So one of the appealing aspects of Ohio University is its extremely “walkable” campus.
My definition of a walkable campus is that just about everything is within one mile - classrooms, dorms, athletic center, “the restaurants” , main strip, most local jobs, etc.
I guess Princeton would fall into this category somewhat as well (the athletic center/football stadium are juuust within walking distance.)
As so many of our friends on here are making some pretty difficult four-year decisions right now, what are some of the most “walkable” campuses in your experience, where your DC doesn’t ever need a car?
One of my kids went to Boston University…the city is your campus, and you can either walk or use the excellent public transportation.
Second kid went to Santa Clara University. Bus and train stops right in front of the campus main entrance. The campus itself is very compact and walkable.
Neither ever had a car in undergrad school.
ETA…I graduated from Ohio University and agree, it’s a very walkable campus and town.
Fordham Rose Hill is extremely walkable with the bonus of having Arthur Avenue, The Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo right down the street and Manhattan a short train, subway, or van ride away.
I kinda feel like there is more a less a massive tie in this category that includes many (obviously not all) US colleges, because college campuses themselves are often organized on strong walkability principles, and then the surrounding areas are often developed to leverage the presence of the college. Hence the “college town” as a development form.
What is at least a little more unusual is a walkable location in a major metro area. Obviously you cannot typically walk to every amenity in a major metro area, but if the campus is well-plugged into the public transit system (or these days cheap ride-shares), you don’t specifically need a car (or friend with a car) to make use of those amenities.
But even with that restriction, that still includes a lot of colleges.
So as not to be completely useless, I will say the college that immediately popped into my mind was Macalester. Macalester has a VERY compact campus, and then it is in a lovely walkable neighborhood, and that in turn is a quick trip to either downtown Minneapolis or downtown St Paul. Very cool.
I’d also give a shout out to Pitt. Again, not necessarily uniquely so as compared to colleges in general, but not many other flagship-level public research universities have such a central, walkable location in a major(ish) city.
As a final thought, this is often a strength of Jesuit (and sometimes other Catholic) universities. Many have walkable campuses in central locations in major cities.
If this is being brought into the discussion then a major shout-out to NYU is needed here (though of course, it isn’t a “campus”). There is a huge amount for students to do within Greenwich Village itself, with streets like McDougall and St Marks Place extremely popular for restaurants etc, and good public transportation to elsewhere in the city. Along with free museum entry, it’s a great combination.
Fordham LC would fall into a similar bucket. Lots to do in the immediate area and good transit to elsewhere.
Most of the small LACs we visited fall into this category.
Amherst, Smith, Wesleyan, Skidmore, Haverford, Swarthmore, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Hobart & William Smith, and Washington & Lee were all easily walkable.
Yale, Princeton, and Cornell were too if you’re looking at ivies, but the latter two definitely have a lot of walking needed.
Any of the NYC schools (NYU, Columbia, Barnard, Julliard, Pace, New School, etc.); University of Delaware, Pitt, Stevens Institute of Technology, George Washington, Georgetown, Drexel, U Penn to name a few.
I second Georgetown. Extremely walkable campus, and the town outside of campus is easily accessible too. DC is a senior. I don’t know of any students who have had or needed a car.
, main strip, most local jobs, etc.