British Exchange Student: What U.S. university is right for me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am currently studying in my first year of studying history at a top 20 university in the U.K. In my third year I have the opportunity of spending a year in the U.S. so I am in the process of making my top 5 choices at the moment, however, I have so many schools on the list that it's hard to narrow down my top 5... so I was hoping you could help!</p>

<p>My choices are:
University of Arizona
Binghamton University - State University of New York
University of California
University of Colorado, Boulder
George Mason University
Georgetown University
Goucher College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Kansas
Louisiana State University
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts
Middlebury College
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri, Columbia
University of Missouri, St Louis
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina
University of Notre Dame
Occidental College
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
State University of New York: Plattsburgh
University of Redlands
Reed College
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
Roanoke College
Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey
San Francisco State University
St Olaf College
Temple University
Tulane University
University of Utah
Westminster College</p>

<p>To help you help me narrow it down I thought I'd bullet point what I want from this experience:
* I am not concerned about academic reputation. My home university is regarded highly in the U.K. so my year abroad destination doesn't matter AT ALL.
* It must be in an affordable location. (NB: I only pay room and board fees, I pay standard U.K. fees to my home univ). I can afford any location under $15k. I CANNOT AFFORD CALIFORNIA.
* I'd like the college I study at to offer a uniquely American college experience. I know this may sound shallow but I want the quintessential college experience (i.e. lush campus, beautiful architecture, school spirit, etc.).
* I am supposed to use my year abroad to research a topic on historical significance so the school must be located in (or near) a location that would offer me ample research opps. I am particularly interested in the following U.S. historical topics: Civil War and slavery, US Revolution, civil rights, Prohibition, and the frontier.
* I'd prefer the college to have a small international student population. I'd like to be able to immerse myself in American culture and with more international students comes more international influence (which I wish to avoid).
* Typical all-American location. I have knocked off the Florida universities as that isn't a state I view as synonymous with the term "All-American". By All-American I mean conservative values, small town feel, etc. (again, this is a shallow criterion).
* Finally, I'd like to do some travelling around the U.S. but not necessarily to tourist hotspots; I can do NYC etc. when I'm older. I like the idea of travelling to parts of the country that not many people get the opportunity to travel to (i.e. a small town in the Deep South, an underrated Midwestern city, a Southwestern ghost town).</p>

<p>Any ideas off of this list?</p>

<p>I'd particularly like to know about:
Kansas
Missouri
Mississippi
Oklahoma
Louisiana State U
Roanoke</p>

<p>Thank you :)</p>

<p>-Matt</p>

2

<p>This is a pretty big list! Given your historical topics, the colleges in the South (Goucher, UNC, Roanoke, Richmond for example), particularly in Maryland, North Carolina or Virginia would give you endless possibilities. Those states have major historic sites for the Civil war, civil Rights and the American Revolution (Thomas Jefferson’s Monticellorand Williamsburg, for example.) If studying the Civil war, it would be a shame not to visit Gettysburg, which is very close as well. Memphis, Atlanta and Nashville are less than a half day’s drive from those 3 states, all heavily related to Civil rights, the Civil war or just fun to visit. The Raleigh Durham triangle in NC is quintessential college town: UNC Chapel Hill is a beautiful campus and one of the best towns in the US for school spirit (Duke & Wake Forest are nearby.) Charlotte NC is also a good airport hub. North Carolina and Virginia also have scenic mountains (Blue Ridge, Appalachian) and plenty to do. Baltimore and Washington DC are an easy drive from Maryland.</p>

<p>Georgetown would be too expensive for your budget.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the response</p>

<p>Georgetown is hard to get an exchange with. You have to be top percentile of the class to be allocated a space after a lottery system or something along those lines.</p>

<p>I like the look of Richmond, Roanoke, Goucher, UNC, and Mississippi. Would they be a good 5 choices and how would you rank them… what ones are best for me? Remember I need to pick 5 :)</p>

