<p>Does anyone know of any?
I really like the feel of Liberal arts colleges and their small aura inside the classroom, However i cannot stand the fact that the small aspect of the college seems to reciprocate on that of the attending student's social life as well... i love amherst and colgate, but i do not like where they are located... can anyone name some liberal arts colleges in urban/city-like areas... one i know of is occidental aka oxy, but thats about it...
thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Holy Cross (#35 US News LAC rankings) is in Worcester, the second largest city in New England. Worcester is only 40 miles from Boston and on the commuter rail to Boston with 12 trains/day and HC provides free shuttles to nearby Boston/Providence. NCAA Division 1 athletics and only 2800 students.</p>
<p>Macalester, Swarthmore, Haverford, Pomona, Vassar</p>
<p>To go one step more urban--</p>
<p>Barnard, Eugene Lang (The New School)-- New York
Simmons, Emerson-- Boston (Simmons is a women's college and Emerson is specialty college for arts/communications)
Occidental-- Los Angeles
Reed College (Portland)
Lewis and Clark College-- Portland</p>
<p>Davidson is only 10 miles or so north of Charlotte, Rhodes is in the city of Memphis, Trinity is in San Antonio</p>
<p>be careful now:
Barnard College is IN an Urban area
Swarthmore Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence, Wellesely- are IN suburban areas; one can take a commuter train into the related urban area quite readily, but they are not themselves IN the urban era. They are in suburbs. When you walk off campus you are in a suburb.
My recollection is Pomona is about an hour's drive to LA, and its immediate area is also suburban.
Oberlin and Carleton are about 45 minutes' drive from their respective cities, but their immediate locations are very different.
Vassar is in a city, technically, but it doesn't seem like the students derive that much benefit from it. The "real" city, New York, is 1-1/2 hours or so by train.</p>
<p>There's also an interesting phenomenon you should be aware of, and investigate carefully. It seems like the easier access a campus has to city life, the more likely it is that this may detrimentally impact life on campus. If students have ready access to all the city has to offer, then that may be what campus culture is set up for; and campus life on weekends may be completely dead. People may not hang out on campus much at all, they may just go off into the city. I suggest you investigate this aspect carefully, if you want to have urban access but also want to experience a true college campus community/environment.
Else you might find that you have the urban experience you bargained for, but not the college experience you had envisioned. </p>
<p>I know for a fact that this can happen.</p>
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<p>monydad's point is well-taken on both counts. Many of these 'urban' schools are really suburban with good public transportation links to the city.</p>
<p>And on the second point, the son of a friend who attended a private boarding school in a rural area put it well (I paraphrase here): I'm going to Columbia because I've already done the 'LAC' thing. I'm not interested in school spirit or campus events. I want to live in an apartment and take advantage of what the city has to offer. </p>
<p>My S's reaction (large public high school) was to choose a LAC in a rural area where he knew everyone would be on campus on the weekends and the school was heavily vested in providing lots activities/entertainment to keep everyone busy.</p>
<p>I suggest also that you look into Trinity University in San Antonio. It is located very close (5 to 10 minute drive) to downtown. However, it does have a lovely and active campus. Another university located less than a mile from Trinity is the University of the Incarnate Word.</p>
<p>IMO, you get the best of both worlds with suburban LACs like Haverford, Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr. They all have beautiful campuses and Philadelphia is a very short train ride away. If you ever want to do an internship, you have more opportunities being close to a city than in a remote location.</p>
<p>For females, Agnes Scott is right outside Atlanta, with a gorgeous campus and nice facilities.</p>
<p>Goucher is very close to Baltimore. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Davidson is only 10 miles or so north of Charlotte
[/quote]
It should be noted that a car is virtually required to get between the two.</p>
<p>Rhodes in Memphis - gorgeous Gothic architecture</p>
<p>Goucher
Macalester</p>
<p>Swarthmore is not in an urban setting. True, it is a quick train ride away, but not that many people go out to Philadelphia anyway. You still get that seclusion feel. I've only been to Philadelphia twice since I started college here.</p>
<p>Trinity in Hartford</p>
<p>I second Trinity in San Antonio. Great school, pretty campus, and no real winter!</p>
<p>Swarthmore is something like 10 miles away from Philly.</p>
<p>And, it's one of the exceptionally good LACs.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is located in a blue-collar town known for its ethnic and economic diversity. It's not New York or Boston, but, the campus is close to the town's commercial center and students and townspeople share the same streets, the same eating establishments (including, O'Rourke's, a world reknowned "rail car style" diner) and the flashing lights of the occasional police car can be seen at night (most commonly, to shut down late-night Wesleyan parties.) School nights can be a bit spooky, but, weekends are dependably rambunctious as people take a break from their studies. There's a blue light safety system and a jitney available to complete the bar/house party circuit. Wesleyan has one of the best music scenes for a college its size, in America.</p>
<p>Holy Cross-near Boston, and Davidson-near Charlotte.</p>
<p>Which has the larger GLBT popultation, Wesleyan or Oberlin?</p>
<p>^ in terms of absolute numbers it would be impossible to tell. I think each has official LBGT student-run groups that total in the ~200 range. But, my gut tells me those numbers are neither exhaustive nor dispositive of either group's infuence on campus.</p>