Best College Towns!!

[ironchapman]

About Athens: ATLman, I agree. There is a thriving music scene there, especially in its heyday in the 1980's with REM and The B-52's among others. I love the atmosphere there. That town was literally built around UGA.

[satalac]

Salt Lake City? Can you even buy alcohol there?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lol if not, then i would definatly strike them off the college list. haha. j\k, i know alcohol doesn't make a school good. it sure does make it fun though.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Poughkeepsie, NY.

[nashvol85]

I've been to knoxville and it just didn't seem like a college town.  UT had a nice campus, but the city itself didn't seem to revolve around the college; like a Gainesville or Athens does.  That was just my impression though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have GOT to be kidding me. Maybe you were there during an off time, but that town is completely in love with the university. Seriously, a lot of people wouldn't know that Knoxville existed if it wasn't for UT...the campus is very visible and very much a part of the town (it is easily the second most dense area outside of DT)...

Also, note, Knoxville is many many times larger than Gainesville or Athens...they are college towns, Knoxville is a college city.

[ironchapman]

Yes, but is Knoxville as devoted to its college as Gainesville or Athens is?

I didn't even know Knoxville was the home of UT for a long time.

Atlanta could be considered a college city because of GaTech, but it is supportive of many different colleges. Heck, NYC could be considered a college city.

Boston...now there's a college city! ...............

[nashvol85]

Yes, but is Knoxville as devoted to its college as Gainesville or Athens is?

I didn't even know Knoxville was the home of UT for a long time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ummmm, really? It's been the home since 1794...I think at that point Florida was still SPAIN.

[ironchapman]

Hey Hey, be civil.

I've never been to Knoxville, so I wasn't intentionally trying to bash it.

I heard about it because, as a kid, I used to think Ft. Knox was there, and there is another famous "-ville" in your state, Nashville.

Just for the record, my state's college town was barely a mill on a river with a small, not-yet-open-to-students, college (it was still u/c or something).

[nashvol85]

Hey Hey, be civil.

I've never been to Knoxville, so I wasn't intentionally trying to bash it.

I heard about it because, as a kid, I used to think Ft. Knox was there, and there is another famous "-ville" in your state, Nashville.

Just for the record, my state's college town was barely a mill on a river with a small, not-yet-open-to-students, college (it was still u/c or something).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lol

Sorry, I'm a UT student, so I have a pretty good feel of the area and how everything "fits in" here. I guess it's a matter of pride.

[ironchapman]

Well, I guess you would be an authority on whether or not Knoxville is devoted or not.

Next time I'm in Tennessee, I'll have to visit it.

What's Nashville like? If it has been mentioned before, I skipped a couple of pages.

[ironchapman]

Charleston, SC seems to have quite a base for its Citadel.

The Citadel- a small, but important military college. It was one of the first military colleges in the country.

P.S. For a long time, the only important college in the South was The College of William and Mary.

[nashvol85]

Well, I guess you would be an authority on whether or not Knoxville is devoted or not.

Next time I'm in Tennessee, I'll have to visit it.

What's Nashville like? If it has been mentioned before, I skipped a couple of pages.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nashville is probably like Atlanta. There are a lot of college students here, but none of them really dominate the city. Vanderbilt has by far the most impressive campus and is the most important, but there are only about 10,000 students. There are other small universities like Belmont, David Lipscomb, and Trevecca. A lot of religious colleges. TSU and Fisk are historic black universities, and Merry Medical college has produced more black doctors than any other university in the world. MTSU, just down the road in Murfreesboro (a college town on its own, but has a lot of Nashville students...its a suitcase campus) has the largest undergrad population in the state, with about 20,000. I read somewhere that there are about 86,000 students in higher education in the Nashville area...that's an astounding number for a city our size. I guess you would call us a college city (we have lots of options), but not a one college town. Higher education is big here.

[waccamatt]

lol   if not, then i would definatly strike them off the college list. haha. j\k, i know alcohol doesn't make a school good. it sure does make it fun though. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly. The education you get is important, but having a good time is just as much a part of the college experience.

[Rock2uf]

My fav college towns I've visited:

1. Gainesville, FL (I am biased, but truly no college town discussion is complete without at least mentioning Gainesville.)

2. Athens, GA (Athens is truly incredible)

3. Tallahassee, FL (as much as it hurts me to include FSU)

4. Austin, TX

5. Oxford, MS (you know, if you've ever been there)

6. Tuscaloosa, AL

I don't think larger cities should count as college towns. So Philly, Atlanta (sprawlville), Boston, etc. are disqualified. As someone mentioned above, most cities over 200,000 lose that "college-town" feel. Austin is my one exception.

I'm sure there are plenty of northern towns that deserve to be on this list - I just haven't visited any of them. For anyone looking for an amazing college experience, I can't possibly imagine a better college town than Gainesville. Normally, now would be the time to start defending my last statement. But, today, I think I'll just leave it at that.

