<p>speedemon608 I agree boring is in your mind.</p>
<p>Yeah, the sense of community and people living and socializing on campus is a big plus of non-urban LAC settings. You will probably be busy enough with studying that you won’t feel too idle.</p>
<p>I go to Wesleyan. Middletown is perfectly adequate. If you’re going to be in a college environment, most of your time is going to spent on campus doing college-related things. I was picking between Wesleyan and NYU. NYU is basically living in NYC and taking classes. I could live in NYC at any point in my life, but you only have one chance to be immersed in a college atmosphere. </p>
<p>I’m not really sure what people at urban but enclosed universities (like Columbia or Yale) would do off campus anyway besides frequent the local coffee shops, restaurants, movie theaters, and bars (all of which Middletown has). Do they go to the opera or the symphony orchestra for entertainment?</p>
<p>I’m just saying, if your life primarily revolves around being in school (as it undoubtedly will), how important is it, really, to be surrounded by skyscrapers?</p>
<p>xmatt: “I could live in NYC at any point in my life, but you only have one chance to be immersed in a college atmosphere.”</p>
<p>This sums it up perfectly. Depending on what type of job you want to get, chances are good that you will end up in a city after you graduate whether you want to be there or not. College provides an opportunity to live in a unique type of community, and you will not get this opportunity ever again.</p>
<p>Exactly, to this entire thread of responses.</p>
<p>I actually see myself at a liberal arts college being busier than I’ve ever been in my life. Even if there are fewer events/people/things at LACs than larger schools, it’s not that simple. The difference is access. Nothing but your own schedule is going to stop you from participating in anything inside a tight-knit LAC community. At a larger school, you just might hear something along the lines of “sign the list on the wall…no openings…will be in contact.”</p>
<p>^^^
Agreed</p>
<p>I 100% agree. I transferred from Columbia to Dartmouth and saw my social/ life options open up considerably in the LAC environment. Best move I have ever made.</p>
<p>Liberal Arts colleges are not boring; more like they’re just so small compared to big national research universities. The social depends upon which SLAC you’re talking about and of course the individual. Lots of SLACs have about 100+ extra/cocurricular activities which can be limiting if you compared it to say the amount of activities one can pursue at NYU. Also what you make of it determines how fun or boring it could be. The location can be a problem for lots of SLACs as they tend to be in rural areas and the local town blows. If you don’t have a car it can make getting out of the campus whenever you want a bit tough. However, like others have mentioned before, most of the fun people find and make within the campus and not outside. It can get a bit dull seeing the same faces over and over, but then again you asked for the small community college experience so deal with it. Also at SLACs you will find a lot of preppy kids with lots of money, subtle racism, smart professors who know your name and care more about your learning rather than their research, and a small minority population. If you like everyone knowing your business, SLACs might be your thing, if not, do yourself a favor and reconsider going to one. I’m not saying you can’t keep your business to yourself in a SLAC, but that it can be a bit tough seeing that almost everyone will know or have seen you around campus. They will inquire into your life whether you like it or not. This can easily be avoided at big universities where you will rarely see the same people over and over. Just my two cents, take it or leave it.</p>