dan woodlief

Everyone is biased on this one, as am I. My two alma maters have already been mentioned - UNC-Chapel Hill and Madison, WI. I lived in Madison for 7 1/2 years and have lived in the Chapel Hill area for about 8. UNC's campus is the most beautiful I have ever seen, sports are huge, there is a lot to do, since it is also near Durham and Raleigh, and not far from the beach and mountains. Actually, a lot of Duke students come to Chapel Hill to have fun. Madison is my favorite small city. The campus is huge, students have tons to do around campus. The Student Union is on a lake and is very nice. The university gets quite a few foreign students, so there is a good variety. Football games are fantastic, and the crowd is rowdy. Madison is somewhat more isolated than Chapel Hill, but Milwaukee is a couple of hours away and Chicago not much farther. There are great study abroad programs. Of course, weather is a major difference. I loved the summers in Madison, and the fall wasn't too bad. The start of the spring semester often brought with it some very harsh weather - lots of snow and wind chills of -10 to -50. In Chapel Hill, the falls and springs are extremely pleasant, the winters are mild but can be wet, and the summer is hot and humid. Both universities have very highly ranked programs in undergraduate business (I think Wisconsin is around the top ten now). UNC's graduate program is more highly ranked. Both also have very new business school buildings with superb facilities.

As mentioned, Boston is also a great college town/city.

Chicago, perhaps, is another option. Northwestern and U. of Chicago are great colleges, and Northwestern is particularly good at certain business areas (e.g., marketing).

Diane

Sort of depends on your definition of "great" but here goes:

Chapel Hill, NC (Halloween night is a huge street party with students from UNC, Duke, NCSU, Greensboro,etc....)

Charlottesville, VA (UVA)

Miami, Ohio (Miami University)

Davidson, NC (Davidson College)

Carlisle, PA (Dickinson College)

Caitlin

Surprising that no one ha mentioned Berkeley (or anywhere else in CA). UC Berkeley is a very big school, but undeniably one of the top couple of public univeresities in the country. I grew up there, and the lingering image of Berkeley as a hippie haven is not accurate. It is undeniably a liberal place, but not a crazy place. Also not a college "town," in the sense that it is in the middle of a large metropolitan area. But that is an attraction; there is all of the San Francisco Bay Area, plus the South Bay-Silicon Valley right there, with all its art and culture, as well as its diversity and professional opportunities, both of which seem to multiply daily.

Amy

As an alum I have to throw in my vote for Evanston, Illinois home of Northwestern. My freshman and sophomore year dorms had views of beautiful Lake Michigan, great jogging and bike paths all over campus, tons of restaurant options in town, and only a short El ride away from Chicago. Okay, so our football team has been a little sketchy since the days of the Rose Bowl but the games are still a blast and the stadium is beautiful. The only downside is it is a little tough to go to classes in the Spring and look out the window to watch people sailing and windsurfing on the lake.

Pat

State College, PA- as mentioned, home of Penn State. Also my hometown, as well as my alma mater (and that of my parents, uncle, brother, sister, brother-in-law, two cousins and both their spouses). Beautiful campus, plenty to do, and excellent college of business (both my sister and I are graduates- she in Accounting and I in Finance). Plus, although it's well known for football there are plenty of other sports too. (2000 NCAA Women's volleyball champs - I believe the first team west of the Mississippi ever to win!) You have the rest of your life to live in a city, enjoy a college town while you can!

Pat

OOPs (no, really, I did graduate) make that East of the Mississippi!

gail

UC Davis California.

Chuck

Have to respectfully disagree with Kim, Ohio State in Columbus is a great university and a great town. The campus is nice, great stadium, world class school and sports, wonderful city with German Village, Short North Gallery Hops, North Market, Brewery District, Easton Town Center, world class zoo, Center of Science and Industry (COSI) that just openned in their brand new digs, Victorian Village, great metroparks, and a new NHL arena and revitalized arena district. Obviously Kim doesn't get out much.

Another vote goes to Ohio University in Athens. Nestled in the beautiful Hocking Hills, southeast corner of the state. Beautiful campus!

elaine

Villanova University, located in Philadelphia's Main Line area is a great school and campus...as well as Haverford College, Bryn Mawr, St. Joseph's University, La Salle University, Univ. of PA and Temple University. Philadelphia (and the near suburbs) a great college 'town'...also close to Amtrak as well as airport (which should be taken into consideration!).

