<p>Having come from one myself, I fail to understand the allure. Most graduates of elite colleges are going to live in a big city for the rest of their lives. Why not take the opportunity to spend some time in the midst of nature while you’re still in college?
Being a 19 year old in an expensive city like New York can be very overwhelming financially and emotionally (not to mention the sheer magnitude of distractions you will likely encounter).</p>
<p>“Nature” is not what surrounds a lot of non-urban campuses. Cornfields are not nature. Neither are suburban subdivisions.</p>
<p>Because bigger cities offer a lot more in the way of culture and experience. College is a time for most people to expand their interests and really figure out who they are, and the cultural experiences of a larger city are very conducive to this. </p>
<p>As the poster above said, most schools outside of big cities aren’t really surrounded by “nature.” My school is in the country, located centrally between a few semi-large small towns, and it’s surrounded by cornfields on 3 sides.</p>
<p>Coming from a big city, you have a very different perspective on it than a lot of people. You grew up in a big city, so the allure of a heavy urban environment is just the normal course of things to you. Most people aren’t coming from a big city though, and to them the “big city” offers a huge playground of intellectual and cultural growth.</p>
<p>I’m from the world’s most boring suburban “city”–ok, we have the beach, and Miami and Fort Lauderdale are nearby, but it’s still terrible. I can’t go anywhere on my own without a car, leaving me completely dependent on my mom (or my area’s terrible public transportation system) to do anything. Walking? Please, the only thing I can walk to are more houses. There’s a state university about a 45-minute walk from where I live, but there’s nothing to do there. My city’s downtown is a joke; it’s a bunch of tacky condos with horribly overpriced restaurants and stores.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m desperate to go to college in a big city. I want to get away from the suburbs and go somewhere where I can take a nice walk and actually see something other than gated communities, and I want all the opportunities cities have–culture, the arts, the chance to experience new things, access to interesting internships.</p>
<p>For a lot of kids (like myself) who have lived in the suburbs all their lives, you just really want to escape it all and get some excitement. Choosing a college in the city doesn’t mean you’re shunning nature either. You just want the benefits of a fast-paced life with all the offerings of a city.</p>
<p>People who’ve grown up in a rural or suburban area want to experience the big city. People who’ve grown up in the city can’t wait to get away from it. It’s the same thing everywhere: no matter where people live, they think their hometown is lame and that someplace else must be better.</p>
<p>It all depends on the student. Some want to go to school in NYC because of all the opportunities, some want to go work the land at Deep Springs, some want to be in the middle of nothing, and some want to be near a lake in the middle of the mountains. It all depends on what the student likes, wants, needs, etc.</p>
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<p>And some just want to get an education in their major without taking on too much debt.</p>
<p>I’ve grown up in a kind’ve suburb/kind’ve city (less than 4 miles to the city) and my school is even closer to the city.Jea828 I have to say that doesn’t always apply. I LOVE LOVE my city (of 4 million including metropolitan areas) and I am also intent on going to college in a big city. A lot of people are just city people not to mention the cultural thing, which as an international student going to america is very important. Suburban or small town America I think would just be too much for me</p>
<p>Big city has more opportunities. If you dont like NYC check out Philly or Boston</p>
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<p>from Monk, Season 3, Episode 16, “Mr. Monk and the Kid”</p>
<p>[Monk</a> - Season 3, Episode 16: Mr. Monk and the Kid - TV.com](<a href=“http://www.tv.com/shows/monk/mr-monk-and-the-kid-374304/]Monk”>http://www.tv.com/shows/monk/mr-monk-and-the-kid-374304/)</p>
<p>There’s a reason why rural schools often have much higher drinking rates than their urban or suburban counterparts (look at Oxford College of Emory University versus Emory’s main campus). The reality is, students often want to leave the campus bubble which is much harder to do at a rural school than an urban one. Also urban schools typically offer more off campus employment opportunities and may be more diverse than their rural counterparts.</p>
<p>Also, and this is coming from an environmental studies major. Nature gets real old, real fast. Sure a days hike may be exciting, but living around nothing but trees can get boring after a while.</p>
<p>I like college towns and would never want to go to college in a big city. My son grew up in lovely suburbs surrounded by nature and wants a change of pace for college.</p>
<p>College is a perfect time to live in a big city. Housing is provided, you are young and unencumbered and ready for fun. What better time?</p>
<p>Interestingly, of all the people I know who went to ‘elite’ colleges in big cities (Columbia, Harvard, Berkeley, Upenn) only one of them lives in a big city now.</p>
<p>People go to big colleges or big cities for more connections and activities. If you want to get in touch with nature, it would make more sense for you to go hike the Appalachian trail during your summer vacation.</p>
<p>GAILFORCE: I think people just have different ideas about what they want to “do” while they’re in college. Some people see cities as opportunities to go to concerts and museums, try many different types of ethnic foods, and be around hundreds of thousands of other people. However, many students think there is actually more to do at certain rural colleges – because they’d rather be outdoors being active.</p>
<p>As an example, Appalachian State University (around 17,000 students) is in Boone, NC (around 18,000 residents). It is one of the most-loved universities in NC. For a lot of NC students, App is a dream school. Students go there because they love to be outdoors. There are numerous nearby places for hiking, rafting, rock climbing, and mountain biking. In winter, students head to the ski slopes. Most Appalachian students would probably find a university in a city stifling, draining, and boring.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure why you think that is the case. The only time I’ve lived in a city were my years in college and two years thereafter. I’ve been living in suburbs since starting a family. In my entire working life, I have only even WORKED in a city for 4 years. I commute from one suburb to another. I completely understand the appeal of being in a city environment during college.</p>
<p>It’s great to be living in Manhattan, Boston and some other big cities, in the midst of it all as a student. Much more fun than when you are living hand to mouth on your own. My son did not seem to be a city type as he has had NYC in his back yard for years, but he felt that the enclosed campus in the middle of no where felt confining to him. He loves being a student in city where the businesses events do cater to you. He feels privileged in getting to enjoy both worlds </p>
<p>I do agree though that when you can’t much afford it and so many of your fellow students can, it can sting. But that’s the case in the enclosed campuses too </p>
<p>Also enclosed campuses in or near a city are a whole other thing from schools like GW, BU, Pitt, NYU that are right in the middle of things. You live in a dorm in an enclosed campus it could be located anywhere.</p>