Are these campuses sprawled out or compact?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Son has taken some classes at our big state U and visited a couple of smaller colleges in the area. He is currently thinking he'd prefer a compact, non sprawled out campus. Perhaps one uses the term self contained campus for that? Basically he would rather avoid trekking across a large campus and busy roads as he goes between classes. </p>

<p>We are trying to use this criteria particularly to narrow down his reaches. We have been looking up info on some of his schools of interest but would like to get CC feedback on how compact or self contained these schools are:</p>

<p>Univ of Rochester
Case Western Reserve
Johns Hopkins
Cornell
Wesleyan
Carleton
Rice
Brown
University of Chicago
Lawrence
Reed</p>

<p>Details: interested in physics, will take 2nd year math and physics as a senior, 4.0 uw gpa, 2180 sat, taking act soon, has a few 5s in APs, natl merit expected of some lvl. 35k per year budget which is also our approximate efc for the meet need schools I've run net price on.</p>

<p>I appreciate the feed back particularly on campus feel. </p>

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<p>it’s so nice to get a well prepared post that anticipates most of our questions. thanks, OP.</p>

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<p>Rice is pretty small and compact. No idea about any of the others.</p>

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<p>OP, I know the wikis for some unis list the acreage of the campus. might this help somewhat?</p>

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<p>case western reserve is sprawled. </p>

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<p>Brown felt claustrophobically cramped to me when I visited after attending a big, sprawling college. It’s pretty hemmed in by streets, but the area is fairly pedestrian friendly. </p>

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<p>Your son should like the campuses of Carleton and Lawrence. I think they are of the right size, not too small nor big. Everything is within comfortable walking distance though a bike will save a lot of steps.</p>

<p>U of Chicago can be considered “self-contained”, too. </p>

<p>BTW, Notre Dame is definitely self-contained but much bigger than the above colleges.</p>

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<p>Univ of Rochester
Case Western Reserve
Cornell
Wesleyan
Brown</p>

<p>I’m familiar with the above. Of these, Case and Brown are probably the most “compact” but I don’t think any would meet your son’s criteria. Cornell would by <em>far</em> be a poor choice if he’s looking for a “compact” campus.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t necessarily say Cornell is not “compact,” although that isn’t the first word I would use to describe it, either. Essentially, there are different quads for each of Cornell’s colleges, which may seem overwhelming at first, but for the most part you have all your classes in one compact area. </p>

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<p>I appreciate the input.</p>

<p>I think we will add some columns for campus size and then subjective comments to son’s list of potential schools.</p>

<p>I have heard Cornell is spread out but interesting to note the different quads. </p>

<p>He is definitely drawn to smaller schools but he needs a good variety of upper physics classes available as well.</p>

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<p>Look at campuses on Google Maps</p>

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<p>Reed is a nice size. It is surrounded by a small suburb. Within the college they have a small stream that runs through the middle of it. Very walkable though they have a bike group that maintains public use bicycles which can be used across the campus. Pick one up, peddle to your destination, leave it there for the next person.</p>

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<p>Every college has a campus map (often interactive) on its website; many have visual “tours” as well. Add a look-see via Google Earth, and you should be all set.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the suggestions.</p>

<p>We have looked at maps but also enjoy input from people familiar with the campus. </p>

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<p>We toured Reed last summer. It seemed like a perfect size, very walkable, self contained. Beautiful buildings and the setting was park-like. </p>

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<p>@MidwestSalmon Lawrence U. is compact. I was there just yesterday moving in my daughter. They offer great research opportunities for undergrads in science. Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions. I found the net price calculator to be very accurate for Lawrence.</p>

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<p>I’ve visited Rochester multiple times. It’s a large-ish campus, I thought, but it’s all pretty much concentrated together. I can’t speak a whole lot about student life since I’m not a student, but one of my best friends goes there and it seems pretty vibrant. I got an excellent merit scholarship and decent need-based as well, and my family’s budget was ~20k. I hope this helps a bit :)</p>

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<p>Another thing to consider is that while some campuses may be large/sprawling in their entirety, some schools group schools/facilities in certain areas so that students don’t need to traverse the entire campus to get to their classes. For example, engineering buildings may often be grouped near one another, and the same for business or liberal arts. Dorms are often located in different areas of campus, and students generally choose the most convenient housing. For classes that are gen eds, sometimes certain sections are offered at locations around campus to make it convenient for more students (for example, I know my nephew had his freshman English class in a building near his engineering classes at UIUC). IF not, it’s often simple enough to arrange a class schedule to keep classes near each other. For example, try to take English composition and sociology gen eds on Tuesday/Thursday mornings, and business classes on MWF, or some variation of this.</p>

<p>Check things out on campus before eliminating what might otherwise be a great fit for him.</p>