4

<p>I don’t know anything about U. Mississippi, other than the fact that if you’re liberal, Mississippi is definitely the deep South. I ran into an acquaintance last week with family who live in Mississippi and he said it’s still extremely conservative (he’s gay and lived in Boston for over 30 years.) However, Mississippi is a huge Division I school for sports, so it could have terrific school spirit which could provide the American experience you’re seeking (and it’s not far from New Orleans.) Mississippi notwithstanding, I’d rank them UNC, Richmond, with Roanoke and Goucher tied. Roanoke is centrally located to more civil war sites, but Goucher is close to Baltimore and DC if you like cities.
UNC has a lot of campuses - do you know which one?</p>

5

<p>From what it sounds like, you should go to the South or parts of the Midwest. That will give you the Conservative college town with a real campus and school spirit (COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!).</p>

<p>Ole Miss, LSU, and Oklahoma sound like interesting places to go for 1 year. So would Richmond, Tulane, and UNC, and they also are more highly selective, which I am not sure if it is a plus or minus for a year abroad. Kansas also has most of what you want and big time basketball. If you want school spirit, do not go to a branch campus, as these are often commuter schools without big-time sports. Also, be sure that there is a campus (i.e. Temple does not really have one).</p>

6

<p>I’d definitely knock URI off your list then. It’s in remote part of RI and there isn’t an “American” feel at all and there aren’t any major historical landmarks nearby. Rhode Island in general has very little research options unless you went to Brown, which is nearly an hour away form URI. </p>

<p>I’d cross Goucher off also</p>

7

<p>I go to the University of Oklahoma (OU) and have taken a couple history courses.</p>

<p>

Good, because OU isn’t known for its intense academics :stuck_out_tongue: </p>

<p>

Norman, Oklahoma, the city which OU is located, was recently ranked as one of the top 5 most affordable cities in the US. It’s very easy to get a luxury apartment with utilities included for ~ $400/month (check out the ammenities of one of my favorite student apartment complexes:<a href=“http://www.crimsonpark.com/”>http://www.crimsonpark.com/&lt;/a&gt; ). Food is also pretty cheap although the public transit is generally lacking in Oklahoma.</p>

<p>

OU is the stereotypical big sports school. Virtually every home American football game sells out as tens of thousands of people flock to Norman to watch the Sooners play against various teams (the OU-UT Austin football game is particularly impressive). Fortunately tickets are cheap for students assuming they purchase their tickets from a Facebook group. This year I went to all but two home games and paid $15 or less per ticket per game.</p>

<p>OU is located in the plains, and as a result isn’t covered in trees like the stereotypical New England university you might see on TV. However, it’s a nice campus and many parts of the school are quite photogenic. If you have an instagram, search for boomersooner to see what I’m talking about. </p>

<p>

OU doesn’t have many internationals from European schools. They tend to come from petro producing regions or China. Tbh, I think you’d have much more in common with the Americans than you would those from Saudi Arabia or Colombia (not saying they make up a significant portion of the population at OU). That being said, OU does offer an international hall in one of its dorms as well as a program called OU Cousins which pairs American students with an international to try to facilitate cross cultural understanding as well as make the transition easier for non citizens. </p>

<p>

OU is located in Norman, a city of over 100,000 people, which is itself a suburb of Oklahoma City, a smaller city of about 1.5 million. Though parts of Norman nearest campus do have a small town vibe, it’s not actually isolated. That being said, OU is certainly a right leaning school and to a Brit, it might seem extraordinarily conservative (as could even the most liberal schools in the US). </p>

<p>

I’m a Prohibition geek myself, having read over seven books on the topic. While Oklahoma was sort of the embodiment of the Protestant support for Prohibition, the school doesn’t really emphasize its role or the reasons for its somewhat screwy drinking laws (don’t worry, students here still do their best to fulfill the hard drinking collegiate stereotype). What you’ll find more of, and what’s particularly emphasized at OU, is its role in both Native American and frontier era history. Even one of our “mascots”, the Sooner Schooner, reflects this heritage. In terms of facilities, OU has a very involved Native American Studies department, a library devoted to Western History, and a museum which is home to a large number of unique Oklahoma artifacts. </p>

<p>

Yes you can do this in Oklahoma (I’ve actually visited a very eerie abandoned oil company town) although you’ll have to drive to these places which might present an obstacle to you. </p>

