<p>I was wondering is there a list of schools that are considered suitcase schools somewhere?
My son is considering Belmont University and I want to know if that is a suitcase school.</p>
<p>Don’t know if there is a list, or about the school you mention
however–I would look at the in-state #s and regional #s because there are schools that draw tons of their kids from certain areas and the kids go home alot.</p>
<p>I went to a large state school for my BA and didn’t realize how the campus emptied out on non-football weekends…</p>
<p>Since I was a 14 hr drive from home–it was quite a shock.</p>
<p>I would look at stats for the school as far as in state/out of state. If the school has a lot of in state students and is near a major population center very likely a lot of the students are from there and go home a lot on weekends. Also I have noticed that schools with a big Greek scene tend to keep the students on campus for weekends. Is there anyone that you know who attends this school that you could ask?</p>
<p>Another clue is seeing if the campus has its health center open on weekends.</p>
<p>You can also look at the weekend operating hours of the on-campus dining venues, but be aware that even “resident colleges” have reduced dining options and hours on weekends because many students sleep in on weekends, eat off-campus on weekends, have “kitchenettes” in their dorms which can minimize weekend campus dining, etc. (My sons’ college has BBQs near their dorms, so kids often BBQ on weekends - a full grocery is practically on campus) Some kids have off campus jobs on weekends, so all of these factors can reduce the hours of on-campus dining venues at schools that have many resident students.</p>
<p>So, I think if a school has its health center open on weekends (at least on Saturday), that’s an indication that it isn’t a suitcase or commuter school.</p>
<p>Not a very strong indication, necessarily. Michigan’s cafeterias have very limited hours on weekends, and while the health center is open on Saturdays it’s only for a couple hours. I can’t explain the health center but I assumed the cafeteria hours were because of football.</p>
<p>In hindsight that doesn’t make much sense, since the only meal served on Saturdays is DURING the football game.</p>
<p>I live in Nashville, and I have never heard Belmont considered a suitcase school. There will be a number of students from the Nashville area, but there is so much to do in the area that the campus does NOT empty out. In fact, for the presidential debate, they MADE the students leave!</p>
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<p>In hindsight that doesn’t make much sense, since the only meal served on Saturdays is DURING the football game.
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<p>Actually your point is similar to mine. Meals are reduced on weekends even at residence schools. And your school does have some hours on Saturday for the health center - even if those are reduced, too. I don’t think (I could be wrong) that many suitcase schools or commuter schools have any weekend hours for their health centers.</p>
<p>For instance, there is a suitcase school near my home that has the following for its health center hours…</p>
<p>Office Hours: Monday - Friday (8:30AM – 12:00PM), (1:30PM – 5:00PM)</p>
<p>Lots of small LACs do not have weekend health center hours. We researched this last year, schools that are the opposite of suitcase schools such as Carleton college do not have weekend health center hours, same with my D’s LAC. These are schools where 80% or more of the students are out of state, come from all over the country and world and so do not go home on the weekend :)</p>
<p>The reduced hours in the cafeteria may be an indicator - better is the percentage of in-state vs out-of-state students for smaller schools. I don’t think this would help with large in-state Universities though. </p>
<p>I think you would have to do some investigating on your own - do a google search, visit the campus on a weekend if possible, ask students, ask people on CC as you are doing, etc.</p>
<p>Some clues- the cost and availability of student parking, especially near dorms. Major campuses in cities will have their share of commuters but plenty of on/near campus residents who never leave. A weekend visit can show you how active a campus is. The attitude of the school towards student cars. A check on student involvement in weekend religious events near campus.</p>
<p>I worried about this too. If the school you are looking at is one of the 273 U.S. colleges with a College rhymes-with-fowler guidebook, you can read student reviews about weekend life on campus there.</p>
<p>A high proportion of in-state students does not always flag a suitcase school. For example, Ohio University in Athens, OH, home to several outstanding academic programs, has mostly Ohio kids but it is not a suitcase school at all. A lot of kids from the northwest and northeast corners of the state go there. That is more than four hours away, and these kids stay on or near campus on weekends, generally only heading home for school breaks.</p>
<p>I agree with wis75 that a weekend visit is the best way to check this. Afternoon though. All campuses are quiet on weekend mornings!</p>
<p>How about Indiana University in Bloomington? Hopefully not a suitcase school</p>
<p>Midwestmom wrote:</p>
<p>worried about this too. If the school you are looking at is one of the 273 U.S. colleges with a College rhymes-with-fowler guidebook, you can read student reviews about weekend life on campus there.</p>
