<p>My good friend really wants to experience college in a rural, rugged, wildnerness type setting. Right now he is seriously looking at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, but I'm not quite sure of any other ones he could look into. Does anybody have any ideas? The smaller the better. And preferably public schools (or privates that aren't wildly expensive).</p>
<p>Northern Michigan U. and Michigan Tech are at the top of Michigan's upper peninsula--doesn't get much more out there than that.</p>
<p>Green mountain college... it's in the green mountains in vermont. They have an adventure recreation program. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_recreation%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_recreation</a></p>
<p>What about Alaska Pacific University?</p>
<p>Alaska Pacific is a suburban campus in Anchorage, next door to the University of Alaska Anchorage. The two institutions share a library, in fact.</p>
<p>UAF is much more of the traditional college feeling, only buried in 10 feet of snow. I kind of like that thought, so it's probably my top transfer candidate right now, assuming they'll take most of my credits. They have a lot of outdoor activities (obviously) including cross-country skiing, rafting trips, ice and rock climbing, kayaking... etc.</p>
<p>UAF is also fairly cheap - full annual out-of-state tuition is $14,000. If your friend lives in a Western state, he can take advantage of the Western Undergraduate Exchange and pay just $6,500.</p>
<p>As an Alaskan, here's what i know of these schools.
UAF: It's cold, cold, cold; think 65 degrees below zero F on some days. It's small, pretty rural. Definitely best for wilderness/nature buffs, and is a good science research university. Like what FCYtravis said, it's pretty cheap (esp if you are in a WUE state). But it is extremely far away from a real city (Anchorage is 6 driving hours away), which can be a good or bad thing.</p>
<p>APU: It is in Anchorage (right by UAA), a medium-sized city that has a small-town feel. It is very very small and it is not that cheap, as it is a private liberal arts college (granted, still cheaper than most private colleges). It has few majors (only 14) but I've heard that the professors are really good, discussion is important, and you get a lot of one-on-one attention. </p>
<p>UAA: For a "4th tier" university, it has surprisingly a lot of great opportunities. As it is a pretty good sized college, there are a lot of majors to choose from, and has especially reputable programs in business, nursing, and aviation technology. There is a great honors college, and plenty of stuff to do (hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, camping, etc.) all within the city limits or 30 minutes to an hour away. Most of the teachers are good, and the student body is very diverse, although there are quite a lot of untraditional students here (think 50 year old women and 40 year old men being in your group projects).</p>
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wants to experience college in a rural, rugged, wildnerness type setting
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The smaller the better.
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privates that aren't wildly expensive
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That screams Deep Springs, if he can get in.</p>
<p>Warren Wilson (800 students) and WCU (7000 students) in NC aren't exactly "rugged," but they're in a beautiful part of the mountains and fairly isolated. The College of the Atlantic (300 students) is right next to Arcadia National Park in Maine.</p>
<p>Re: Deep Springs, that's very true. Just make sure to have safeties because getting into a college that admits 15 students a year is a crapshoot for <em>anyone</em> :)</p>
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As an Alaskan, here's what i know of these schools.
UAF: It's cold, cold, cold; think 65 degrees below zero F on some days. It's small, pretty rural. Definitely best for wilderness/nature buffs, and is a good science research university. Like what FCYtravis said, it's pretty cheap (esp if you are in a WUE state). But it is extremely far away from a real city (Anchorage is 6 driving hours away), which can be a good or bad thing.</p>
<p>APU: It is in Anchorage (right by UAA), a medium-sized city that has a small-town feel. It is very very small and it is not that cheap, as it is a private liberal arts college (granted, still cheaper than most private colleges). It has few majors (only 14) but I've heard that the professors are really good, discussion is important, and you get a lot of one-on-one attention. </p>
<p>UAA: For a "4th tier" university, it has surprisingly a lot of great opportunities. As it is a pretty good sized college, there are a lot of majors to choose from, and has especially reputable programs in business, nursing, and aviation technology. There is a great honors college, and plenty of stuff to do (hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, camping, etc.) all within the city limits or 30 minutes to an hour away. Most of the teachers are good, and the student body is very diverse, although there are quite a lot of untraditional students here (think 50 year old women and 40 year old men being in your group projects).
