Also, a student should be aware of travel time, not just miles. Kenyon is an hour from Columbus, because there are a lot of winding back roads to get there. Grinnell is an hour from Iowa City (while not a major city, it is home to University of Iowa, with a lot going on there) on the highway, easy on and off. Being 47 miles from Peoria doesn’t sound very interesting, but Knox is also on the Amtrak line to Chicago, so an overnight, or even a long day trip (it is a 2 1/2 hour trip) is feasible.
When driving into Colorado Springs, you’re likely to see signs for conservative organizations (like Focus on the Family) that are headquartered there. That may be the most direct encounter with conservative politics you’ll experience in 4 years at this rather liberal college. With one of my own lefty/liberal kids, this was a concern going in, but the issue hardly came up again in the years he was there.
DT won 3,084 out of 3,141 American counties. If the OP redlines all of them, and excludes cities, then s/he may not have too many good options “within a 300 mile radius of St. Louis but outside Missouri”. Poweshiek County, Iowa (home to Grinnell College) went for DT. So did Rice County, Minnesota (home to Carleton College). Knox County OH (home to Kenyon College) went for DT by 37.8 percentage points.
Campus quality of life and atmosphere probably are best judged through an overnight visit.
While it may not have New England picture-postcard looks, Huntingdon has plenty of character in its own right. The small downtown has a few good restaurants, shops, bars, a five-screen student-friendly movie theater and if you want coffee you can go to Standing Stone Coffee, Wildflower Cafe or the Stone Town Cafe & Gallery. There’s a full-size supermarket within steps of campus. And there’s a big box store on the highway in case you break a widget.
In my opinion the only part of the area that looks Rust Belt-bleak is the stretch on Route 22. Once you get into town, it’s just typical small town vibes… at least to me.
As for its remoteness…I’m pretty sure that’s already been firmly established in the echo chamber that is college confidential. No, it’s not the suburbs or the city, or Athens, GA. But it’s not quite Deep Springs either.
If a student’s interests run more towards outdoors activities than shopping and eating out, then they’ll have a wealth of options to choose from.
I agree it’s subjective, but (living in the general region for 18 years and having been there) my observation is personal and not a rehashing of what I’ve read here. I live in a small town, too, and I still have a “tucked way back off the beaten track” feeling about the place. It’s a bit run down at the edges, too, though probably very safe. Some may love that character about it, but I thought it constructive to add my observation to someone who lives far away and trying to narrow down a big list. I think OP wanted a college-town “feel” near a bigger city. Personally,I don’t get that vibe at all. But very good to know about the coffee shops and movie theater etc. It’s a would be a great setting for the right student and I hear it’s a friendly school.
Carlisle’s more than twice the size of Huntingdon and is quite a bit nicer. It’s also a bit closer to Harrisburg (30 min) than Huntingdon is to State College (45 min). Although the latter drive isn’t that bad in my opinion. Unless it’s poor weather for driving.
In head-to-head matchups, I’d say Carlisle probably wins in most if not all categories, handily. But I’d also say Carlisle beats most small to mid-sized towns in Pennsylvania. I really like the place.
@MYOS I’ve spent more time in Carlisle (though it’s further from me) because my daughter attended ballet intensives in Carlisle. Carlisle, being right off I-81 and the PA turnpike, and also practically on the outer edge of the greater Harrisburg area feels “on the beaten path” of central PA even though it’s a smallish town and not for urban hipsters. It’s set in rolling hills a good bit east of the Appalachians. It does have a quaint, historical feel while still part of the 21st century (while, Huntingdon, to me has more of a time-warp vibe to me.) Carlisle is a little run-down at the edges, but the core part of downtown at one end of campus has a semi-affluent, gentrified, artsy college-town vibe for around five square blocks or so. This area is mostly coffee shops, mom-and-pop lunch eateries, a handful of nice/ethnic restaurants, artsy gift stores, clothing boutiques, a tiny health food store, a modern town library, a town square with a farmer’s market. Nothing in the downtown (that I recall) is a chain retail store or restaurant. There are bigger stores (like Walmart) and fast food further out. There’s a nice, established neighborhood of well-kept homes along another side of campus. The campus of Dickinson is pretty and well-kept on the outside, with lots of mature trees and plantings. The downsides (to me) are the the footprint of the campus is pretty small and there’s a town street bisecting the campus that always seems to have some traffic. The bisecting street is still pretty (it’s under a canopy of mature trees) and the traffic is slow-moving, with stoplights and crosswalks, but it means the campus doesn’t have a completely self-contained feeling. Those wouldn’t be deal-breakers for me if I otherwise loved the school. In fact, I think Dickinson is likely to be a contender on my daughter’s list in three years. State college would be too long (and twisty) of a drive to do it from Carlisle with any regularity.
