Hi I’m currently studying in Manchester in the UK but have the opportunity to do a year studying abroad in my third year. The three US univeristies I’ve narrowed it down to out those Manchester has exchange programmes with (other than Berkley which I have a very very slim chance of getting into) are the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rutgers New Brunswick and Umass Amherst. Just wandering which one out of these three anyone would recommend, my fees will be the same for each so other than cost of living the money is not an issue. Coming from Manchester which is quite a large and lively city, I am concerned at the size of these college towns and whether there is plenty of stuff to do in and around the towns.
Rutgers is in New Brunswick which is a small city…but you are right on the train line that can take you to New York City or Philadelphia in under an hour.
I’d 100% recommend UIUC over the other two. More vibrant, lively.
Have you even been to UIUC ever, Lbad96?
No, but why does that matter? I should have added “seems” into that sentence, I guess.
But really, you won’t go wrong at any of these schools.
@Crystal52 I have spent time on all three campuses and went to Rutgers a million years ago as an undergrad and have visited since. Here are my impressions:
U Mass - Amherst is a large university that is about 2 hours from Boston Logan airport. It is part of a consortium with 4 other small colleges, two of them being female only (but men can take classes there if they cross register) and all are connected by a free bus. There are two small but charming towns, Amherst and Northampton, that anchor the consortium. The campus itself is not particularly charming but the food is excellent! The surrounding area is rural and if you like outdoors recreation, there is good hiking nearby.
UIUC is about 2.5 hours from Chicago and is in the middle of miles of farmland. It is a HUGE campus and sports are big there. Lots of impressive architecture. If you want that kind of classic, Midwestern American university experience, it could be a good option. It’s a bit hard to get to if you don’t have a car and the winters are cold. It is served by a small regional airport - connecting flights from Chicago can be a bit costly. I think there may be Amtrak train service to Chicago as well. Champaign/Urbana has all the amenities a college student could want.
Rutgers is in a small city in NJ that used to be kind of downtrodden but has undergone substantial renewal. The main campus is compact and attractive. There are several nearby satellite campuses (Douglass, Livingston, etc) that are all connected by a free shuttle bus. As mentioned upthread, NY and Philadelphia are a relatively easy train ride away (but each involves a train change and total time is between 1 - 1.5 hours). If you want a more urban experience with access to major US cities, Rutgers would be worth a closer look. The campus is easily accessed via Newark International Airport (about 45 minutes away) and you can get from the airport to Rutgers via public transportation, if necessary.
Your course of study may influence your choice as state universities have academic programs that can be oversubscribed (computer science and engineering are two common examples) So make sure that you won’t have trouble registering for the courses that you need. Academics are good in all places. They are all respected flagship, R1 universities.
This is incorrect… there are direct trains from NB to NYC or Phil under an hour.
New Brunswick to NY is either NJ Transit on the Northeast Corridor Line or Amtrak via the Northeast Region Train and is 49 minutes.
New Brunswick to Philly is Amtrak and is 54 minutes.
I actually drove through Rutgers’ campus this past summer. It’s pretty ugly.
Illinois without a doubt. Rutgers and UMass are good schools but Illinois is in another class.
US News Rankings: National Universities – Public U’s
Illinois: 41 – 11
Rutgers: 72 – 28
UMass: 75 – 29
ARWU Rankings: US Ranking – World Ranking
Illinois: 23 – 30
Rutgers: 48 – 96
UMass: 62-71 – 151-200
I’m a Rutgers grad, wife is Illinois grad, my sister and BIL got their PhD’s at Illinois. IMO New Brunswick was an awful college town. I have visited Illinois and wish I could have experienced that campus and atmosphere for my college years.
Let me add another vote for Rutgers. I live nearby, and I also have visited both UIUC and Amherst.
My reasoning is that if you’re coming all the way over from the UK you’re going to want to experience a bit of traditional american college life (which all 3 schools are similar by the way). However you’re also going to want to do some exploring on your own. There is a LOT of sightseeing to do in the NY/NJ/PA metro area. As others have pointed out, there is a major train station on the RU campus that can get you to downtown NYC or Philadelphia within an hour. This will give you lots of opportunities to explore the area.
