<p>what does it mean if a college is a residential college vs not? Also,some examples of each type would help.</p>
<p>Residential would be a college w/ little local students, most live on campus so the campus would be more lively and less "dead" on weekends, commuter campus, mostly comprised of people who live nearby and commute to a college instead of living there. Most large top 25 colleges are residential, and all CC and many state colleges would be more of a commuter college.</p>
<p>Perhaps you are referring to the "residential college" system as found at Yale, Harvard, Oxford & Cambridge?</p>
<p>Yale's system is that each RC is a small community unto itself within the larger context of the entire university-- with its own Master and Dean, its own housing facility with dining hall, library. Yale's residential colleges become huge sources of esprit de corps and competition w/the other RCs. They all lie in close proximity to each other and people are randomly assigned to each. You can read more of this on Yale's website. </p>
<p>Someone asked if the comparison of these to Harry Potter's "Houses" at Hogwarts would be correct. I'd say that's not a bad comparison.</p>
<p>Hope this answers your question.</p>