<p>I will try my hardest to tackle this question with my limited knowledge of cell phones beyond personal/friends’ experiences with cell phones in the U.S. I had a AT&T flip phone (NOT a smart phone) my whole time through college, and I have currently shifted to an AT&T bar phone (NOT a smart phone) and an iPod touch (came free with my last computer). AT&T has very good coverage throughout most of the US (read: when you travel) but it is pretty shoddy in Oberlin. </p>
<p>When I lived in the dorms, my phone had to be near the window to send/receive calls/messages, and I didn’t get reception in most of the classroom buildings (which, honestly, you don’t need… unless you plan on living in the labs). I got decent to awesome reception outside, or in the first floor lounges of most buildings. In switching from a flip phone to a bar phone, I actually found that the phone itself will get slightly better reception inside buildings than before (there is some internet research to be done about how effective a phone is at utilizing the available reception; I have done far too much). Contrast this to my housemate, who has an AT&T iPhone, he has to leave the house to make phone calls; I can send/receive calls/messages pretty much everywhere in the house other than parts of my living room and the bathroom.</p>
<p>For the best cell phone coverage in Oberlin, Verzion is the best. However, if you are an international student or plan on doing international travel, you should probably head toward AT&T, specifically an unlocked phone, so that your phone will work when you travel. I have had friends have fine to excellent coverage by Sprint as well, Virgin and similar smaller providers are shoddy to passable.</p>
<p>As a student, I rarely talked to other students on the phone; texting is king. This is partially because I have AT&T (relatively poor coverage in most buildings in Oberlin), and partially that for coordinating purposes, texting works better than a phone call (this is not to say that I did not call people to organize meetings, but it was more in line with “Where are you?” than “What works best for you?” – texting gave me/the person I was communicating with the ability to look at their schedule/email/coordinate with others without putting them on the spot.</p>
<p>I used my cell phone to call my parents/family members occasionally, usually for short spans of time walking to and from classes/work. I would maybe have one longer conversation with them every week or two; my cell phone was usually most convenient, but Skype/Google Chat was also super helpful since I was at my computer lots when it was an appropriate time to call them. If I had planned correctly, I could have talked with my family almost entirely from my computer and only called them when I was moving around campus or in an emergency.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has several different pay-per-day phones available for AT&T (also other providers, but the AT&T phones are unlocked and will be able to travel internationally with you), which means that you aren’t charged if you don’t use it (calls and texting both count if you use it), and the days that you do, you are charged $2 per day (if you do end up using the phone every day, it is comparable to having a single phone cell phone plan, around $60 per month). </p>
<p>As a student, I would estimate that I probably texted a minimum of 5-10 times per day and made or received phone calls probably once a day, tops. I tended to communicate via email most (enter again the indispensable iPod touch). Not all students are similar to me, but I would say that texting is probably going to dominate most cell phone usage here, phone calls will be second (and it would be mostly to be in touch with parents/family members).</p>
<p>I hope this helps in at least some small way. It’s a complicated question with many possible answers, but this was my experience.</p>