<p>I am looking at UPenn, JHU, CMU and Illinois Inst. of Tec. (IIT)</p>
<p>How are the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Chicago?</p>
<p>All of the cities listed below have really touristry areas but then some really terrible crime haven areas</p>
<p>My order of preference:
- Chicago… gorgeous, gorgeous city. Much of the most recent Batman movie was filmed there. There is some remarkable architecture and the color of the water (it’s a lake, not the Hudson) seems to make the whole city more attractive in addition to the great parks. There is so much to do in Chicago culturally, etc. The weather is pretty harsh, though. Public transportation (CTA) is perfectly sufficient.
- Philadelphia offers the same expansive opportunities, but more so than Chicago for a history lover (Chicago burned down in a fire in 1871 and only the Water Tower still stands from before the fire… hence it is called “Second City,” whereas Phila still holds the history of our founding fathers). It’s a bit less attractive than Chicago imo. SEPTA (public transit) is great.
- Baltimore isn’t a large city in my eyes the way Chicago/Philly/NY/Boston are… it’s kind of a baby city that’s very easy to navigate, but far less exciting. Idk what it really has to offer. Students at JHU told me that they didn’t really go into the city much until junior/senior year.
- Pittsburgh… never been, but apparently it’s gross? I’ll let someone else fill you in.</p>
<p>Basically, while Philadelphia and Baltimore have the east coast advantage, Chicago and Philadelphia are the best for an urban college experience imo. But that’s just how I feel. You don’t need NYC as a student… pretty much any city on your list will probably give you what you are looking for as a student. </p>
<p>Also, all of them have high crime areas and touristy areas. Almost any city will have those. But they all have interesting neighborhoods to explore, job opportunities etc.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh is actually an amazing city, a lot of the factories that used to be there are leaving and the city is creating more green spaces and is cleaning up the air. In my opinion, definitely better than Baltimore, tied with Philadelphia and Chicago</p>
<p>Yeah Pittsburgh is truly beautiful. Personally…
- Pittsburgh/Chicago
- Philadelphia
- Baltimore</p>
<p>Lol, oops. My parents didn’t let me even look at CMU because they think that Pittsburgh is a gross mining town.</p>
<p>yeah that’s a common stereotype, until more people start visiting that city and discovering it for themselves, they’re missing out on a hidden gem</p>
<p>baltimore is truly a very nice city. There are bad parts, true, but that can be said for Philly and Chicago as well. The city is one of neighborhoods and eclectic personalities from hampden to mt. Vernon, to Inner Harbor, and beyond. People who disparage it usually haven’t taken the time out to really explore baltimore, and that’s quite a shame. </p>
<p>I simply adore eating fresh crab on a balcony overlooking inner harbor with jazz music playing in the background. It’s a great setting for a date, and one that I take advantage of a lot in baltimore ;)</p>
<p>Really, these cities all have their own charms. There is no “best” city amongst these four. It might’ve been Chicago, but IIT is located in possibly one of the worst locations in Chicago imagineable. (I have been on campus…)</p>
<p>Personally I’d do…</p>
<p>1) Chicago
2) Philly
3) Pittsburgh
4) Baltimore</p>
<p>^^Well I know none is really a best city- I realize that no matter where I go, there will be crime.</p>
<p>From what I understand tho, Manhattan and Pittsburgh have cleaned up a bit.</p>
<p>Couple things,</p>
<p>Where is IIT located in Chicago, and is UPenns location a nicer part of Philly?</p>
<p>UPenn is in a awful part of Philly
IIT is near the Chinatown district on the South Side, if you know anything about Chicago, you know how bad the south side is
Carnegie Mellon is in Oakland, one of the nicest parts of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, JHU is in the nicest neighborhood in Baltimore. Charles Village was rated a top 10 village in the Nation last year :)</p>
<p>if you’re looking at those schools, add rice to the list! houston!</p>
<p>Colleges Located In Great Locations In Cities:</p>
<p>DePaul University
New York University
The George Washington University
Barnard College
American University
Columbia University
Eugene Lang College - The New School For Liberal Arts
University Of San Francisco
The University Of Texas At Austin
Georgetown University
Northeastern University
McGill University
Tulane University
Emerson College
College Of Charleston
University Of Colorado - Boulder
Suffolk University
Boston College
Stevens Institute Of Technology
Boston University</p>
<p>Don’t know a thing about IIT and its location in Chicago. As for the other three, as long as you’re careful you’ll be fine. I too have to echo sentiments about Pittsburgh. I spent 4 yrs at Penn, son went to CMU, and I live near Philly. I much prefer Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Much prettier (though old), friendly people, still charming in its way, and love Oakland, where CMU and UPitt both lie. Philly’s got its nice spots (West Philly around Penn is cool but still edgy, olde city and society hill are nice) but much of the rest, and it’s huge, is just plain, well, gross.</p>
<p>Im thinking about taking IIT off my list- it is the farthest from my home, and I do know the south side, its can be rough. Im thinking of switching it with U Pitts.</p>
<p>The University Of Pittsburgh is an excellent choice, the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood is great, there are tons of stuff to do in Pittsburgh (PittArts, a discounted arts/culture program, heavily discounted hockey/baseball games) and you can do all this stuff with free public transportation</p>
<p>Just as a lot of people mistakenly cast off Baltimore, a lot of people seem to decide that University City is gross without having ever been. University City is where UPenn and Drexel (and I think University of the Sciences) are… literally next to 30th street station so it’s so easy to get to and from the train, because you can just walk. Drexel is pretty ugly but “University Square” is awesome. Pretty much every single one of my favorite stores and restaurants is in the direct outskirts of Penn’s campus. Penn is surrounded by retailers (and random food carts) that are targeting students. It might be distracting but it’s not unappealing if you are looking for city anyway. Also, it’s “about ten minutes” from center city which is very accessible.</p>
<p>I’ll add that “west Philly” can get dangerous… you just have to know where to avoid. No area tangent to Penn itself is notably unsafe because of the whole “University City” branding/development.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6TNBAYePg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2Fvideosearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26q%3Duniversity%2520city%2520phila%26oe%3DUTF-8%26um%3D1%26i&feature=player_embedded]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6TNBAYePg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2Fvideosearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26q%3Duniversity%2520city%2520phila%26oe%3DUTF-8%26um%3D1%26i&feature=player_embedded]YouTube</a> - University City, Philadelphia 2009<a href=“Annoyingly%20kitschy%20video%20but%20it%20has%20some%20clear%20shots%20of%20Penn%20and%20the%20surrounding%20neighborhood.”>/url</a></p>
<p>Oh and my friend is going to Pitt… awesome school. I’ve heard that it’s more integrated into the actual city of Pittsburgh (like, it has less of a traditional campus).</p>
<p>Ok, well it looks like IIT is off the list! ( I dont think I could deal with Chicago winters…)</p>
<p>Can you guys review my list, or should I post in a separate thread?</p>