I apologize in advance if this has been discussed before but I can’t seem to find what I am looking for. We recently toured a school with my D18 and while the school itself was not exactly what he was looking for, the surrounding area was. Everything from shops and restaurants to outdoor activites and amenities were easily acessible from campus without needing a car. Now that my son has realized that walkability is important to him (at least for the moment), it may help to shorten (or expand) his list.
So, I was curious what colleges you have toured, or know of, to have walkable access to restaurants and activities? We happen to be focusing on Southeastern schools with the exception of Colorado State and Indiana University. Any information would be helpful.
University of Michigan and Ohio State both have access to great shops and restaurants. Michigan is really part of the city of Ann Arbor and its a great place. My D will not be attending as we live here and she wants to get out and explore.
MANY colleges and universities have such access, including the Harvards, Browns, Stanfords, and others. I attended grad school at UWisconsin, which had excellent walkability. I can’t comment specifically on the southeast, unless you narrow down the types of places you’re looking at. In some cases, while the nearby, walkable restaurants are strong in the bars and fast-food category, the local transportation is very good. My son attended University of Chicago and while there were some local eateries, he took advantage of the public transportation to get WELL off campus at least once a week.
If you are familiar with the walkscore (https://www.walkscore.com/), you can do a lot of research online. Pick your college, and go from there.
The OP is looking for schools in the southeast, I think. Maybe the OP can clarify this. The schools suggested above do have great walking downtowns, but Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin aren’t exactly in the southeast.
University of South Carolina is very close to a nice shop/restaurant area. So is UNC-CH. Davidson has a cute, but small downtown area.
UNC Greensboro is OK.duke is OK.
Hoping someone can comment on University of Tampa.
Yes, not only were we looking at schools in the Southeast, but as a B student, we are looking at a less selective list.
Here are the schools on his current list. Feel free to comment on any of them specifically, or any others with great walkable towns. College of Charleston has been on and off the list several times. A beautiful city, but not a traditional campus.
Virginia Tech (in state option)
James Madison University (in state option)
University of Delaware
UNC-Wilmington (visited here 2 weeks ago - not a walkable campus/city)
Appalachian State (visiting next month)
Elon (visiting next month, but he wants a larger student body)
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee
Auburn
Indiana University
Colorado State University
His college counselor has also recommended Miami Ohio but I don’t think that is a realistic admit for him.
Two separate things to consider. First, the on campus life. The above mentioned UW-Madison has a lot going for it on campus. No need to leave it. Secondly, look at things adjacent to, ie walking distance from campus. You want a campus students don’t need to leave to enjoy. You also want a campus that doesn’t empty out on weekends. If IU is on the OP’s list so are other Midwest flagships. Another factor to investigate would be where students live after freshman year. If many/most go off campus- how close to campus are they? UW has changed since my day and you find a lot more, in better shape, off campus housing adjacent to university land. Most off campus students will be walking to classes, not driving and parking on campus. Likewise the vast majority of dorm residents will also not have cars (limited and expensive parking both on and near campus).
But- first things first. Look at the academics. A good fit school will find students engaged in school work more than not. “Work hard, play hard” has the work coming first at UW.
@thumper1 I know 3 families that have visited CofC and all have said that the campus and the city are so intermingled that you have to look at the brick pattern on the sidewalks to determine which is which. Apparently you have to match the pattern to either a city or campus buidling. And the recurring sentiment I heard from them, and have read here on cc, is that if you looking for a traditional campus layout, CofC is not for you.
We are stopping at Elon because we have to pass by it to get to App State and I wanted my son to look at one medium sized campus. If he rules it out completely after the visit then we are done there.
My son is a very outdoorsy kid who loves fishing, golf, basketball, hiking, biking, etc. and that is why the college counselor recommended Colorado State and Indiana U. George Mason was recommended as well but will not offer the outdoor amenties he is looking for. Right now it is on our list as a safety and he may apply but it would not be one of his top picks.
While we started off looking mostly in the Southeast, we have decided to expand the search so that he has more options. With a B student, the more you are willing to branch out, sometimes yields better chances for admittance.
@wis75 , yes it would be ideal if a college offered so much on campus that the kids never wanted to leave. I am all for a recommendation on those schools as well!
Glad to hear someone mention Davidson. Small downtown but great restaurants - including one of the highest ranked new restaurants in the country and the cutest sweet shop you’ve ever seen. I’ve heard it said that Princeton is Davidson on steroids.
U Tampa. I have not been there in over 10 years but back then I was at a summer camp and a friendly local female resident asked when I was getting gas across the street if I needed some company. Directly across the street from campus and the middle of the afternoon. A little too “friendly” if you know what I mean.
Elon is definitely in the middle of nowhere. The “downtown” might have an open pizza shop but I wouldn’t count on it.
C of Charleston - visiting there in June. I think my D19 will like the urban area. She likes Penn. Also curious why you think CofC is not "traditional.
Niece went to U of Delaware and I would say that is the epitome of walking to downtown. The main drag cuts right through campus. When I was driving around my niece said to be careful as there are so many kids walking everywhere. She was right.
Have only driven through James Madison but the town seemed great - music on the lawn event going on, lots of people walking around.
What about Occidental. Sure it is in SoCal, what not to love?? (coming from a Boston Parent). We were looking at the Claremont Colleges and just happened upon Occidental. D loved it. How about GWU, Holy Cross, Braindeis, Elon or Clark.
We recently toured CofC and SC. Older child attended Auburn and I went to VA Tech so I can help a bit. With CofC-yes, our tour guide told us that one way to tell if you are on campus is by the herringbone brick pattern of the sidewalk. Beautiful campus in one of our favorite cities but definitely not “traditional” campus. You mentioned your son is outdoorsy-we thought it was pretty cool that you can take either surfing or sailing as a PE class.
SC- walkable to lots of restaurants/shops (5 points?) and very short drive to another (Vista?)
Auburn and VA Tech have what we consider quintessential college towns right off of campus. They are actually very similar. The whole 4 years our daughter was in Auburn, DH and I would remark how much they reminded us of the other. Hope this helps!
Have you considered Ohio University? It’s in southern Ohio…and has a great college town. I would think there would be opportunities for the outdoors things your son might like as well.