<p>Calmom- Very nifty link. After kolijma mentioned it, I tried it. A great resource for all sorts of things. Thanks.</p>
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Wow, great site. Thanks, calmom.</p>
<p>My D is currently a Sr and has never needed a car at her LAC. Whitman. Small town but the business district is 2 blocks from campus. Cheap eats (and VERY expensive fancy restaurants also), full service grocery with pharmacy, other drug store, 3 thrift shops, farmer’s market, 3 or 4 dozen fancy wine tasting rooms (whoops, that’s for the parents) within a 10 minute walk, college baseball stadium has summer ball league games for little $ and even fireworks after, good hospital for a town its’ size.</p>
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I’m sure the OP’s son would like to attend Smith, but I don’t think his chances of admission are so good. ;)</p>
<p>I know this isn’t an LAC, but check out Northwestern in Evanston, IL. It gets a 98 rating of walkability and it’s not an inner city school.</p>
<p>In defense of Granville, OH (Denison), there is a lot more than one or two shops there. The main drag has restaurants (including a popular burger joint and an even more popular frozen custard shop), an intersection with a church on each corner, a CVS, several B and Bs, some shopping, . . . There is a grocery store within walking distance (and the farmer’s market many Saturdays). What it does not have is fast food, chain motels, or any big box stores. The houses in Granville are charming–I keep telling people the place is too cute.</p>
<p>This is fantastic! Good link on walkable communities! (Given my day job, I should have thought of that.) And I feel great about the info about Smith, as I would like to make this post useful for others.</p>
<p>As we can’t visit everywhere, and street view is not available everywhere, and “everything you need in a small town” can mean different things to different people, the more specifics the better! For instance, I liked hearing about Trader Joes – that conveys something very different than, say Food Lion or Safeway, and Starbucks conveys something different than Chat a Wyle (the real name of the real shop in the town where DH and I got together!).</p>
<p>I think the above suggestion of Haverford College is ideal for your son. Unlike many LAC’s which are located in isolated rural areas, Haverford is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, a metropolitan area of over 5 million people.</p>
<p>In addition to being walkable to local business, Haverford most likely would provide shuttle bus service to the King of Prussia mall (call the college to check) which is one of the largest shopping malls in the US. In addition, the City of Philadelphia is a short train ride away on the SEPTA regional rail line.</p>
<p>[Haverford</a> College: Where We Are](<a href=“http://www.haverford.edu/abouthaverford/whereweare.php]Haverford”>http://www.haverford.edu/abouthaverford/whereweare.php)</p>
<p>I’ve used Walkscore on our neighborhood and its a bit hit or miss about what’s included. For example it shows a restaurant at one site and also the restaurant it replaced at the same site. It shows one elementary school as being closer than the other even though it is further away. Many Mom and Pop type stores are missing all together.</p>
<p>pamom59, alas, I think Haverford would be superduper for my son, but I think not a snowball’s chance … But of course it is perfect for this list.</p>
<p>(And the issue of the right school for my son is really a question for another thread!)</p>
<p>Could also check out Villanova. Similar location, a couple of stops farther from Philadelphia. Also has free local shuttle service, including to King of Prussia Mall.</p>
<p>Here’s my definition of what a student needs, and what’s in walking distance of Whitman in Walla Walla: Multiple coffee places, including Starbucks and great local hangout with open mic. nights; Restaurants for every pocketbook, from fine dining to fast food; Clothing stores, including Macys and thrift stores; Groceries including Safeway (with pharmacy) and seasonal farmers market; hardware store; bookstore; movie theater; Verizon store; banks. Even more amenities are available if you have a bike, most students do. Then there is all the stuff that the campus has. No cars are needed.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania scored 92 - “Walker’s Paradise” :)</p>
<p>And if you don’t feel like walking there are oodles of cabs and then my daughter’s favorite - Septa.</p>
