This is a really good question to ask. Our oldest went to UVA which definitely fits the bill. Our second child choose a small LAC in a suburban neighborhood and it has been a real challenge that we didn’t anticipate. Little things like being able to walk to a drugstore, restaurants and church matter way more than I had anticipated.
In MD/DC, Georgetown, GWU, American, UMD, Loyola University, Hopkins, St. John’s College and USNA.
To the point about Charleston, I was just there last week with my daughter. She wants to be in an urban environment. We looked at schools in Boston, NYC, Baltimore, LA/San Diego. She applied to College of Charleston as a safety without seeing it and merit aid was not enough to make her top choice affordable, CoC suddenly was in the running. We had been to Charleston before as a family vacation but that was before she was looking at schools. I have to agree with what others have said about it not being a traditional campus. Having been to several other urban schools that have true campuses, there is definitely a difference. Places like Georgetown, the campus is IN the city, but is enclosed. Northeastern, while not necessarily enclosed, definitely has more of a campus feel than Charleston. With Charleston, you could be walking down the street and have no idea you are in the middle of their “campus” - aside from a couple of areas, everything is spread out over various city blocks. Most of the dorms are on the outskirts - a couple are not within the “brick sidewalks.” I can’t really describe it - you have to see to understand.
My daughter loved the fact that restaurants and shops are all right there with one of the main shopping districts just one block away away from one side of campus. So many job opportunities for students. Most kids seem to have bikes or skateboards to get around. The beach is close but not walkable - definitely need a car or Uber to get there.
What we didn’t like - most freshmen move out of campus housing after freshman year. Talking with several of the upperclassmen, it can be expensive and even a bit difficult to find suitable housing after freshmen year. Affordable housing is a bit further out, so not as walkable to campus (hence the bikes everywhere). “Cheap” housing according to these students was $750/mth for ONE person but can typically run $1000/mth for one student. I did not verify this information with the college, but this is what several students told us, including an RA who said she specifically became an RA so that she could have more affordable housing. I also wondered what kids do at night who don’t have a car and might live in the outer/affordable neighborhoods where it is not as safe - what if a girl is at a late night study session in the library and needs to get home? Uber I guess. In the end, she loved the location of College of Charleston but preferred a college that is in an urban setting but has a more traditional/enclosed campus where the majority of buildings and dorms are set off from the surrounding neighborhood.
Maybe Rollins in Winter Park, Fl
You mentioned IU which in what I consider to be a perfect college town (Bloomington). My second favorite college town would be home of U of GA (Athens).
If you are going to expand to western schools and think Colo State would be good, you should also look at Wyoming. It is definitely cold but has the other things you are looking for - environmental studies, football, golf course on campus, mountains, outdoor sports. Very similar to CSU but half the size and cheaper. Utah is another option. Not as cold.
DU is another good choice. Urban, but a contained campus. Golf can be found 1-2 miles away, no football but championship hockey, lacrosse, ski teams, and a great rec center. Denver isn’t as cold as people think it is. It is on the light rail system so very easy access to all the professional sports except soccer. There are a lot of stores and restaurants right near campus, but it is easy to get downtown to access theater, music, outdoor activities, government buildings.
For southern schools, I’d have to agree with Rollins. The town is adorable. It is, however, small and has no football.
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University of Kentucky is close to downtown and walking distance to everything “happening” (except for Keeneland Racetrack, which is a just a bus ride away). Lots of walking and bike riding in the area around campus, too. And, your student ID acts as a free metro bus pass until you graduate. Lexington has the feel of a smaller city, and it is very accessible from campus.
@4kids4us thank you for writing such a detailed description of your time at CofC. Your line of ‘I can’t really describe it- you just have to see it to understand’ is exactly the line my friend used when she visited with her S15. I got the same impression from others that have visited and my son is ready to move on from there.
@citymama9 Rollins does sound great in concept, but the small size is exactly what my son is trying to get away from. He goes to a very small private school (52 people in his whole grade) and wants to go somewhere with a large student body. Of course his version of large and my version of large differ, so while he says over 10,000 people (and preferably over 20,000), I say he should consider anything with over 5,000 students. The size is one of his most important factors as every time I bring up a new school the first question he always asks is ‘how many students?’
I have heard IU/Bloomington is fantastic (we know someone that goes there) and we did not care for UGeorgia when we toured with D15.
While his college counselor is the one who suggested Colorado State, my son is a little hesitant to go that far away (27 hours by car). We would love to take a family trip to Colorado (by plane!) and see what the schools are all about. I have heard it is a beautiful part of the country and yes, if we are going that far, we would also probably look at UC-Boulder and possible UDenver.
Not sure if I can talk him into Utah or Wyoming or Texas.
Eckerd College in St. Petersburg may be a little too small. It has a waterfront that loans out free fishing tackle, bait, kayaks and paddle boards. Their is a bus stop on campus, electric cars that can be rented and campus vans that take kids downtown and shopping. It is a pretty, self contained campus on Boca Ciega Bay. A local theater company is located on campus. They have over 100 free yellow bikes on campus. About 87% of students live on campus and housing is available on campus for all 4 years. They have Division III baseball and basketball as well as club sports. It is a good match for a B student. Generous with merit aid and financial aid. Well know professor/mentor program.
I didn’t address academics as you did not specify son’s area of interest or possible major.
@ECmotherx2 my son has a friend just finishing up his freshman year at Eckerd and another friend who will start there as a freshman in the fall. Yes, it has so many things he is looking for, especially the access to the water and fishing, but size is definitely the biggest issue for him. He has also heard that Eckerd comes across as a little too free spirited for him.