8

<p>Whenhen brings up some great points. Mississippi, LSU or Oklahoma are big campuses with school spirit. If you’re ok with driving or taking a bus, those 3 are not far from Atlanta, Memphis and Montgomery for civil rights, the states of Tennessee and Georgia for civil war, and the southwest (like Texas) for the frontier. You could check out which UNC campus locations and Richmond have good school pride as well.</p>

<p>Mississippi, LSU, Oklahoma and NC (depending on the UNC campus location), should be reasonably priced to live in, Roanoke might be ok too. As mentioned earlier, southern states like NC or Virginia are right in the heart of civil war/civil rights locations.</p>

9

<p>It is not as easy to get around in much of the US by public transportation as it would be in the UK. If you use Google Maps and click on the public transportation symbol, you should get information about Amtrak, regional and local rail, and regional and city bus connections. Play with these websites too to get an idea about how you can get from A to Z while you are in the US.
<a href=“Amtrak”>Amtrak;
<a href=“http://www.megabus.com/”>megabus.com | Low cost bus tickets;
<a href=“https://www.boltbus.com/”>FlixBus welcomes BoltBus travelers;
<a href=“https://www.greyhound.com/”>https://www.greyhound.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Depending on the term that you will be here, weather might play a big factor in your choice. Look up that information at <a href=“http://www.weather.com/”>http://www.weather.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>But, in most of the places we are mentioning, the weather is warm year-round (50-60 degrees or 10-15 C in the winter), with very hot summers.</p>

11

<p>For the combination of academic quality and proximity to historic (colonial or Civil War) sites, Georgetown, UNC and Richmond are your best options. </p>

12

<p>I have knocked the list down to:</p>

<p>University of Kansas
Louisiana State University
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri, Columbia
University of North Carolina
University of Oklahoma
University of Richmond
Roanoke College
Tulane University</p>

<p>Based on posters’ advice and my own preferences.</p>

<p>Any further info on those would be greatly appreciated! :)</p>

13

<p>I can’t really speak to Roanoke, but the others all really have:</p>

<ul>
<li>a campus</li>
<li>are not in NYC/LA, meaning that you get to see another part of the country (which I like better)</li>
<li>school spirit and a sports culture</li>
<li>conservative ideals (all of them except Richmond and Roanoke are in states that voted for Mitt Romney- our Conservative candidate- in 2012 and VA is a Conservative state outside of the northern edge of the state, where neither of those schools are)</li>
<li>good weather
-interesting places to live (and not all that expensive)</li>
</ul>

14

<p>Roanoke will not give you the “American College” experience if you’re very intent on school spirit and all. At least, there are much better options available to you in that regard. </p>

15

<p>I think if you really want to travel to historical places you need to either be able to rent a car (check license requirements and whether the campus has Zipcars available for rent); otherwise I think you should stay on the eastern seaboard which has good train access to at least the major cities. As a New Englander I find it hard to say that a midwestern college is any more uniquely “American” than a college from the west coast or the deep south or any other region.
Also I would avoid a campus that is way out in the country, I would find that extremely limiting.</p>

16

<p>For a year abroad, I would advise choosing a college located near a train station or in a city where you can easily rent zipcars. (Be aware that to rent a car fairly inexpensively from a commercial company in the US you need to be 21.)
In the UK, there may be 5 trains a day for popular destinations and they really go fast. I recently checked out UNC-Chapel Hill -DC and it was 1° go to Durham (ok, not far but still a major university town doesn’t have a train station, something you wouldn’t see in Europe) 2° take the ONE train 3° lasts 7hours for about 430km.
So, some of the universities you chose may be great but the town they’re located in may not be very easy for you to leave. This may be a problem if you wish to do on-site research outside that city. However if you do mostly archival research you could be anywhere.
For example, the university of Kansas is in a great city and the university itself is very representative of midwestern universities. However it’ll be very difficult for you to travel anywhere without a car.</p>

<p>From your original list, I’d cross out:
University of California (R&B likely too costly)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges (too isolated)
Louisiana State University (location vs. Tulane)
University of Maine (not easy to travel from)
Middlebury College (very isolated - although the facilities are amazing)
University of Missouri, Columbia (too difficult to travel from, historical interest better served by other, similar U’s)
University of Missouri, St Louis (same thing)
University of Notre Dame (same thing)
State University of New York: Plattsburgh (same thing)
University of Rhode Island (same thing)
Roanoke College (too small, if you want the All American town/LAC experience St Olaf or Middlebury are better picks and if you want city/LAC, Occidental is better)
San Francisco State University (really NOT focused on history)
University of Utah (too difficult to travel from)
Westminster College MO, PA, or UT? (Westminster MO is famous for Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech but that’s not where I’d go if I were British :p)</p>