<p>No one has mentioned Carleton College in Northfield, MN as yet. It is probably a 5 minute walk to the main drag in “downtown” Northfield. There are several coffee shops and small restaurants there, as well as gift shops, some clothing stores, a public library, bookstore, etc. A little farther away, but definitely walkable are a grocery store (Econo Foods) and at least one major chain pharmacy (Walgreen’s). There is a Target a few miles away - there are buses that go there - at least on the weekends. It is about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, and there are regularly scheduled buses to go there (as well as the Mall of America). In addition, there are special buses arranged by the college on occasion to take kids there for special events (e.g., a play at the Guthrie) and to the airport at the beginning and end of each term. I don’t think there is a movie theatre in walking distance, but every couple of weeks there is a bus arranged to a major movie theatre complex on the weekend (and of course there are movies on campus every weekend). Many kids have bikes and use them, but not all.</p>
<p>Franklin and Marshall is another possibility for your son. Not quite as selective as Haverford, but still a very academically strong school that is good in the science/math area. F&M is located in the small city of Lancaster, in walking distance to local shopping, and there is also a shuttle service that takes students to places like the local shopping mall. The city of Lancaster has a population of 50,000 and Lancaster County has a population of 500,000. F&M is a very popular choice for students at our small private school in the Philly suburbs. Also, it is SAT optional!</p>
<p>Marlboro College, VT - motto “Anything is within walking distance if you have the time.”</p>
<p>As I understand from a son’s friend who went there (and transferred) the nearest gas station is about 20 minutes (maybe miles) away.</p>
<p>A public LAC that might be of interest is UNC Asheville. Great small city w/ lots of restaurants, music, etc, small school (for a public–maybe 2,500-4,000 if I recall right), on the rise. We liked it, seemed like a lot w/in walking/biking/bus distance of campus. Nice price, even out of state.</p>
<p>Lafayette – A couple of coffee shops, two Italian restaurants, two pizzerias and a Wawa a block or two off the campus in the College Hill neighborhood. Downtown Easton is a 10 minute walk from campus and has a Saturday farmer’s market, a dozen or so restaurants and coffee shops, as well as specialty shops and two clubs for the over 21 crowd. My daughter usually hitches a ride to get to Wegmans and a CVS, however.</p>
<p>A couple others not yet mentioned:</p>
<p>McDaniel: a 5-minute walk down a gentle hill to downtown Westminster, Md. </p>
<p>Drew University: a 5-10 minute walk to downtown Madison, NJ.</p>
<p>Ohio Wesleyan University: located a couple of blocks from the center of Delaware, Ohio.</p>
<p>Oberlin: The town has, among other things a wonderful refurbished movie theater, a fabulous candy/donut shop, a Ben Franklin, various banks, various coffee shops, various ethinic restaurants, various hair salons, and a few boutiques. The IGA is within walking distance–maybe 15 minutes but in terms of food shopping, the thing to do would be to join a coop. Doesn’t get much flatter than Oberlin, so bikes extend the non-car range very easily.</p>
<p>Beer and wine are available in downtown Oberlin, but the closest hard liquor would be a fairly long walk.</p>
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<p>I’d give it a higher score than that. If Main Street seems like a lot of walking, it’s not your imagination – it’s nearly a mile long. But, there’s a CVS not two blocks from the campus book store, and, probably the only African American barber shop within walking distance of a New England LAC (any around Trinity?)</p>
<p>70 Wyllis Avenue Middletown CT (almost the exact center of campus as well as the admissions building) gets an 86 out of a possible 0-100 scale on Google Maps walkability score which is only about 5 points below Smith and Northampton:
[Walk</a> Score of 70 wyllis avenue middletown ct](<a href=“70 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown CT - Walk Score”>70 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown CT - Walk Score)
[Walk</a> Score of smith college northampton ma](<a href=“Northampton MA - Walk Score”>7 College Lane, Northampton MA - Walk Score)
[Walk</a> Score of haverford college pa](<a href=“http://www.walkscore.com/score/haverford-college-pa]Walk”>http://www.walkscore.com/score/haverford-college-pa)</p>