<p>"I would look into U of Illinois Champagne Urbana. </p>
<p>Good school, great campus, fun college town."</p>
<p>UC is definitely NOT like Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>I lived in Austin back in the early 80’s when it was still pretty much a college town with the state Capitol. I went back last year for a long weekend and certainly the area around Austin has changed completely so much so that it is completely different. But when I got off the freeway and went down Lamar, Burnet Rd, and The Drag as well as downtown and the near south Austin area and East Austin I started to feel more like I was back in the Austin I knew. The older neighborhoods are pretty much the same except for a new condo here and there. I really enjoyed the trip back in time. 27 years was a long time to be away but I still found many old places still intact. I did miss my old favorite hamburger joint just west of the Drag. The entire block was changed. One think I liked about Austin was all the places to sit outside and eat or drink.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill, NC is routinely rated as one of the best college towns in the country. Much warmer than Ann Arbor, too.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill is great. I may be biased, but I absolutely love Bloomington, Indiana as a college town. I actually like it better than Ann Arbor, but maybe it’s because both times I was in Ann Arbor the weather was really bad–probably not fair to judge by that!</p>
<p>Oh, and another cool town is Asheville, NC–UNC-Asheville is an up-and-coming liberal arts college–it’s not like the flagship, but a very good school & OOS tuition is pretty reasonable.</p>
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<p>The UDel area has a lot to offer undergrads - a great Main St with shopping, restaurants. Lots of Blue Hen spirit. Also the proximity to major cities on the east coast can’t be beat. I went to college in Chicago - everything was five hours away. From UDel, you’re less than an hour from Philly, an hour from Baltimore and just a little more to NYC and, in the other direction, DC.</p>
<p>UDel also rated highly in campus beauty in a lot of rankings.</p>
<p>“Basically I’m just looking for a college with a nice campus, in a fun college town, with reasonable out of state tution…”</p>
<p>I have been to more than 90% of the so-called “College Towns” alluded above, and besides Ann Arbor, it is my biased opinion that “Quintessential College Town” = East Lansing (approx. 48,500 population in the city/town with >80% student residents). Grand River Ave on MSU is exactly what you are looking for imho.</p>
<p>As much as I am in love with park-like East Lansing (aka. Sparta), you can have both fun of the city and college town experience by heading over to Columbus as I did (slightly warmer as well). TOSU is located roughly two-miles from downtown Columbus and the campus is situated apart from the robust downtown with Short North and Victorian Italian Village serving as the umbilical cords demarcating the boundary of the campus.</p>
<p>In short, as an OOStater, do not forget to apply for National Buckeye Scholarship which pays roughly $8,700 a year I believe.</p>
<p>[One</a> Ohio State Framework](<a href=“http://oneframework.osu.edu/framework.htm]One”>http://oneframework.osu.edu/framework.htm)</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - ExperienceColumbus’s Channel](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/user/ExperienceColumbus#p/u/20/xtFiZGpuPS0]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/user/ExperienceColumbus#p/u/20/xtFiZGpuPS0)</p>
<p>Go Bucks!!</p>
<p>Ann Arbor>>Columbus.</p>
<p>it is my biased opinion that “Quintessential College Town” = East Lansing</p>
<p>Sparkeye, “biased” is the operative word.</p>
<p>Bloomington and Madison are much closer comps to Ann Arbor. I’ve never been to Chapel Hill but I hear that is nice. I don’t much about the southern college towns.</p>
<p>^^"Michigan State University students are a select group of academically motivated women and men. They come from every county in Michigan, every state in the nation, and more than 126 countries around the world. They form a diverse community, representing a wide range of ethnic, racial, political, and religious backgrounds.</p>
<p>MSU is considered one of the most beautiful university campuses in the nation. The Red Cedar River flows through it, connecting the traditional ivy-covered brick buildings of the original campus with the newer facilities, such as the state-of-the-art science building, the athletic complex, the medical and law colleges, and the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts. At the heart of the campus—and of MSU’s land grant heritage—is a magnificent 140-year-old horticultural garden, its park-like beauty setting the tone for all landscaping throughout the campus.</p>
<p>East Lansing is a thriving, welcoming community a quintessential college town. It neighbors on the state capital of Lansing, and the economic strength of the area is based on three General Motors plants and state government, as well as the university."</p>
<p>Source: [Graduate</a> student life at NSCL and MSU | National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL)](<a href=“http://www.nscl.msu.edu/edu/graduate/studentlife]Graduate”>http://www.nscl.msu.edu/edu/graduate/studentlife)</p>
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<p>Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks so!! Go Green!! lol</p>