<p>Bear in mind that the OP is also looking at schools near cities, and not only in them. Northfield (Carleton) isn’t too much to speak of, but as I recall, it’s hardly an hour out of the Twin Cities. When I visited the school, I didn’t get the impression that the relatively close proximity was very important to students (actually kind of a turn-off for me), though I could easily have been incorrect.</p>
<p>It’s also unclear whether the nearness to a city has more to do with urban “feel” of campus or with the likelihood of having dance/cultural offerings nearby. I’m from the Sacramento area, for example, which a lot of Californians tend to scoff at (proper population around 400k, metro area is around 2million). The city comes nowhere near to the urban “feel” of San Francisco or LA, but the art and cultural opportunities are excellent, nonetheless.</p>