Urban campus vs. Suburban campus???

Question

I'm in high school and this summer, I'm going to be visiting some college campuses. I want to choose the best school to go to and, by living in Pennsylvania, there are a few that I really like. But I was wondering which is a better choice, a suburban or urban college campus?

Someone told me that a suburban campus is great because it's more secluded and quiet and more laid back. But then you're also kind of out of the way from the city.

Another person told me that an urban campus is nice because everything is right there and you don't need a car. But then you don't have a car and it's more hustle-and-bustle.

If anyone has any experience in this, please help me out!!!

Answer 1

Class of 2010

I would first decided your main universities, but if your going to decide base off the environment I would probably go with a college town.

Example: East Lansing, Michigan

College towns are still suburban although it has a campus and a downtown night life. You will be able to find many of your resources near by.

Michigan State University is suburban/ urban environment and it has one of the largest campuses, a good football team, and still maintain the college environment.

Answer 2

A suburban campus could be 100 miles away and that is not too much.  If you are not a party person I don't think any distance should matter

Answer 3

Sort of depends on the campus.  There are campuses smack down in the middle of a big city and aren't too much different and are a virtual small city within a city so it can be peaceful and quiet with greenery.  Then you have true urban campuses where they don't even have a real campus, just a building headquarters and classrooms scattered across different other buildings. I don't really like those.

Answer 4

It really depends on you. Personally, I would prefer an urban campus. You can try for schools right outside of cities, like American U in DC, it has a campus and is beautiful and is a short subway ride from the city, or Wagner outside of NYC. But it really depends on the person. Take note though, that urban campuses don't have as big of a Greek Life presence nor do they usually have a big sports presence, especially with football.

Answer 5

Personally, I really like suburban campuses. Urban areas are much more expensive. In suburban areas, you have the traditional college campus (big green, nicer buildings, usually much prettier), and you have more of a sense of community because the dorms aren't spread out across a couple blocks (or more) like they are in a city. Also, many suburban campuses are VERY close to cities, such as Tufts, where you can take a train right in to Boston. You might have a long walk to classes from your dorm on urban campuses, whereas suburban campuses usually have everything closer together. They are also often within walking distance to town (like Bryn Mawr, Smith, Amherst, and Pomona), so everything is still right there.