Swatsalum

OH NO! How could you list all those great Philly schools and forget SWARTHMORE! "Kill, Quakers, kill!" The campus is a national aboretum, but I didn't propose the town of Swarthmore as a great college town, 'cause it isn't much of a town at all. But Phila. is a great city (see other threads on that).

Niklemom

Debbie -- how 'bout chiming in and telling us what you and your son are thinking about all this?

Cal

California has far too many college towns to list them all. The following are a few of my favorites.

San Luis Obispo = Cal Poly ( CSU )

Santa Cruz = University of California

Santa Varbara = University of California

Davis = University of California

2drunk

Hic....Debbie...hic...
Chico (hic) St. College in..hic...in
Chico, California...ZZZZzzzzzZZZ..ooohh.

Go Wild..hic...cats!

Debbie

Boy,what a great thread going if I do say so myself!!!!!!!!You all have some wonderful suggestions for us.I quess that I should clarify a few things............my son is looking for a college that is considered"well thought of"(although he is not the Ivy League type") but a school that offers great academia,sports and an area to live that isn't totally dependent on the college to survive(ie.real people,restarants,etc.)He probably wants the school to be bigger than his high school(2100 students).He hasn't really specified whether he wants an urban or rural environment so I cannot really answer that. Safety would be a major issue for my husband and I. Keep your helpful tips coming! Thanks,Debbie

Annie

I have to cast another vote for Washington, D.C. As a George Washington alum, I'm biased, but who cares? D.C. is such a great place to go to college because of all of the great opportunties the city provides. I also took note of the vast number of students from other college who came to D.C. for interships and summer jobs--we had those year-round for four years. And the majority of my professors (journalism) worked for some of the best publications in the world--the Washington Post, National Geographic, etc. Not USED to work for the pubs, but currently work there. Also, D.C. offers so much variety when it comes to colleges. GW is an urban campus, with great international affairs/business, political and engineering programs; Georgetown, although it's in the city, is more of a leafy, pretty place, with excellent liberal arts and a great foreign service school; American is a mix of urban and leafy and has an excellent communications school; don't know too much about Catholic, other than it's in a bad neighborhood!; Howard is an excellent all-round school, although also in a bad neighborhood; George Mason is mainly a commuter school and doesn't have as good a reputation as the rest, but does have a good accounting program; and the University of Maryland is a suburban campus with a much greater emphasis on sports than the rest of the schools.

Gretchen

My son just transferred to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and loves it there. He grew up in the Chicago area and then a suburb of Philadelphia. He knew that he wanted to go south, go to a large university, and find one strong in biology.

Cal

Debbie:

Any of the ones that I listed in California would be suitable. However the one that is best for everything that your son is looking for is Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly is very highly rated for academics and also has a very strong sports program. San Luis Obispo is a small city ( though not tiny ) that is very safe and offers a lot of outdooor activities.

All of the others that I listed are strong in academics but not too strong in sports. All of the areas are great for living.

Cal Poly is part of the California State University system. Your son will have to pay out of state tuition for the first year. However if he gets a Calfiornia drivers license, etc. he will be able to claim residency after one year. The tuition for a resident of California is very reasonable.

2 cents

A well-kept secret: Univ. of Rochester. It's a good size but private school (not state system), with excellent academics and all the benefits of both small and large school. Rochester NY is a lovely city with many do-able things, good restaurants, and very close to Buffalo/Niagara Falls and Toronto -- my favorite city. I think it meets all of the criteria you mention very well.

Flo

If your son wants a REAL education in a delightful setting, I would suggest Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. It is a small liberal arts school where one receives preparation for real life, not a vocational training school.

George

Debbie-As you can see there are many wonderful colleges in this great nation of ours. I think your criteria should be, how much does it cost, ratio of teachers per students, campus crime rates, transportation to campus, resident life, intramurals, sports and recreation. Lastly, over 1/2 of college freshman flunk out their first year. I would suggest finding a school that is willing to work with your child, supply tutors and find out what schools policies are on academic probation. I would suggest throroughly researching campuses before you visit and take a list of questions you want to ask on campus visits. Also, visiting during the week if possible will give you a better flavor for the campus. Another thought is how far spread out the campus is, some large schools have bus service available to transport students or is everything within walking distance. Do your homework first and you will be better able to make an informed decision.