Put it differently, how much of a cultural, social or political difference do you feel exists between campus (or its surroundings) and the rest of the city?
There is a big bubble. The school is it’s own entity, it’s close to downtown Minneapolis, but it’s not in it. The area surrounding the U is called Dinkytown because it’s like it’s own little town in Minneapolis.
Maybe I’m reading “bubble” differently from TransferGopher, but I don’t see really the kind of bubble you’re asking about.
I know that in a lot of cities, a college campus feels like an island- detached and not connected to the city it resides in. Students tend not to interact with the local businesses or mingle with the natives. This is especially common when politics on campus are dramatically distinct from politics of the city.
He is right- geographically, campus is it’s own entity. You can spend a week on campus, have all your needs met, and not be bothered with the hubbub of downtown.
But culturally and politically, I think it feels more like a neighborhood in Minneapolis, rather than an island. Students routinely go into the city for activity, and fit in along with natives (especially downtown or uptown areas). Students active in campus politics can, and often do, get involved in city or state politics.
Just that I could get a very different non-research experience out of my PhD at Minnesota compared to what I would get at Notre Dame (or WUSTL, CMU had I gotten into either off the waitlist, let alone UChicago)
ALL colleges and universities are going to have some aspects of “bubbleness” to them just due to the fact that the student body is transient, sometimes from a different geographical section of the US (or the world!), goals and education levels, etc. The question is going to be the extent to which the surrounding area is safe and interesting enough to get off campus and do things, and the extent to which the university itself interacts with the surrounding community (area businesses, outreach to the disadvantaged, cultural events open to the community, etc.). Probably the easiest metric to observe is how many students actually live in the community rather than just on campus and whether there are other colleges and universities nearby.
And then there can be a big difference between undergrads and graduate students. The latter are established adults, more likely to have a car to get out and about, less concerned with the “community” and more so with the quality of their academic program, etc. Nevertheless, a “bubbly” campus community can impact the graduate experience as well (I know this from personal experience). Especially because you are an adult, you may wish to live off-campus, attend events in the community, and be considered a resident of the community and not just a “student”. Therefore, the quality of the surrounding community may be especially important to grad students.
U of MN is definitely an important and integral aspect of the Twin Cities Metro - it doesn’t dominate but it plays a significant role culturally (Weissman, the partnership with the Guthrie, etc.), economically (research and other partnerships with lots of area businesses), socially (it’s no accident that so many fun establishments and dinky town are located next to or very nearby), etc. The U of MN healthcare system alone reaches the entire metro area, including outlying suburbs. Finally, students are everywhere in the Twin Cities - living on and off-campus - not just because UMN is so large but also because you have several other colleges and universities nearby (Augsburg, UST, Macalaster, MCAD, Concordia, Hamline, etc.).
UMN is actually quite distinct in that it’s one of the only large public university systems with its flagship school actually located in a large urban area. Most others are located pretty far away from the “big city” in a town that’s typically referred to as a “college town” because the university dominates the scene. In contrast, the Twin Cities metro actually IS a “college town” but it’s a lot more than that as well.
Part of it is borne out of necessity, because the sheer volume of undergrads desiring a spot in residence far outstrips the number of residence spots at Minnesota.
I would definitely dorm if a spot in residence was guaranteed but very few colleges can guarantee a spot in residence to even PhD students, much less as long as they remain in good academic and financial standing (Columbia is one of them, and perhaps the only one; try living off-campus in the Upper West Side of NYC on a $34k yearly budget).
However, on that count, I would say that whether one wants to be considered a resident of the community a graduate school is situated in is likely to be field-dependent, if only because of the job market for one’s field (or subfield even) in said community. Or perhaps the necessities of the field.
For example, if I was studying in a field whose the job market in the Twin Cities area is horrible, then I wouldn’t want to get too attached…
On your second point, @Catria, I’d totally agree in one respect - becoming attached through a family connection - say, you marry a ‘local’ who doesn’t wish to move (there are more than a few of those in MN! But that’s probably true everywhere). And my exposure to joint matching issues with a PhD couple - from anywhere - tells me that it can be very difficult regardless due to thin markets (academia, for instance). One piece of advice: make sure the other half of the couple has a nice fluid national market attached to his/her job! Again I know this from personal experience.
But if “attached” just means you enjoy the community and what it has to offer and you don’t want to leave - you will still leave in order to follow the job. So it’s hard to become too attached in this particular manner, although it would be great to live in an area that you really enjoy. You’ll be spending 4+ years there, so it’ll be easier if you love your new (albeit temporary) home.
My reference to living out in the community really means living a “real” life as much as a PhD student is able to. Living off campus in an apt. or condo in a neighborhood with a mix of students and professionals, no meal plan, no “corridor style” dorm bathrooms, etc. As you point out most grad students usually don’t live in dorms anyway out of necessity. As you begin your program you will want to remain as close to campus as possible. By the time you finish your coursework and qualifying exams you may find that it’s time for a bit more distance. It all depends on the individual. I quite happily lived in a bubble for four years as an undergraduate and couldn’t imagine not living on campus in a dorm for grad school. It was great having my housing and meals provided - however, after about a year I was definitely ready to move on! My grad school’s neighborhood was definitely a bubble - I attended one of the schools you mention above - but living in an apartment/condo with a mix of community residents around me (students, professionals, elderly, young kids, wealthy, very very poor) made it as much of a real life experience as I was going to get while still in school. My kids tell me they are planning to move off campus by junior year of college - and they aren’t even out of high school yet! So as I said, it totally depends on the individual.