<p>According the the College Search tool, UConn isn't in a great college town (I'm assuming it's referring to the Storrs campus). Who has anything to say about that? I'm considering going there, so I'd like to know.
(I wouldn't consider NYC a great college town - I'd say a small town with shopping and food within walking distance of campus would be a great college town. Just for criteria.)</p>
<p>I was kind of curious about this myself. I visited and I thought the campus was breathtaking, really I thought it was gorgeous. Its just the lack of a town surrounding it that bothers me. I didn’t see any bars which is big for me (But i did just drive around by myself, no tour) 
Does the lack of a town affect the party or night life?</p>
<p>When asked why prospective UCONN students chose not to attend, a vast majority said that that even though the campus was great, they wanted a nice town too. The wait should be over soon. Take a look at the link and keep your fingers crossed for a spring (finally) 2011 groundbreaking. </p>
<p>[Storrs</a> Center](<a href=“http://storrscenter.com/]Storrs”>http://storrscenter.com/)</p>
<p>
There are 4 bars right on campus. Ted’s, Thirsty Dog, Huskies, and the slightly more upscale one in Nathan Hale.</p>
<p>A lot of people like to go to the parties in Celeron and Carriage on weekends. If you have access to a car, you can head to the mall/movies/etc in Manchester, among other places. Otherwise, you’ll be limited to the parties/stuff on campus. If you’re into that, you’ll feel right at home. If you’re not, then you’ll have to make friends that share similar interests and hang out with them.</p>
<p>Lots of places to eat on campus, that’s not a problem. If you’re into shopping, however, (ie, going to stores and buying clothes, etc) you’re mostly out of luck. There’s a bus that goes to the nearby Eastbrook Mall, which is about 15 minutes down 195, but it’s not much of a mall. It’s very tiny. Again, if you have access to a car (or a friend with a car), Manchester and the Buckland Hills mall are 15-20 mins away via I-84, and there’s plenty of stuff to do there.</p>
<p>I was going to say what Barno said-- the town, which Storrs is in is Mansfield, and Mansfield is building a downtown in the very near future. I’ve seen the plans for it- and they are even buliding 2 parking garages for it. It’s going to be really nice. Mansfield also has a great bike trail, and has Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Friendly’s right near campus.</p>
<p>If you guys have any questions about the campus, ask me, I go there everyday for classes.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on the downtown. I grew up in Mansfield and I have a lot of doubts about that plan.</p>
<p>You’ll be able to find a lot of places to walk to. There are decent cheap restaurants on campus, Starbucks, some bars. If you have a car there’s a small mall 10 minutes away with a movie theater, more bars and restaurants in Willimantic 15 minutes away, and a larger mall complex half an hour away. So it’s not great, but it’s not awful. It’ls also beautiful, and built around a lot of good outdoor space. I’d also say, although you probably noticed this on your tour, but the campus is pretty spread out. You might spend more time walking than on some campuses. They have shuttles though.</p>
<p>^^^Actually they are going through with the downtown. It has passed and the date to start building it has been set.</p>
<p>I mean doubts about it being a good thing, or there being anything worthwhile for college students there. Although they have been setting dates for years.</p>
<p>I guess the idea of tearing down a bunch of businesses to rebuild them in a different format seems odd to me, and I’ve heard from current business owners there that many of them won’t be able to afford the proposed rent once it’s all rebuilt. I think there are better ways for the town to spend money.</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. I’m not going to UConn because its lack of a college town.
I’m assuming you didn’t go to UConn to get out of Mansfield?</p>
<p>[New</a> Bus Service to Better Connect Storrs to NYC UConn Today](<a href=“New Bus Service to Better Connect Storrs to NYC - UConn Today”>New Bus Service to Better Connect Storrs to NYC - UConn Today)</p>
<p>Yeah, I mean, I went to EO Smith, so I was already essentially going to school on the campus. It’s a great school for sure, but I wanted to get away. And everyone’s definitely subject to their own opinion, I’ve just thought since I first heard about the idea of the Downtown Partnership years and years ago that it was an enormous waste of resources and money. There is a lot around campus though.</p>
<p>To be honest i’m at uconn like one weekend every month or two and I’ve had some of the best nights of my life there- and I’m not even in college yet. Yeah it’s farmland, but so is the rest of Connecticut haha. The people are great though and there’s always something going on, so you’ll always have a good time. And like eireann said- there’s places within reasonable distances- so it’s not horrible at all, you don’t feel like you’re missing out.</p>
<p>Do you know the actual start date of the new project? I hope it’s not 4 years from now!</p>
<p>It’s supposed to start this year or next…can’t remember. But soon!</p>
<p>thanks for the update</p>
<p>Did work ever begin on the “town” discussed in this thread?</p>
<p>Work on Storrs Center is well underway. Retail tenants for the first floor of phase 1 have been secured, and the apartments on the upper levels are well underway, and I believe they expect summer occupancy. I know that quite a few current students are planning on renting there. I am attaching a link to the apartments if you want to see what it will look like. [Floor</a> Plans - The Oaks on the Square](<a href=“The Oaks on the Square | Apartments For Rent In Storrs, CT”>The Oaks on the Square | Apartments For Rent In Storrs, CT).</p>