Amherst is a small charming college town, but apart from a few dozen coffee shops, restaurants, etc there really isn’t much to do. If you have access to a car, then you’ll be within a 2 hour drive of the Canadian border, and within an hour of some of the best ski resorts.
UIUC is a massive university, but located very far away from downtown chicago (2.5 hours). Urbana itself is a small town, but is dominated by the university. UIUC has almost everything you would expect from a large university. Big buildings, thousands of students, nice sports facilities. In the wintertime southern Illinois can get quite cold, so bring a comfy parka. A car would be useful, as then you could drive into Chicago for the weekend.
@sogopal2 I’m going to push back on your view. You will always have the opportunity to “explore” and travel to NYC, Philly etc. However, you will not have many opportunities to be a student and immerse yourself in campus life as a student. I think University of Illinois offers a much more vibrant and quinessential American college experience than the other two schools, with a nicer traditional campus as well.
Like Rutgers, UIUC is also serviced by Amtrak and you can get to Chicago in about 2 hours for around $15 dollars. There are also daily charter buses that run back and forth from Chicago to Champaign.
Illinois is also more highly regarded internationally (see world rankings), not to say Rutgers or Umass are bad schools.
The student already has a university that they are coming from - being “immersed in student life” doesn’t seem to be the main goal here, though the OP should correct me if I’m wrong.
This points to @sgopal2 's view a lot more than yours.
NYC and Philly (and even DC if 2 hours counts as reachable) are 3 cities with a lot of various things to do from history to city life. As a visiting student, I think it offers a lot more of a cultural life surrounding. UIUC is much more of an oasis. Not to mention that 2 hours of travel, while not impossible, is a very limiting factor. That’s 4 hours of total travel, meaning that you need to set aside a full day to visit really. It’s not the same as under an hour travel to NYC.
Coming from England, or anywhere in Europe, that’s an entire flight across an ocean. Not quite so accessible. That’s like saying instead of studying abroad near Paris or London, you should go to a more remote area because it has a better European college experience. If you’re going to cross an ocean, you’re going to want to go to the best places as a tourist, because let’s be honest - that’s part of the point of study abroad.
As someone who values city life a lot, college towns are not equivalent in my opinion. It really depends on what the main goal/concern is here, which seems to be again closer to the argument for Rutgers in terms of location and experience.
But UIUC is certainly the best of the three academically.
Also keep in mind that it will be expensive to travel back and forth from NYC to New Brunswick regularly. I’d be suprised if you had time to spend significant amount of time in NYC during the semester. If you want to experience life in a certain American city, why not just apply to a school located in that actual city.
^exactly. The proximity to NYC factor is beyond overrated. You won’t have time to be there nearly as often as you want, and it’s super expensive.
OP expressed a concern for plenty to do in and around the town. Rutgers has the clear edge there with respect to its proximity to three major US cities.
If I were OP I would want to know the relative strengths of the various programs of study. What subject is OP reading, and how strong are the various schools under consideration? This would be an important concern of mine. Both Rutgers and UIUC are strong in particular fields. I would look to USNEWS grad department ranks to get some general idea of the relative strengths of the subject are of study (use only as a general guide as these ratings are subject to important reservations). For example, Rutgers is top 7 in Criminology, UIUC is not. UIUC is top 7 in engineering, Rutgers is not.
Good luck. All good schools…
But, Rutgers is also in a nasty, gritty, crime-ridden, ugly area that is filled with student-on-student crime.
^ I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder. I lived there for four years in the 1980s, when New Brunswick was admittedly run down. It did not feel particularly unsafe, on campus or off, but then again, I didn’t wander around the low income housing projects, which I didn’t see upon my last visit a year or two ago. It has gentrified considerably in the past 30 years.
As for commuting into the city, my apologies for providing outdated information. Back in the day, NJ Transit was significantly cheaper than Amtrak, albeit slower and with a train change in Newark, so that’s what my student budget could afford and that is what I remembered. For the OP, the least expensive round trip train fare into NYC will run between $25-30 depending on whether you choose Amtrak, NJ Transit, or NJ Transit/PATH.
@prof99 has provided good advice regarding departmental academic strengths as has @Wien2NC regarding the overall rankings. Much to think about beyond whether or not you prefer a rural or urban environment.