daughter is going to is planning to open, but at a reduced density (at least as of now). COVID has been relatively low in that area, but the numbers are beginning to go up and they are looking at hospital capacity as a potential stumbling point for returning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Urban schools are closer to better medical resources though so it is a trade off. My kid goes to a rural school in Update NY but he has always been outdoorsy so it is perfect for him. He did not consider any urban campuses.

If that’s a concern for you (General “you” not you specifically), rural schools that are close to big cities may be a good way to strike that balance. Denison, for example — pretty rural in feel, easy 40ish minute drive into Columbus for their great hospitals and medical resources. Carleton and St. Olaf, too — Northfield is very small, but less than an hour to both Rochester (Mayo) and facilities in Minneapolis.

[Anonymous]

There are also different types of "city" colleges. Some are essentially part of the city, with students needing to travel public city streets to move between college buildings. Others are technically located in the city but have a self-contained campus within city limits, so students can avoid exposure to the general public more easily.

Your student needs to really consider what will work for him, with both covid and non-covid factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Urban schools are closer to better medical resources though so it is a trade off. My kid goes to a rural school in Update NY but he has always been outdoorsy so it is perfect for him. He did not consider any urban campuses.

If that’s a concern for you (General “you” not you specifically), rural schools that are close to big cities may be a good way to strike that balance. Denison, for example — pretty rural in feel, easy 40ish minute drive into Columbus for their great hospitals and medical resources. Carleton and St. Olaf, too — Northfield is very small, but less than an hour to both Rochester (Mayo) and facilities in Minneapolis.

True, but the 40-minute proximity increases the risk as kids will be tempted to go into the city. Colleges like to think they can prevent them but they will do what they feel like doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Urban schools are closer to better medical resources though so it is a trade off. My kid goes to a rural school in Update NY but he has always been outdoorsy so it is perfect for him. He did not consider any urban campuses.

If that’s a concern for you (General “you” not you specifically), rural schools that are close to big cities may be a good way to strike that balance. Denison, for example — pretty rural in feel, easy 40ish minute drive into Columbus for their great hospitals and medical resources. Carleton and St. Olaf, too — Northfield is very small, but less than an hour to both Rochester (Mayo) and facilities in Minneapolis.

True, but the 40-minute proximity increases the risk as kids will be tempted to go into the city. Colleges like to think they can prevent them but they will do what they feel like doing.

At most of these small schools (at least the ones that we looked out), you find that the kids don't go into the city that often, if at all. That's one of the benefits of having a small rural campus - the campus community and the on campus events and activities that the isolation creates - that's a big plus for many kids. At the schools we looked at, the students said for the most part that they were too busy on campus to go into the city. But, you have to want that. If you really like the city, then that environment is not for you.

[Anonymous]

I really think that parents and students generally make way too big a deal out of the city vs. town vs. rural debate for undergrad.

I do admissions interviews for a school in a small town and so many of my applicants want to talk about the town and flatter the town. It's a waste of time in the interview. You are not applying to the town, and the people who live there, be it city, town, or rural, will have a complicated relationship with the school that means that you as a student are, by default, outsiders and regarded with suspicion unless you take the extra time to get involved outside of your school, which is not at all necessary for earning your degree. We are seeing this now with the local populations in NW DC complaining about in-person classes at Georgetown and GW before they decided to go mostly remote. This is a dynamic that plays out everywhere.

Focus on the offerings and culture of the school, as well as whether or not it fits in your educational budget and your student's goals. Don't get distracted with the postcard. Schools are generally very insular places for freshmen anyway. It's likely that your student will be too busy to really engage with the community outside of school.

One thing to consider is the housing options for upperclassmen. That is worth asking the admissions office about, as it can be very costly and more limiting in terms of supply, and you as an applicant cannot tell the situation simply by looking at the environment around the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He will really have to do this college by college.

If he is worried about the virus enough so that it drives his college selection, then it's not really a city/rural divide.

Some rural colleges don't require masks, just suggest they be worn. Some "city" schools are really suburban but surrounded by rural. Think Penn State or Cornell.

Penn State would be considered a rural school. It started as an Agricultural school. The Penn State ice cream from the Penn State creamery is still world class.

Penn State is equally remote and a long way from every corner of the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will really have to do this college by college.

If he is worried about the virus enough so that it drives his college selection, then it's not really a city/rural divide.

Some rural colleges don't require masks, just suggest they be worn. Some "city" schools are really suburban but surrounded by rural. Think Penn State or Cornell.

PP is right--very individual to the college itself. College culture is a real thing. You could have a rural college where the student population just refuses to mask, their families don't mask at home, the college doesn't push it. You could have a more urban campus where the college is strict about distancing and masking and more proactive than the rural college. And vice versa. Please get your son to focus on the academics he wants first and foremost, and let the rural vs. urban idea come only way after that. The fact he has only known city life is a bit troubling because unless he visits, he may have an idealized notion of what rural really is like. It can be great or it can be isolating -- all depends on the kid.

Also: Rural schools might not have adequate access to major hospitals if there is an outbreak on campus (of Covid or anything else, really). Something to bear in mind.

You said your son is a rising senior, OP. I'm sorry he won't get to visit schools in person this fall because visits really were make or break for our DC. Your DC might think he's fine with rural but discover a place out in the cornfields is really just too isolated for him, or he might love the idea of a big-city school and discover it's very cramped and too crowded-feeling. Maybe lots of virtual tours, lots of online investigating if he can't visit in person, and if you're near enough to schools to make some virus-safe drive-throughs, do it even if you can't tour. Many schools are doing "distanced" in-person tours with masks and limited numbers etc. but getting out to some rural areas might not be wise right now or this fall, unfortunately -- the virus is now spreading in many rural areas.

Some of the "rural" colleges have the best hospitals in the state.