<p>What is there to do on campus? Do people travel into the city often? Is there enough to keep you busy outside of homework?</p>
<p>I think, of the schools on your list, Bates and Wesleyan are bound to have the two biggest campus "bubbles", i.e., an almost incestuous sense of campus identity and community. Wesleyan students, however, do frequently dine out at restaurants in downtown Middletown, and will occasionally catch rides to New Haven (from there, it is also an easy train ride to New York City.)</p>
<p>I'll speak on the schools I know a little something about socially: BC, Brandeis, and Tufts. They're all very close to Boston though Brandeis' access to Boston is a little more complicated do to its Waltham location. It's VERY easy to get into Boston from Tufts & BC and many students from each school do so every week (many times, even)... Tufts is distance-wise further from downtown Boston than BC is but it's faster time-wise because it has a better subway line than the one that services BC.</p>
<p><em>goes to BC</em></p>
<p>It's easy getting into the city. We have our own buses which, excluding breaks, is pretty uniform. Take one of the BC buses to the reservoir stop and take either the C or D line. You'll be there in 15-30 minutes. The B line is also convenient <em>it's right across the street</em>, but it's incredibly slow.</p>
<p>On the schools I know something about:</p>
<p>BC: preps, jocks unite! let's pop our collars and do keg-stands, go to football games
Brandeis: let's get the hell out of Waltham for the weekend; let's go clubbing, kosher-style!
Wesleyan: let's play games in the forest! and be stoned, of course.
Tufts: let's talk about politics and human-rights, but let's be drunk and dancing while we do this.</p>
<p>(take this all with a grain of salt) :D</p>
<p>If you want to be near a city, it seems that Bates and perhaps Wesleyan should be off your list.</p>
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<p>Wesleyan: let's play games in the forest! and be stoned, of course.<</p>
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<p>FWIW, I have no idea what is meant by the above. Wesleyan has a very nice X-C course, but, no forest that I'm aware of. Weekends do start early (Wednesday) in the sense that people start hosting house parties and going out pretty much all week. Performing arts are big, so chances are you will know the members of some band well enough to enjoy their gigs. And, there is theater and stand-up and lots of movies to choose from. I've not heard a lot of complaints about social life at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Brandeis has tons to do. I'm particularly involved in political stuff so that keeps me on my toes, but there's 7 or 8 theatre troups, too many a cappella groups to count, dance groups, religious groups of all kinds, and concerts. Our Punk and Rock and Roll club gets local or underground bands to come- sometimes to the point where there's 3 concerts a week and generally free. We also get bigger acts like tonight's Reel Big Fish. Last semester we got Flogging Molly and Broken Social Scene.</p>
<p>On going into Boston, I personally go almost every weekend just because I have stuff to get done. Some of my friends are there every day from Thursday to Sunday, others go once every other month. It depends on your personal preference.</p>