I’m a student from the UK (uni of manchester) applying to do a year abroad in North America as part of my degree. I have a choice of 13 partner universities but I’m having trouble choosing because my knowledge of the USA/Canada is really limited!
I’m basically looking for a college with a party scene and in a city. I’m not too fussed about the academic reputation because I mainly want to have fun abroad and meet new people.
I get to pick a list of 8 universities in preference order. My choices are as follows:
USA:
Case Western Reserve
North Carolina State
Rutgers
Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Maryland, College Park
Massachusetts Amherst
UNC Chapel Hill
Canada:
McGill
Queen’s
Guelph
University of British Columbia
Toronto
Simon Fraser
the deadline for my application is the 7th so I’ve left it a bit late.
Thanks in advance!
For the Canadian schools, Queen’s and Guelph are not in cities. For Simon Fraser, it depends on the campus. McGill, Toronto and UBC are your best bets.
I can’t comment about most of the schools although I would say all/most of the big U.S. state schools would never be short of parties…just a matter of what “flavor:” of parties, and that I could not say! UNC and NC state would be Southern-style…and although the metropolis they are both in is growing by leaps and bounds, I wouldn’t really classify it as “urban.” While Chapel Hill is smaller than Raleigh, it has a more liberal vibe and lots of restaurants, shops, coffee shops, etc right on the edge of campus. I would think it would be harder to explore beyond walking-distance without a car with these two schools. University of Maryland CP is a very good all-around flagship and enormous… on the edges of Washington D.C and not far from Baltimore. no shortage of things to do. Also, an easy-enough Amtrak ride to Philadelphia, NYC and Boston, for sightseeing. It’s not a “fluff” school though, some studying would be required as well 
I don’t think Case Western would be your best bet for what you are looking for. I’m sure Case has its parties and fun, but also a lot of serious-minded STEM students. It is an excellent school for the right students, however, and I know someone who is very happy there.
If you choose a Canadian school and party too much they will not hesitate to fail you. Do you need the credits to transfer to your UK school?
BTW, I didn’t really mean the school UNC was necessarily so liberal (compared to US schools in general), just that the town of Chapel Hill has a more liberal vibe than the city of Raleigh (or most of the state, for that matter.)
You might want to choose a school that is located so that you can explore other nearby cities and areas with relative ease. With that in mind Maryland, UMass, and Rutgers would give you easiest access to the northeastern US. UBC if you want to explore the west coast.
If you go for North Carolina: I’d choose Chapel Hill over NCState since the latter is a tech focused campus. Plenty of parties but the vibe will be different than the more eclectic UNC-CH.
Toronto and McGill would both be terrific.
^ I agree with @Otterma above…also to add…if you do consider UNC (it is the one I’m most familiar with, personally, as my sister lives in Chapel Hill) the winter is mild and campus and town are gorgeous if you like trees…in some areas it feels like a town within a forest, canopies overhanging a lot of streets. NOT gritty-urban, but still some sophistication because the area in general attract academics and scientists from around the world because of Research Triangle Park and the universities (Duke is in nearby Durham.) Lots of graduate students from all over the U.S and world, though I think undergrads will be drawn more from North Carolina and the South. Sports are pretty big…(Go Tarheels!)
Heck. I went to NC State and even I am suggesting UNC for OP…so that tells you something! If OP were interested in engineering then it would be a different story but for the classic American college social experience in a beautiful setting, UNC is hard to beat.
Thanks for all the replies! The year abroad counts towards my overall grade, and I’m studying physics.
Exploring other cities is something I definitely want to do so I’ll take that into consideration.
Right now I’m mainly considering McGill, Toronto, Rutgers and UNC.
Does anyone know anything about Illinois? I’ve heard good things but also that it’s quite isolated
If I were you, I’d put UBC at the top of the list. You’re in Vancouver, and you’re not too far away from Seattle either. Lots of partying to be done in both of those cities! My friends who went to McGill partied quite a lot in Montreal as well.
I think out of the four you listed, McGill and U Toronto would probably be the best for what you’re looking for. UNC would probably be a more academically-oriented experience, and while Chapel Hill is a nice college town, it isn’t near any major cities. Rutgers is a good school but not really the same caliber as the others you’re considering. It’s in New Brunswick, NJ which is honestly a pretty depressing place, and while New York is accessible (it’s about an hour away), it’s not right there the way Montreal and Toronto would be.