Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many.

Juniata links by Amtrak to Philadelphia. It takes much longer than driving but my kid just did schoolwork.

While I'm a fan of Juniata and it's a great option for environmental science/biology, it definitely does not meet the request for a school that's "more urban/suburban (ie, not an isolated campus - wants access to shops, restaurants, things to do). "

Good point. Sorry, I think I was responding to the “headline,” not whole post.

Conn College has an Amtrak station on town, but we found New London to be somewhat sketchy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many.

Juniata links by Amtrak to Philadelphia. It takes much longer than driving but my kid just did schoolwork.

While I'm a fan of Juniata and it's a great option for environmental science/biology, it definitely does not meet the request for a school that's "more urban/suburban (ie, not an isolated campus - wants access to shops, restaurants, things to do). "

Yes- OP here. we visited Juanita and it was a big no.

Hunter College in NY?

SUNY Buffalo (not Amtrak - but fits a lot of what you are looking for)

How about George mason University?

Anonymous wrote:Check out Providence College and URI

URI is a really fun school, but it's not in the city - or even a town. Many students can go home for the weekends because the state is so small. Winters are pretty mellow there - not great for winter sports, but in the spring and fall, beaches, sailing and even surfing are popular. Many off-campus students in groups rent large summer homes on beaches for the winter. Amtrak is not far away.

p.s. We started out with the Amtrak hypothesis when looking at schools along the Eastern seaboard, but we discovered while it's very pleasant it's a looong trip and often cheaper to fly.

Anonymous wrote:Many.

Juniata links by Amtrak to Philadelphia. It takes much longer than driving but my kid just did schoolwork.

While I'm a fan of Juniata and it's a great option for environmental science/biology, it definitely does not meet the request for a school that's "more urban/suburban (ie, not an isolated campus - wants access to shops, restaurants, things to do). "

Check out Providence College and URI

Thanks - OP here. Will be going more carefully through the list.

Let's see - trying to answer some questions asked.

I was thinking Amtrak as a marker as making it more accessible - one two levels. First, kid who doesn't drive has places to go, second it's probably not terribly isolated. Also making an assumption that flying is more expensive.

Kid has a strong preference for schools that are not isolated - with an urban feel or close walking opportunities off campus.

Our "close list" probably mirrors the standards everyone mentions - yes to Delaware and Pitt. Also Towson. JMU was only school south of DC. Also considering West Virginia, but haven't visited. Kid really liked the feel of Westchester, but didn't like Temple or Drexel or St Joe's or Duquesne. Did not like Christopher Newport or ODU either.

It's hard on this board sometimes - when everyone is posting about T25 and 1580 SATs and all the successes (which are awesome! I do not begrudge!) and it's just harder to evaluate where your mostly B some As some Cs absolute disaster with standardized testing kid might even be accepted. It was hard for my kid to realize that schools that other family members went to - UVA, UMD - were out of reach. It's also hard at school when friends are considering Pitt and Delaware safety schools to think those are your reach schools.

I thought Vermont was a stretch - I should have looked before Nov 1, but until people answered here I really thought it was harder to get into.

Kid just really dislikes the heat. Wants cooler weather, and I just thought we didn't have anything that really is a different sort of climate from DC.

Finally, we live in DC, and the DC TAG program for state schools factors heavily in parent likes (but also kid has somehow really responded well to public universities and feels most SLACs are too small.)

Thanks - wish I had asked earlier!

Anonymous wrote:...Some said Syracuse, and I agree, though I think the best fit would be at the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry school, which is affiliated with SU. It's got a great reputation. (And you can get to Syracuse by train, though the station is not that close to campus.)....

This. SUNY-ESF isn't just affiliated with Syracuse, it's on-campus. So it might look like a small college of 1500+ on your computer screen, but it feels like a rah rah university of 15,000+ IRL.

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you share your current more local options. I have a similar junior and looking at some of the New England/New York/PA schools mentioned above.

I'm not OP, but I do have a kid in college who takes the train quite a bit. She's at Towson, and she has to either take a bus or Uber to the train station from campus. She has also gone up to Philly (specifically Drexel, although obviously there are a lot of colleges and universities up there) on the train. We also looked at UDel, which seems to be train accessible. And I think UMBC is as well.

OP, can you share your current more local options. I have a similar junior and looking at some of the New England/New York/PA schools mentioned above.

This is a fun thread, though I think you're being too restrictive by wanting to be on a train line.

Some said Syracuse, and I agree, though I think the best fit would be at the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry school, which is affiliated with SU. It's got a great reputation. (And you can get to Syracuse by train, though the station is not that close to campus.)

I also like New Paltz for this kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As others have noted, would put UNH, URI and Maine/Orono high on the list. They meet a lot of the criteria you mention (including enviro studies programs); they're not super-hard to get into, they're flagship universities that aren't going to go bankrupt (unlike a number of second-tier SLACs); and while there will certainly be some partiers, there will also be some committed students (some attending because they can only afford in-state options) and dedicated faculty. Good luck!

I’ve been hearing about how this is about to happen any day now for fifteen years on DCUM and it has yet to happen in any widespread fashion.

Although Maine Public sytems is suffering with lack of students, they have been reducing majors, dorms and food. So might be worth researching to make sure major is available. Nothing worse than not getting much financial support from a state for a state school.

https://www.pressherald.com/2023/07/30/change-is-on-the-horizon-as-umaine-system-struggles-financially/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As others have noted, would put UNH, URI and Maine/Orono high on the list. They meet a lot of the criteria you mention (including enviro studies programs); they're not super-hard to get into, they're flagship universities that aren't going to go bankrupt (unlike a number of second-tier SLACs); and while there will certainly be some partiers, there will also be some committed students (some attending because they can only afford in-state options) and dedicated faculty. Good luck!

I’ve been hearing about how this is about to happen any day now for fifteen years on DCUM and it has yet to happen in any widespread fashion.

Although Maine Public sytems is suffering with lack of students, they have been reducing majors, dorms and food. So might be worth researching to make sure major is available. Nothing worse than not getting much financial support from a state for a state school.

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