<p>I made a primary list, but I haven’t seen most of these schools, which of them don’t have a distinct campus? just so I can cross those off the list. Thanks</p>
<ol>
<li> Amherst</li>
<li> Berkeley</li>
<li> Bucknell</li>
<li> Carleton college</li>
<li> Cornell</li>
<li> Duke</li>
<li> Emory</li>
<li> Georgetown</li>
<li> Georgia institute of technology</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Northwestern</li>
<li>Pomona</li>
<li>Rice</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Swarthmore</li>
<li>Tufts</li>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>University of Michigan</li>
<li>University of Texas-Austin</li>
<li>UVA</li>
<li>Vanderbilt</li>
<li>Vassar College</li>
<li>Washington University in Saint Louis</li>
<li>Williams</li>
</ol>
<p>Your concern really only comes up with regard to urban campuses, but I suggest you go to each college’s website and look at the campus map and, if available, the virtual tour. You’ll get an adequate idea from these.</p>
<p>Premed, what do you mean by “don’t have a distinct campus”? Do you mean a place that has a lot of buildings interspersed with non-college buildings (like George Washington Univ. in D.C), or that has a lot of traffic running through it but otherwise is distinguishable from non-college entities (like, say, Penn), or what? I can’t see how some of the schools could be an issue by any stretch. I live in Berkeley and have to drive around it’s decidedly distinct and self-contained campus every day. </p>
<p>And why would you flat out cross a school off your list just because it’s campus isn’t “distinct”? Swarthmore flows nicely into the surrounding neighborhoods and isn’t fenced in, but those neighborhoods are so sparsely populated that I can’t see it’s failure to be distinct to be a negative. On the other hand, Johns Hopkins makes it very clear when you’re leaving campus, but Baltimore pretty much crowds in on you on all sides.</p>
<p>I love when people are trying to reduce the size of their list and they receive suggestions of schools to add. Perhaps the OP wants a traditional campus bubble, nothing wrong with that. I think it’s as reasonable a way as any to cut down the OP’s very long list. </p>
<p>OP: MIT does not have a traditional campus. Stanford certainly does, UCLA does, Johns Hopkins does, Northwestern does although there are a few busy roads running through it. I have not been to the rest of your list.</p>
<p>All the schools on your list that I have seen have a “distinct campus” … Amberst, Cornell, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, MIT, Bucknell, Stanford, Swarthmore, Tufts, Chicagao, Vasser, Williams, and Vanderbilt. UCLA, and Michigan. MIT is a bit of an outlier as it has a very defined campus but I would describe it as far from a classic campus … not a lot of places where you walk out of class onto the squad and sit under a tree and read a book and watch an ultimate frisbee game … there is a lot of green space but it tends to be on the edges of campus as opposed to the middle (it is a somewhat cramped urban campus). UCLA and Michigan stand out among the schools I’ve seen also … they definitely have wonderful campuses; they are just huge … especially compared to Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Berkeley has a very distinct campus. It’s sprawled out some into the town, but the core and east side into the hills is a classic university layout.</p>
<p>I want a college that is a distinct part of the area, not where there are buildings scattered all around. Kind of a gated area where you can have the traditional college experience. Not schools like NYU or University of Charleston.</p>
<p>Beyond a distinct campus, what else are you looking for? Lots of school spirit, great advising, intimate classroom environment, lots of alumni “love” and connection to the school? Does it need to be near a city, or is a vibrant campus community enough? You have a big list, some other factors might help narrow down the list. When a list has Williams College and UT-Austin on the same list, it might help to understand your critieria.</p>
That’s a little misleading. Duke’s campus is completely contiguous, and you’re aware at all times that you’re on campus. The reason it appears to have two campuses is that the area between West and East campus (Central campus) mainly consists of housing, the gardens, and things like the Nasher art museum and the Freeman center for Jewish life rather than academic buildings. I think it also seems a little more separated than it is because West and East are laid out on quads, whereas Central sort of sprawls every which way. This is very different from, say, Hopkins, where the hospital and medical school are on a completely separate campus across town. That said, it is true that Duke has a separate distinct campus (the marine lab in Beaufort).</p>
<p>I don’t know why the buses freak people out so much. Walking to East to West is easily doable in about 15-20 minutes. People jog it all the time.</p>
<p>Yeah, cross-campus shuttles don’t mean everything’s disconnected. IU has a great, frequent shuttle bus system that loops around and through campus - sure, you can walk it, but if you’ve got to get from the Indiana Memorial Union to Union Street Center in 10 minutes, the buses sure make it easier.</p>
<p>Michigan has a distinc campus, but it is neither gated, nor is is contiguous. In fact, Michigan’s campus is very much part of the city of Ann Arbor. Often, only small one-lane streets separate the campus from the city.</p>
<p>Michigan’s campus is divided into three parts:</p>
<p>North Campus
-College of Engineering
-School of Music
-School of Art and Design
-College of Architecture
-Dorms</p>
<p>Central campus
-College of Literature, Science and the Arts
-Medical school and hospitals
-Law Quad
-Ross (Business school)
-School of Public Pilicy
-School of Education
-Most libraries
-Administrative buildings
-Michigan Unions
-Observatory
-Dorms</p>
<p>I will only comment on the schools you choose that I know.</p>
<p>Cornell is located in a beautiful upstate NY town. Its campus has bridges crossing over gorges and has a incredible finger lake view. Its campus includes Plantations, a large outdoor museum of nature.</p>
<p>It has some great restaurants on campus (hotel school).</p>
<p>Ithaca is also a beautiful, vibrant small city with some great restaurants. It is in the northeast, so it has many cold, overcast days in the winter.</p>
<p>Bucknell has a beautiful campus. When you arrive, you think “I’m at college.” </p>
<p>It is located next to the Susquehanna River. </p>
<p>It is also located in a small quaint town with some great restaurants. Shopping (a mall, Target, Kohls is a short 12- 15 minute drive away. Walmart in town) is nearby.</p>
<p>Both of these schools have great reputations academically. Both have a strong greek system. Neither of my D’s (one attended Cornell and one is attending Bucknell) joined a sonority. They each had/have tons of activities and friends with out being a member of the greeks.</p>