17

<p>Thanks all.</p>

<p>I have been actively researching my options today and have given up on the idea of trying to find the All-American college experience. If I aim for this then it would appear I will have to sacrifice the convenience to travel frequently.</p>

<p>I also have taken your advice and decided to remain at a college on the eastern seaboard, or perhaps Oregon because both Reed and the Univ of Oregon are located in towns with Amtrak stations that are a few hours away from Seattle and Vancouver.</p>

<p>First question: Would one of the Oregon schools be a good choice or am I overlooking the location?</p>

<p>My list now is:
University of Arizona
Binghamton University - State University of New York
University of Colorado, Boulder
George Mason University
Georgetown University
Goucher College
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Kansas
University of Massachusetts
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina
Occidental College
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of Redlands
Reed College
University of Rhode Island (Kept this here despite myos’s advice. It appears to be served by an Amtrak station and is within a few hours reach of NYC, Philly and Boston).
University of Richmond
Roanoke College (Something is really alluring about this school)
Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey
St Olaf College
Temple University
Tulane University</p>

<p>Would Kansas, Mississippi, And Oklahoma be hard to get around without a car?</p>

<p>Same question for Colorado: boulder…</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

18

<p>Goucher is a small liberal arts school in a relatively expensive metropolitan area with no school spirit, no big-time sports, and a liberal student body. I don’t think it fulfills any of your criteria other than proximity to Washington DC and other cities in Amtrak’s Northeast corridor. </p>

<p>I note that some of the schools on your list are urban (Tulane, Temple, Georgetown). Others are in more rural areas. The size of the student body varies widely as well. I think you need to decide what kind of environment you want to live in and then whittle down the list accordingly. While you want to take the opportunity to travel, you’ll be spending most of your time on the campus engaging in school-related activities and should choose accordingly. There’s a world of difference between living in Kansas and living in New Jersey, between a school with 30,000 students and one with 2,000, between a university where football and Greek life is prominent and an LAC with neither. I haven’t even touched on the differences in climate, which are significant. How do you feel about snow? Heat and humidity? </p>

19

<p>I actually think that your previous narrowed list was a good one if you want the “authentic” experience.</p>

<p>Many of them, especially the ones in the South would have provided ample research opportunities about the Civil War. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy.</p>

20

<p>I live in New England but recommended southern colleges because they have far more sights for Civil war/Civil rights research (and the Revolution), close to national parks, beaches and interesting cities for both research and fun. Boston and Philadelphia are key for the American revolution but you can cover that in Washington, DC and Virginia.</p>

<p>Some points about colleges on your revised list:</p>

<p>Binghamton: decent college experience (middle of nowhere) but not close to any relevant cities except NYC (a few hours away)
Georgetown: cost of living is high</p>

<p>Univ. Massachusetts: depends on the campus location. UMA-Amherst is 2 hours from Boston; great college town, very scenic, rents probably higher than down south. This branch is the biggest NE public university with 30,000 students. Lowell: commuter rail to Boston is easy, some revolutionary sights, reasonable rents but the town is depressing although they have some new buildings including a dorm. UMassBoston: commuter campus with dated facilities, technically in a part of Dorchester which is sketchy at night.</p>

<p>UNC: depends on the branch. UNC Chapel Hill is one of the most beautiful public universities in the US, sports are huge, should have decent transportation since Duke & Wake Forest are nearby. Charlotte is a major flight and shuttle bus hub; NC rents should be reasonable.</p>

<p>Richmond: Civil War site, ideally situated, good university.
Roanoke: check transportation since it’s mid-state.
Temple: living in Phillie would be high. I heard it’s not in a great part of town.
Tulane: strong university, re-built the campus after Hurricane Katrina.</p>

<p>If near bus or train transportation, I’d still recommend something in NC or Virginia to cover most of what you originally asked about on this thread.</p>