<p>Out of all the criteria I used to select the colleges to apply to, college environment and setting was the most confusing for me because as an international prospective student, I have no experience of what each setting in the USA feels like. Some ppl say rural is very quiet and conducive to learning but when I think rural, I think countryside and barns and farms with one coffee shop within miles of nowhere....which would definitely not add positively to my college experience. As for suburban, most ppl say it's the best but since I haven't expereinced it, I don't know if I might like it or not because it might also be maybe containing too many houses with kids and pets around and all... I really don't know.. And as for urban, it seems to be for the fun lover but I don't know if I would be comfortable while studying as the area will most likely not be serene. I just need some info and heads-up on how each of these settings are, their pros and cons, safety, fun, serenity when needed, accessibility to amenities and all. Pls, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. :-)</p>
<p>I know you are an international student, but do you have any way to get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges? I think Fiske gives a pretty good description of what is around campus if you read carefully. But it is so tough without visiting… I will say that most campuses are sort of self contained. That is, not mixed in with people with “kids and dogs”. At least, their houses are not intermixed with the buildings on campus. There are some colleges in “urban” areas where the college does not really have a campus feel, and the city is sort of mixed in with the college buildings (like George Washington). I would say taking a careful look at the campus map, reading a guidebook like Fiske, and maybe viewing all the online videos available on the college websites would be a good starting place.</p>
<p>^I second that the Fiske college guide is really helpful and that visiting is always the best way to know. Each school has a distinct setting that’s more complex than urban or rural categorizations. But for what it’s worth, here’s my opinion on each of those settings. I personally prefer more serene surroundings, so I prefer suburban and rural. One thing the setting can have a huge impact on is the social scene on campus. Rural schools tend to me more self contained since there’s nothing to do immediately around campus, which means rural schools often have more parties and a bigger fraternity/sorority scene. It will be easy to find lots of fun things to do on campus, but your life will pretty much be limited to the campus. </p>
<p>Suburban areas are nice for a few reasons. They offer more dining/entertainment/shopping venues than a rural school would, but they’re still relatively serene and generally in safer areas than rural schools. Many suburban schools are just a train ride away from a big city, so you can choose to head to the city on the weekend if that’s what you want. </p>
<p>Urban schools may have a more diffused social scene because there are so many cultural and fun opportunities around the immediate campus, which is really exciting and promises a bunch of opportunities but can diminish school spirit. Some schools may also be in bad parts of cities, so you may not actually go off campus as much as you’d expect since it can be unsafe. Although I generally veer away from cities, some would offer a great college experience. For instance, Boston has a lot of colleges in/around it, so there are a lot of college age kids and opportunities specifically for them.</p>
<p>Another setting is the college town. I don’t see where you can go wrong with this one. Some towns have basically been formed around a college, so they have all the restaurants, stores, bars, etc that you could want. Some notable examples are Austin (UT Austin) and Ann Arbor (Michigan).</p>
<p>The setting you should choose depends on the specific school and your specific taste.</p>
<p>This is a school-specific question, really. For the smaller schools, alot depends on what is in walking distance. We toured small liberal arts colleges that were either rural or within an hour of a city. </p>
<p>My son chose Grinnell, which is in Iowa, and is talked of as being “isolated,” and yet, within walking distance is a small town with a number of restaurants and opportunities to get involved in local volunteering. </p>
<p>Two other small schools we toured – Kenyon in Ohio and Bard in NY state – were not in walking distance of anything. Kenyon had a one-street town attached to it, with one coffee shop and even though it was not that far from the city of Columbus, felt the most isolated of any school we visited.</p>
<p>Bard has some very charming towns nearby, but not in walking distance, and is a train ride from NYC. But, it is in a beautiful part of the country with access to hiking and mountain activities. </p>
<p>Just an example of how the specifics of a setting can differ. I should say that at most of these rural schools, students can generally get places by riding with friends who have cars or by taking school-sponsored shuttles or other transportation.</p>
<p>All of these schools, though, bring activities onto campus – speakers, concerts, etc. – and there is generally a strong sense of community among the students, either for the school as a whole or within specific friend groups, since life really revolves around the campus.</p>
<p>Rural doesn’t usually mean one coffee shop miles from anywhere. Rural usually means a small college town - a town where the college is the major employer/economic generator. Most college towns are an hour or so from a city and there is usually transportation around especially on the weekends.</p>
<p>The pluses are that ‘rural colleges’ tend to have strong cohesive cultures - everyone lives, plays and works on campus together. Faculty usually live in town or nearby and are part of the life of the college community (as are their spouses and kids). People in college towns (if the college town is small and/or rural) tend to know each other, and are friendly and helpful - they know the students are important to their town’s survival. Colleges are often very sensitive to town/gown relations - making sure that the two communities work well together (including the police dept., local healthcare providers, and other suppliers of services).</p>
<p>The downsides are that it can be very insular: If you want to get away from school, it’s hard to do: Your class-mates and profs are everywhere. It’s harder to be anonymous which impacts your privacy. If you don’t like the local culture or don’t feel like a fit in the school, you won’t be able to escape it easily, as you could in a city. By your senior year, you may be feeling a bit cramped (or really, really sad about leaving so many close friends…) Many students in rural schools actively seek out opportunities to study abroad as a way of getting a change of environment. And of course, the diversity may be lower: However much the school makes an effort, small towns are themselves often quite homogenous. If you are dying for a decent shwarma or curry, you may not find it.</p>
<p>The bottom line is rural schools are very popular with some people and avoided like the plague by others.</p>
<p>When it comes to city schools, there are really two very different options. Some universities have a real, self-contained campus in the city or just outside it, and some are a very integrated part of the city without a true campus. For example, DC has Georgetown, which has a campus in a very secluded neighborhood, and GW, which is integrated into the city. Manhattan has Columbia, which has a campus, and NYU, which doesn’t.</p>