How is the atmosphere for these US universities?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I am an international student looking to apply to some universities in the State. Any input on the weather, surrounding community and people will be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Wisconsin
Georgia Tech
UCLA
Washington
UT Austin</p>

<p>Generally, I would like to know how the weather is there (year round), how the surrounding area is (ie downtown/ university town) and social life.</p>

<p>I personally prefer cold weather to heat. I would also like a downtown, exciting campus. Taking into account the criteria above, which unis would you suggest?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I can only speak to UCLA and Georgia Tech as I haven’t been to the other schools (however, all of the UT Austin graduates I know loved the school and the surrounding area).</p>

<p>UCLA
Weather: Warm to hot year round. For instance today it’s 19 C. During the early Fall and Spring months the temperature often surpasses 30 C. </p>

<p>Surrounding area: Pretty good. Westwood has a lot to offer students but those looking to hit the bars or any of the attractions in the heart of LA should expect to take either a cab, car, or public transit. The area where UCLA is located is very hilly making biking difficult.</p>

<p>Social life: Excellent. There are always a ton of activities, parties, speakers, and various other events almost every day of the week. If you’re bored at UCLA, it’s your own fault. </p>

<p>LA’s downtown can get pretty sketchy pretty quickly (one time a homeless woman tried to get in my car when I was stopped at a light :open_mouth: ), but the area around UCLA is much much better.</p>

<hr>

<p>Georgia Tech
Weather: Can be cold at times (although I define cold as anything below 14C, so take that for what it’s worth) but warm during the early Autumn and Spring. You can always google “Weather Atlanta” to see the month by month averages for the area. </p>

<p>Surrounding Area: Has all the essential and downtown ATL is extremely close by. It’s also home to the only upscale Waffle House I’ve ever seen (if you decide to go to GTech, you’ll know what I mean) which is pretty cool. </p>

<p>Social Life: Not nearly as strong as UCLA, but there are still plenty of things to do, especially if you join a fraternity/ sorority or any of the active clubs on campus. I’ve only been to two parties at the school and both were pretty fun.</p>

<p>My concern about Georgia Tech is that it is an incredibly focused campus. Unlike the other schools on the list, fields other than science, technology, engineering, math, and business are not celebrated. Speaking as someone who likes both the humanities and science, I would not enjoy GT although if you’re exclusively focused on Tech’s strengths, it’s an excellent school. </p>

3

<p>U of Washington-Seattle;</p>

<p>Typical (excellent) state flagship in terms of general academic structure, but is certainly a powerhouse in specific STEM fields. A big, big, big university. adjacent to some very nice residential neighborhoods, although the U District itself is sort of drab, with the exception of the Arboretum and the Lake.</p>

<p>Seattle is one of America’s rainiest cities…AND WE LIKE IT THAT WAY.</p>

<p>Lots of majors and academic activities at UW so you can easily find your comfort zone.</p>

4

<p>To say Ga Tech weather is “warm” is an understatement. It is hot (often over 30 C) eight months of the year, and warm to cool the other four months with a couple of cold fronts. It is also extremely humid. That is the down side. The up side is that it is located in the heart of midtown Atlanta with many restaurants, theatres and museums in walking distance or a short trip on public transportation. Atlanta is a vibrant city. There are loads of opportunities for internships, with more fortune 500 headquarters here than most cities in the country.</p>

<p>Wisconsin is very cold, with a substantial amount of snow. Although Madison is not a large city, it is a bustling city with tons of things to do. Water surrounds the campus so it is beautiful. It is a great college town.</p>

<p>UT Austin is very hot, but everyone I know who ever lived there absolutely loved it.</p>

<p>All of those universities are great choices. </p>

5

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<p>I’d agree that UCLA’s weather is generally warm to hot, as it is in the larger LA area. It’s a bit colder than other areas in, or near, LA since the ocean breeze helps make the weather a bit cooler. But it’s still more on the hot side.</p>

<p>UCLA’s surrounding area can get a bit boring. Westwood only has so much to offer. Many students go to the different parts of the city when they want to party. To some degree, that will get a bit easier when the Expo line opens next year. (Although it will obviously be a much bigger benefit to USC students.) You can get to West Hollywood, Culver City, West LA, Brentwood, and other areas with relative ease from UCLA. They’re all reasonably close to campus, and many have direct bus stops that go to UCLA. So if you don’t love Westwood, you have plenty of options.</p>

<p>People are generally very welcoming, intelligent, and hard working. The students have very diverse interests and cultures. But naturally, people tend to bond the most with those with whom they share a language, geological region, or some other shared factor. And so, even though the campus is diverse, many students don’t really go out of their comfort zones to experience it. Imo, that’s a shame, but the diversity of the students still makes itself present in the classroom, and enhances the education of the students on campus.</p>

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<p>I would put UCLA lower on your list. I’ve heard great things UT-Austin and Wisconsin. Both seem to have great and very vibrant college towns. UT-Austin is fairly hot though, and Wisconsin is cold. Washington might also be a good fit. Seattle is an exciting and vibrant city. And while it’s probably on the colder side, it does have a reputation for raining a lot, so you’ll want to take that into consideration.</p>

6

<p><a href=“http://www.weather.com”>www.weather.com</a> will let you find out more information about weather in each of these locations.</p>

<p>If you truly like cold weather, the only one on this list worth considering is U of Wisconsin at Madison. The campus is lovely, the surrounding city is charming, and the winters are long, dark, and snow-filled. </p>

7

<p>if you like cold but still have fantasies about warmth, you might try UColorado Boulder. high desert climate. dry. blue skies 300 days a year. hiking, climbing, fishing, skiing nearby. it gets cold but doesn’t have that much snow, although there’s plenty of snow nearby and occasionally it will get a couple feet. most snow is gone within a couple days because of the warmth and aridity. Beautiful college town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Elevation 5000 feet above sea level. Lots going on. Lovely architecture. School is good in STEM. Expensive. About an hour from downtown Denver. Students like to have a good time out of doors.</p>

