I am a rising senior from Pennsylvania and am currently deciding where I would like to attend for fall 2021 and would love some feedback. I was accepted into UW-Seattle, UCSB, UCSD, SDSU (as well as SDSU Weber Honor College), and Pitt as an econ major but waitlisted at NYU (probably will go there if I get off the waitlist). I just need a place to commit by May 1st and will have to see what NYU does.
I am looking for a university that will have broad and helpful networking that will allow me to get the best internships in my field and secure me a job after graduation. I know that all colleges offer good internships UW, UCSB, and UCSD give great internships since they are near pretty big cities (except UCSB since). Also, they have to be good in my major. I DON’T care about rankings, they mean nothing since there are so many lists that give different rankings.
I am also looking for a university that is close to a big city but also feels like a college town, therefore Pitt, UW, and SDSU would fit this category. UCSD is weird, it’s close to La Jolla more than downtown San Diego which sticks because I have heard that La Jolla is more of a rich area than a college town. This “big city” category also goes along with the internships in a way so…
Also looking for a university with a good social life that will allow me to do things on and off-campus. That work hard play hard thing, whether it be athletics, parties, etc. I know UCSD has that infamous nickname, but I’ve heard that it’s just harder to make friends there since more people are more reserved and also because of La Jolla not being a college town.
Class sizes get smaller as I move on and specialize in my major the and the size of the university don’t really affect me too much. I’ll be able to make friends wherever I go and find my own community.
Tuition is not a factor since my family will be able to afford all 4 years wherever I go.
Your definition of college town is confusing. A college town to me is one where the university IS the town. This would be a school like Chico or like UC Davis whereby the university is the main attraction. The closest to that definition, on your list, is Santa Barbara. It’s removed from the main part of town and has its own “town” feel.
UCSD and SDSU would really not be considered “college towns”. They are within the City of San Diego, which is huge and very diverse. The schools have their own activities, within their universities, and there are lots of activities available outside of the campus.
If you plan to be partaking of the outside activities, you will need a car, or spend a lot of money ubering around the city. San Diego has poor public transportation. SDSU has “trolley” access, but the lines don’t go everywhere. UCSD is currently building trolley access, but it’s not available yet, so construction around the university continues, as it has for YEARS.
Spend some time looking at the website of each school you hope to attend. This point may be moot if you plan on getting into NYU. All of these schools have a variety of internships. The university is not promising to “secure” a job for you; the university is promising to give you an education. What you do with that education is how you’ll find your job.
You don’t mention UW Seattle but that’s a really good school. You don’t mentioned anywhere in this post what your major is in this post; I had to look up that you’re doing economics? UCSD and UCSB will be $65k per year, SDSU is $43k per year. I’m sure California and Washington would be more than happy to take your money as an out-of-state student. But these schools are definitely not college towns.
Money is ALWAYS a factor. Just because your parents can pay doesn’t mean there isn’t something different that they could do with it. It’s called opportunity cost. That’s not to say choose the cheapest one, but if you did and invested the difference for 40 years then you’d see, money is a factor.
@collegeappstuff , you say you want to go to school in a college town, but then say you will go to NYU if you get off the waitlist. New York is about as far as you can be from a college town. NYU isn’t much of a campus.
In my opinion, the only place of these that feels like a college town is UDub in Seattle. The school is set aside from the rest of Seattle. It has that feel.
One more place you may consider is ASU’s Honors College. Has what you are looking for (word hard, party hard, and near Phoenix), and the admissions are rolling.
UCSD was the worst of the 15 campus tours we went on. There is a reason it is called UC Socially Dead. Not the kind of place famous for parties. It is near San Diego, but not a part of it. I don’t think of it as a college town.
I love UCSB, but it isn’t really close to a big city. LA is 90 minutes away from Goleta, depending on traffic. But if that is close enough for you, it could do. Certainly a good place for work hard, party hard.
I have only seen Pitt once. Seems like a city school. But it could offer you a really good bargain, at probably 50% of the cost of the other schools, except SDSU.
I also SDSU, but it is known for its International Business program. Not sure about its econ major. But it’s relatively inexpensive compared to the other out of state schools.