I can’t speak for Juniata’s campus but it’s definately more of a true small-town off of a rural road, surrounded by farms, fields, mountains. It’s away from interstates, in a rural and economically-depressed part of the state. It’s off of a rural, windy mostly two-lane highway, that itself, is at approximately 20 miles (I think) off of a four-lane newer highway (220 N/S.) State college, would probably be about a 40-minute drive someone correct me if I’m wrong.) Honestly, I cringe at the thought of anyone driving that twisty road after an evening of partying at Penn State/State College (Have no idea if Juniata students do that though.) Altoona is probably a little closer and has a good-sized shipping mallHuntingdon may have some specific great hangouts/restarants that students love in the town but I seriously doubt that there’s any concentration of square blocks that would have an artsy/indie college town vibe. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong! I think of the town as more a collection of threadbare antique stores, hardware stores, diners, dollar stores, maybe a few quaint country crafts/gift stores, and regular, practical small-town practical businesses. Don’t know about the students but the area is very conservative. Lots of hunting,fishing as well as state parks neaby. Beautiful Raystown Lake (I believe the largest lake in PA is nearby.
@inthegarden@guidedbywire: thank you so much. I hope it helps this thread’s OP and readers. As for me it’s been a while since I’ve returned to Huntingdon and I only know the blocks near Dickinson’s campus, up to the small courthouse, and the space with chain restaurants and a cinema I think - I remember an excelent orzo/lemon soup eaten in Carlisle and wish I could remember its name to cook it so if one of you knows ;).
Anyway, I don’t want to derail this: thank you so much for the details and the update
@tk21769 I’d agree with all of that about Colorado College. While at the school you are not likely to be aware of the politics of the city. The college itself is in one of the two precincts that vote strongly Democratic. Only mentioning it because Colorado Springs as a whole is an unusual city because of the politics, so good to know that before attending. The college is an anachronism in this environment. A surprising number of locals don’t even know it exists and when you mention “Colorado College” they think you are talking about “Colorado Christian College”, which has a branch a few miles north of CC.
I’ve had the impression that Juniata was more focused on pre-professional/vocational programs than on what would be described as quirky/artsy/intellectual. This is not to put the school down in any way, I hasten to add.
Vocational? No, not really. Unless I misunderstand what you mean by that.
Pre-professional…yes, Juniata has a deserved reputation for being worth a serious look for B+ students or others who would benefit from a holistic admissions review and who aspire to medical school, dental or optometry school or other professional postgrad. It’s also got strong programs in environmental science, environmental studies, wildlife conservation, and most biology and biology-related degrees.
Atypically for a small LAC, it has more business major offerings than what you normally find in a school in its class, including two master’s programs in accounting and in non-profit management…in addition to a few rather unusual specialized undergraduate degree options such as peace & conflict studies, PPE, and museum studies. Not necessarily high-demand stuff out in the job market, but I suppose there’s a niche. These - and other - programs give it enough variety and unique flavor to distinguish it from being one-dimensional.
If by “Intellectual” you mean a majority of the students actually care about learning and enjoy debating and discussing theory & issues and are engaged with their classes and professors, I would say sure. I mean, it’s not Haverford but I think most schools aren’t. :- )
However, my impression is that its art/dance/theater programs aren’t especially noteworthy for its size and location. If you’re only correlating “quirky” with strong arts programs then it might be questionable by that measure. (Full disclosure: personally I think the word “quirky” as it’s applied to colleges and/or students in these forums is vague and more than a bit overused to the point where it’s rarely helpful.)
