<p>What are the pros and cons of having an urban campus (i.e. George Washington University), a campus in a city, but not comprised of city buildings (i.e. Georgetown), and a suburban campus just outside a city (i.e. Tufts). I want to go to a big city, but I'm not yet sure if I'd rather be just outside the city or inside the city.</p>
<p>Well, I go to Columbia which is probably most like Georgetown--it's in NYC but it has a campus (albeit a small one) with a quad and only campus buildings. I think it's the best of the possibilities that you suggest. I love living in a city, but I think if the buildings of my college were scattered throughout the city without a real unifying location, it would feel very disjointed, very isolated (however ironic that is). Having a campus is so integral to college (in my own opinion) that even if you end up hanging out in the city, it's nice to be able to go somewhere that is only your college so you don't get swallowed up by the city. </p>
<p>And if you go to a school that is near a city, it seems like more of an event to go into the city so it will probably happen more infrequently. Being directly in the city is nice because it facilitates a more seemless city life (obviously). That last part didn't come out very clear--do you know what I mean? If you live in the city, it becomes more a part of your life (which is something that I really like), but if you live near a city, it becomes something outside your everyday life.</p>
<p>The advantages of living at a university on the edge of a city is that the campus can be more spread-out, less hectic, usually offers lower rent/cost of living, is more cohesive (if I lived in downtown DC or NYC, I would be more likely to attend art shows/theater productions in the city than those put on by the university), and have greater green space. </p>
<p>The advantages of a centralized-but-urban campus (the Georgetown example) are that: the campus is safer/more cohesive than the surrounding urban area, but it's still downtown. When it is more convenient to attend city events, you'll do it more often - you don't have to skip that late-night opening out of fear you'll be trapped downtown once the buses stop running.</p>
<p>I can't really think of advantages of the de-centralized urban campus (the George Washington example). I suppose that being completely integrated into the city might make students more involved in the post-college professional world (applying for the same jobs as adults rather than more traditional student internships, perhaps). Honestly, though, I worked in one of the government buildings scattered amid GWU's non-campus, and I thought it was a miserably bleak neighborhood for a university...</p>