8

<p>Are you a Sr? If so you have missed the UC application period this year.</p>

<p>Wisconsin is one of the very quintessential college towns. Always on the ‘best of’ lists.
<a href=“http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/hot-topics/photos/editors-picks-our-top-college-towns”>http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/hot-topics/photos/editors-picks-our-top-college-towns&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is a city, but not a major metropolitan area. There is access to Chicago but that could be like a weekend trip, not a day trip, or use of the major airports (or Milwaukee.) The state capitol is also in Madison, so while the college is major there is also a very good little downtown. Large employers include Google, Microsoft, Alliant Energy, Epic, American Family Insurance and yes there are startups. I haven’t been on campus much but the Memorial Union on the lakefront is really a great spot for food, beer, ice cream made at the university from milk from their cows, music, art, events and boating.
<a href=“http://photos.uc.wisc.edu/photos/10751/view”>http://photos.uc.wisc.edu/photos/10751/view&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I have not been in winter, it gets very cold with snow for a long time, but am told they snowplow everything very efficiently, including the bike paths, which are extensive and it is very easy to get around by bike or bus. You can find good food in Madison and there is even a Laotian community with a few restuarants. Right between campus and The Capitol is State street which is walking only and no cars and that is a big undergrad hangout place. There are all kinds of cafes, music and entertainment and street fairs.</p>

<p>Seattle is great fun, more of an urban life, but it does rain a lot. It is very beautiful, the city is cool and the surrounding scenery breathtaking and right on the water. There are a lot of neighborhoods to explore in the greater metropolitan area but the campus is just a bus ride from downtown.</p>

<p>UCLA is in a nice, upscale area of LA. Exploring the greater LA area is a lot of fun if you have a car. There are already pretty good descriptions but to add: if you like being near a warm beach it is just a short bus ride away, along with the sort of touristy but very fun Santa Monica and Venice Beach.</p>

9

<p>Hey guys</p>

<p>Thanks for all the replies !</p>

<p>I was also wondering if any of any idea about the Pakistani population. Being a Pakistani myself, I think it would be really useful to know which unis have a considerable Paki population. </p>

<p>Anyways, I have also heard that the area around Georgia Tech is unsafe. Is this safe? I’m also majoring in Comp Sci. Personally dislike heat and beaches, so Wisconsin sounds appealing to me.</p>

<p>Thanks once again!</p>

10

<p><a href=“Madison Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Wisconsin, United States) - Weather Spark”>Madison Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Wisconsin, United States) - Weather Spark;
(plug in each city to get its report)</p>

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<p>Just google “Pakistani Student Association at University X” and you should find links to information about students from that country.</p>

12

<p>Any large American university, and especially those with strong Engineering departments, is likely to have a sizable South Asian population. University of Wisconsin is in a great college town, but be prepared for brutal winters there. Are we correct in understanding that by “Washington” you meant the University of Washington (state)-Seattle, not Washington University in St. Louis? UCLA has the best weather, by far. </p>

13

<p>UTA</p>

<p>Surrounding area - Austin is a vibrant city. Located in the foothills area of Texas, it’s greener, rolling and IMO, much prettier than most of Texas. There is a lot to do in Austin - great live music scene, lots of restaurants, clubs, shops, and outdoor activities. Austin has a great, quirky energy. My S is living in Austin presently with a Pakistani roommate who loves the city. Biggest downside to Austin is the traffic. </p>

<p>School - UTA is huge so you will find all types and all interests represented. Academics are strong. </p>

<p>Weather - If you dislike heat, UTA is probably not for you. It is hotter in Austin than Atlanta. </p>

14

<p>Thank you all for your answers. They were really helpful!</p>

<p>Yes, I did mean Washington State. </p>

<p>So essentially, West Coast has the best weather. Northern areas ( Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan) are generally cold and rainy. Texas is hot. Am I correct ? What about Georgia ?</p>

15

<p>^NOt quite. Half of California + Oregon and Washington State are mild and rainy; the Northern States are very cold, but bright and clear most of the Fall to Spring, hot and humid in the summer; Texas is hot and very humid except in the Winter. Georgia is hot and very humid too.</p>

16

<p>Rule out GTech and UTAustin as you have repeatedly conveyed your dislike for hot climates. Curious - where do you live in Pakistan that is providing you a cool/temperate climate?</p>

<p>As for the nearby surrounding areas of GTech being a bit iffy - one needs to be careful but nothing out of the ordinary, like any other big city campus. My younger D has just started there as a Freshman and she has not complained of it being unsafe. She takes public transport (MARTA) fairly often but is careful of the hours and the areas she walks/travels to. GTech campus is enclosed within the city unlike say Pitt (where my older D goes) or BU/MIT/Harvard (other city campuses I am very familiar with) and I have no reason to believe it is less safer than any of these.</p>

17

<p>UCLA’s nice weather is not what you’re looking for - it’s temperate year round, warmer in the summer. If you want cold and a great college town - Madison, Wisconsin is definitely your best choice. </p>

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<p>Just curious, why do you prefer cold weather?</p>

19

<p>I actually live in the UAE, and trust me, when you spend half your life in 35+ weather, you really long for a colder climate. I was always more of a sweater person and I personally dislike wearing t-shirts (just feel uncomfortable wearing them.)</p>

<p>I wouldn’t say I would like to live in an extremely cold place. Just decent and not too hot weather.</p>

<p>Also, how is the experience of going to a university where the males greatly outnumber the females (Georgia Tech) Is it difficult to make female friends ? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>