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Thanks for the Alaskan insight. We've looked into UAA as well as UAF, and the Anchorage campus (like Anchorage itself) seems too big and un-Alaskan. USNews lists it as an urban campus (although it mentions UAF as urban too, not sure what to think about that one), and I know he doesn't want to be around 10,000 students on a smaller campus, whereas UAF has a very large campus with half as many students on the main Fairbanks campus, so it's less crowded. UAF also seems to be more prestigious than UAA, particularly within Alaska and the North.</p>
<p>What else can you comment on as far as the UAF... he's particularly interested in how scenic and aesthetically pleasing the campus and nearby area is. Princeton Review says it is gorgeous, and so are the pictures I've seen, but then sites like StudentsReview and CampusDirt don't have much to offer... maybe because of bitter students... who knows. Oh, and how often can you see the Northern Lights?</p>
<p>no offense but prestige won't matter much unless you're planning to work in Alaska. However, I would think Anchorage would get more name recognition just because it's the major city and all. Literally no one will have insight into the prestige of Alaskan universities unless you're in alaska.</p>
<p>How about Paul Smith's College in the Adirondacks? <a href="http://www.paulsmiths.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.paulsmiths.edu/</a></p>
<p>err...UAF, urban? some of their statistics are off/inaccurate; it is urban only if you count 80,000 people urban (it is more suburban, and not completely rural). UAF definitely has more name-recognition/prestige academic-wise, but UAA is more of the larger flagship u. As for a beautiful campus, definitely. It is gorgeous (when the campus isn't buried with 5 feet of snow everywhere), and even in winter, it looks pristine. As for ratings off students review/campus dirt, for especially smaller schools, you can't really judge anything off that, cuz like you said, people tend to be bitter. </p>
<p>Most of the buildings are pretty updated; google "University of Alaska Fairbanks" and you'll see pictures of what it looks like. Also, Fairbanks is without a doubt the best place in Alaska (and the U.S., for that matter) to see the Northern Lights. If your friend doesn't mind really long, cold winters with 3 hours of sunlight a day, then this is the place for him.</p>
<p>I second Paul Smiths.</p>
<p>Pun intended that your stating a preference for Alaska. How about the University of Montana?</p>
<p>Western Carolina University</p>
<p>UAA is larger, and has strong programs in some areas that UAF doesn't (nursing, for example.) However, it doesn't have nearly as much on-campus life, because for now, the vast majority of students are commuters who live off-campus. There are comparatively few dorm beds available, though I hear the ones they do have are nice.</p>
<p>I understand there's plans to try to improve UAA's campus community feel, by adding more dorms and building a hockey/basketball arena. But that's all some years off.</p>
<p>Dartmouth, if he has stats?</p>
<p>Clarkson & St Lawrence with nearby Adirondaks...both private & small.</p>
<p>also, for the science & engineering types, Colorado School of Mines (public & fairly small) is at the edge of the Rockies....lots of folks at CSM are outdoorsie.</p>
<p>bigger public, but great wilderness areas near by....U Wyoming (plus they have a rodeo team. what more could you want?)</p>
<p>Colorado College -- while it is actually located just a few blocks north of the small downtown area of Colorado Springs (a city with a population of about half a million), you are surprisingly close to the rugged outdoors. I live just two blocks from the campus and I can tell you that the kids take full advantage of their proximity to the mountains. you can find excellent hiking within a 15 minute drive from campus -- enough so that you could take a different trail just about every day of the week. Most weekends, kids go backpacking, fly fishing, kayaking (whitewater is about an hour away), rock-climbing (it is a major sport here), mountain biking, skiing or snowboarding. There is such a variety within a couple hours drive, it is amazing. Colorado College also has the block program -- you only take one class at a time for three and a half weeks. What that means is that most classes meet from 9am until about noon or one -- then you have the afternoon off to play (and these kids play hard!). Plus -- at the end of the block, you get the block break -- a four day weekend every fourth week -- most kids take longer trips at this time. The student association is very active and there are multiple trips going on all the time -- so lots of options, even if you don't have a car.</p>
<p>The pluses are that Colorado College is close enough to a major city that you have all the conveniences, including easy and cheap airfare into Denver or Colorado Springs, the school is excellent and you get great access to the outdoors.</p>
<p>Check out the website for Wyoming Catholic College. Brand new college this year--fewer than 100 students next year.
Very outdoorsy. Wilderness orientation lasting several weeks. Equestrian program. Great books curriculum. Not as cold or as far as Alaska. Less than $20,000 for tuition/fees/room/board.</p>