<p>A high proportion of in-state students does not always flag a suitcase school. For example, Ohio University in Athens, OH, home to several outstanding academic programs, has mostly Ohio kids but it is not a suitcase school at all. A lot of kids from the northwest and northeast corners of the state go there. That is more than four hours away, and these kids stay on or near campus on weekends, generally only heading home for school breaks.</p>
<p>I agree with wis75 that a weekend visit is the best way to check this. Afternoon though. All campuses are quiet on weekend mornings!</p>
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<p>We were struck by how all of the schools we visited (and they ranged from small LACs to big state U to Top 10-15 schools) were almost like ghost towns on our Sat. morning tours. I suspect it was because a lot of kids were sleeping late. We did, however, see a lot of kids in the library at U of Chicago in the afternoon. Good indication of how much studying goes on at that school!</p>
<p>This is an excellent thread. Wouldn’t want son to feel ‘stuck’ somewhere too far to drive home but with nothing to do on the weekend. Will definitely have son research this before making a final decision.</p>
<p>Another way to tell if a small school is active or not on the weekends it to look at Princeton Review’s “most to do on campus” list. D’s tiny LAC is in the top 10.</p>
<p>Checking the college’s event calendar might help too.</p>
<p>I would be very careful of making any kind of assumptions about a school’s weekend status based on a saturday morning tour (unless there was a lot of beer cans rolling around on the green and even that could be dubious). For S, that’s the only day to actually sleep in. They did reduce weekend hours for their health center this weekend, but I think the cafeteria is open the same except for maybe breakfasts. Asking directly while you’re there probably won’t yield the most honest answers, but I’d also ask how many students have cars on campus (including freshman).</p>
<p>Saturday morning tours won’t reveal much because the students are just starting their 4th hour of sleep 
They won’t be seen until noon or later when they finally start looking for caffeine or Excedrin.</p>
<p>Can someone help me understand what a rhymes-with-fowler guidebook is?
I am not familiar with this.</p>
<p>tx</p>
<p>If you were to go PROWLING around, you might find it.</p>
<p>Good tip from Modadunn I forgot - some colleges really restrict or strongly discourage freshman from having cars - another clue. I think someone mentioned parking lots - are there a lot for the size of the school? One suitcase school I know about actually has shuttle service to parking lots despite its tiny size.</p>
<p>I agree asking will not yield honest responses, no one wants to admit that they go to a suitcase school - though this may be the perfect fit. Plenty of people have had a great education that fit well with their life style at suitcase schools. It’s just if you are trying to avoid that, especially considering sending a child to a distant school where they will spend lonely weekends on vacant campuses… - not a good idea obviously. </p>
<p>For that reason I think this is a very important thread - not to put down ‘suitcase’ schools but help people be aware of how to avoid them if wanted.</p>
<p>Guys - this is easy! </p>
<p>In my opinion, you’ll never be able to tell from ANY of these indicators previously mentioned, though (well, one thing I would agree with is greek life being strong usually indicates things to do on weekends, therefore, more residential, but greek life being weak doesn’t necessarily mean anything…I’m pretty sure Reed is residential, for example, but idk about their greek life :P). </p>
<p>Take University of Maryland, for example. The vast majority of students are commuters and anyone who wants can get a parking permit - but it is by no means a “commuter school.” All of my friends freshman and sophomore year lived in the dorms, and there were quite a bit more of us in the dorms over weekends than at a small LAC which might be 100% residents - so even though a significant portion of the school commuted, residents tend to “stick to their own” (And there are plenty of them-check out the “party buses” friday/sat night). And many students who DO commute, commute from 1 mile or less off campus, living in the surrounding neighborhoods. </p>
<p>I agree that to start with, you need to make sure the health center and dining halls are open limited hours. After all, if you are looking to live there, then you need these amenities. Another thing to check for is evening bus routes on weekends. How many buses run around and near campus, and how often, compared to the weekdays? That would be an excellent indicator of level of demand.</p>
<p>But to judge whether or not the campus is a “suitcase” school the only thing you can do is visit the dorm area. Does it feel like there are a lot of students living in close proximity? Are they friendly? Talk to them! Do they hang out in the lounge areas? Do they go home on weekends? What kind of answers are you getting? A good rule of thumb is almost NO flagship state uni is a “suitcase” school as the majority have a huge amount of students in residence halls - who are going to want to party on weekends, not go home (so U-Illinois Bloomington would NOT be a commuter school :P). Generally, the less prestigious schools in the state tend to be the less residential ones. Also, look for “traditional” residence halls and not apartment-based ones…apartment-based ones tend to be more isolating. If a school has hundreds of students in residence halls, and these residence halls are grouped in communities, and they are “traditional” halls…well then chances are although some might go home on weekends, many do not.</p>