Because he is interested in the outdoors, and especially the water, he originally thought to major in Marine Bio or Environment Science, but because the sciences are not his strongest subjects, he is leaning more towards Environment Studies, Natural Resources or Sustainability (maybe even Agricultural Sustainability). Hope that gives you a better idea of what he is interested in.
Take a look at Loyola New Orleans. It’s in a beautiful part of the city, walking distance, or a short streetcar ride to restaurants and entertainment. There are about 3000 undergraduates, but it is literally next door to Tulane, and there is a fair amount of interaction between the students (Loyola students can take classes at Tulane, for example). Audubon Park, a great urban park, is across the street. I know the school has various environmental studies programs, although I can’t tell you how strong they are.
While OP is no longer interested in CofC, I’d like to clarify some issues brought up earlier on this thread . @4kids4us I disagree that most students move off of campus after Freshman year. There are quite a few upperclassman that remain on campus all 4 years , in fact they have quite a few upperclassman dorms. If students move out of the dorms, it is their choice not because housing is not available .I agree that off campus housing is expensive .Secondly, campus security provides transportation or escort anywhere on campus . Students are also able to use public transportation for free with student ID including anywhere on the peninsula , bus lines to Mt Pleasant, N Charleston and West Ashley.
We haven’t discussed budget so not sure if that matters.
For SEC, I think the two schools that best fit the bill are Auburn and Ole Miss. It’s been a long time since I visited Ole Miss to remember if the university is in town but Oxford is a wonderful college town. Auburn is in the heart of town (Toomer’s Corner).
I loved my time at LSU and there is everything you need in walking distance but while Baton Rouge highly supports LSU, it isn’t a college town per se.
I love Wilmington, NC. Sure it can be cold and rainy in the winter but it’s not the Northeast. Maybe one or two snow falls per year if that. I only lived in that region for a couple years. You have more of a true Spring and Fall than schools further south that can be hot and humid for part of both semesters.
Yes, Delaware has a great downtown with many unique shops and restaurants, apartments and opportunities to work and play right outside of the campus. We visited College of Charleston- it’s a beautiful city but campus is spread out and buildings are “inconsistent”/eclectic. There is no central meeting place, stadium, etc. It’s a very unique place and a good fit for a certain type of student. James Madison has plenty of shops and restaurants, but its general location is remote even though the city was larger than I expected. UTampa has a beautiful campus in the downtown area. University of South Florida in St. Pete is in an amazing city --a blend of Brooklyn/West coast (even though it is in neither location) as a friend likes to say. But a very untraditional college feel.
Thanks for posting this question. It’s a great one. I’ve visited many campuses, but not too many accessible and fun downtowns.
U of Cincinnati is very walkable with many improvements to its surrounding area in the last 5 years–shops restaurants, movie theater, bars, etc. The An aspiring MLS team even plays on campus and students can get tickets at a great price. Public transportation can take a student to Cincinnati’s real downtown or to lots of other great neighborhoods in 15 minutes. Plenty of opportunities for internships as well.
I have loved reading all of the suggestions for campuses with great towns/cities accessible to campuses around the country. Even if it is not a school that will work for my son, I hope that one might be a great fit for somebody else. I am looking forward to seeing more. This thread has been really helpful for us.
@Sportsman88 even though we toured UNC-Wilmington a few weeks ago, we plan on going back again in June. It was a rainy, cold day and even though I could get beyond weather to see a lovely campus, my son could not. I was so bummed that 2 days later is was sunny and 84 degrees there- it would have made for such a different experience for him.
When we head to University of South Carolina we will detour to walk the campus again, under the guise of husband wanting to see it. We won’t do another official tour (the first one was excessively long) but we will meander through and see if it will change his impression. I thought the school was a great fit for him. We have family there that we will visit at the same time so that in itself will make the detour worthwhile.
@harper8 we are looking forward to heading to University of Delware eventually. I have heard it is a great town. That might be a school we wait on to see if he gets in before we visit. That’s been another hard decision- which schools we visit before applications are sent and which we will visit after an acceptance.
Not to hijack this thread, but wanted to clarify to CarolinaMom2boys what I said - first, I specifically said that I did not validate with school officials the information its student tour guides told us about housing. However, every single upperclassmen (and we talked to at least 8-10) we spoke with during our visit told us that that majority of upperclassmen move off campus after freshman year. I did not say there was no housing for upperclassmen. But when everyone you encounter there is telling you that most do move off campus, then I’m going to assume that most do. And when you look at the number of housing units available on campus vs. the number of freshmen attending, there is not that much left over for upperclassmen, certainly not enough for the majority of upperclassmen to stay on campus. According to US News & World Report, 69% of upperclassmen live off campus. So yes, your statement that there is housing for upperclassmen is true, but if USNWR is correct, as well as the statements we received from all the upperclassmen we encountered, then I’m going to assume that what I said was true…the majority of upperclassmen move off campus (69% is the majority). I realize the campus does offer an escort to anywhere on campus, this is not going to help if your child (in my case, daughter) is living off campus a few miles away and needs to get home late at night and has no car. I have nothing against College of Charleston - I love the area and the school was impressive in several ways to us but in the end, my daughter chose a different school. I mention the housing issue b/c I think it is relevant for anyone that might be considering the school, especially when off campus housing is not inexpensive.
NC State
Florida State
The FSU grad in my office loved NC State when he visited recently, said the location in Raleigh could not be beat!
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