[Sean Reynolds]

My favorites:

Columbia

Madison

Boston

Athens, Ga

Amherst, Ma

New Brunswick

Durham

Lexington, Ky

Ann Arbor

Salt Lake City? Can you even buy alcohol there?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh i don't know, can you buy slaves in Columbia, South Carolina?

[DigitalSky]

Even though Greensboro isn't known for being a college town, It's home to 5 colleges.. UNCG, Guilford College, Bennett College, NC A&T and Greensboro College.

Check out my picture thread for UNCG http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=11572

[ironchapman]

Where's UNC's main campus?

[eastsider]

Where's UNC's main campus?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Chapel Hill, NC - about 12 miles from Durham

[DetroitBazaar]

Chiming in with Eugene, OR. Yeah, they filmed Animal House there, but you're 40 minutes from the ocean and even closer to the mountains. The town itself is uniqe as well.

Peace from Will, DetroitBazaar

[psycuda]

^^ besides Cornell (which is pretty big but not a "state school" or is it?)   

It is and it isn't, which sounds weird, but it's true. Part of Cornell (The Vet School, ILR, Human Ecology, and the Ag School) is the state land grant college, while the rest is a private college.

[psycuda]

All I have to say is...

Tallahassee, Florida  around the time Florida State and Florida A&M Universities have home football games on the same weekend in the fall,...

Can u say Party Town !!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen Brother, 75,000 students in a county of a quarter million (FSU, FAMU, and TCC). it's a fun place to go to grad school.

[waccamatt]

Oh i don't know, can you buy slaves in Columbia, South Carolina? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think asking if alcohol is available in a conservative place is a reasonable question. Your response doesn't even deserve an answer.

[TennBear]

My fav college towns I've visited:

1.  Gainesville, FL (I am biased, but truly no college town discussion is complete without at least mentioning Gainesville.)

2.  Athens, GA (Athens is truly incredible)

3.  Tallahassee, FL (as much as it hurts me to include FSU)

4.  Austin, TX

5.  Oxford, MS (you know, if you've ever been there)

6.  Tuscaloosa, AL

I don't think larger cities should count as college towns.  So Philly, Atlanta (sprawlville), Boston, etc. are disqualified.  As someone mentioned above, most cities over 200,000 lose that "college-town" feel.  Austin is my one exception.

I'm sure there are plenty of northern towns that deserve to be on this list - I just haven't visited any of them.  For anyone looking for an amazing college experience, I can't possibly imagine a better college town than Gainesville.  Normally, now would be the time to start defending my last statement.  But, today, I think I'll just leave it at that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Using your reasoning, you should have excluded Austin, TX. I can give you a better reason for excluding Austin. Yes, I know that people look at 6th Street and all the club scene and think great college town. When you have over 50,000 students you have the numbers that you need to keep a great club scene. But, most of the students live in the southeatern quarter of the city and take buses that are run by the school over to campus. There is very little campus college-town feel. I really like Athens and Oxford and the campus really is the center for those two. Can't talk too much about the Florida towns. I really Ithaca, NY. The area and campus are beautifull and it feels like a college town.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned on here yet... but if not, then I think that Richmond, Virginia should be mentioned. It has 7 colleges and universities within the downtown area, including VCU (reknowned for artistic and medical programs) and the University of Richmond: one of less than 50 American colleges with a $1 billion + endowment. The city is absolutely teeming with college students who make up an easily measurable percentage of the city's population.

Boston, Mass and Charlottesville, Va are also two college towns, though Charlottesville is obviously considerably smaller and only focused on UVA (who makes up 20% of the town's population). Williamsburg, Virginia is absolutely dominated by William and Mary, and while it's very small (14,000 residents) it's 1 million tourists in the peak seasons make it feel larger and it has an incredible walkability that few other cities in Virginia have.

Of course I was just speaking of Virginia save Boston. But Boston's pretty much a given...

[friedpez]

In CA and probably all the Southwest, it has to be Davis, California. It's only about 15 miles west of Sacramento, 70 miles east of San Francisco, and is located in the Great Valley of CA, and is home to the 11th-best public university in the US, UC Davis (according to US News).

And when I say Southwest, I'm including all of CA, AZ, and NV...

[ctman987]

I to think Boston is a given college town and a given college metropolitan area. For example Newton is home to Lassel College and Mount Idea. Endicott College is in Beverly, Brandeis University is in Waltham, Deans College in Franklin, Stonehill College in Easton, Wellesly College in Wellesly, etc.

Providence, RI was not mentioned that often but is a great college city. The city is home to the first campus of Johnson and Wales and J&W's largest campus. Brown University(, Katharine Gibbs College, Providence College, Rhode Island College, RI Hospital School of Nuclear Medicine, RI Hospital School of Radiology, RI Hospital School of Sonography, and RI School of Design. Also Salve Regina, Roger Williams, Bryant, and URI are in the area.

I am a fant of CT and I love CT but I do not see New Haven as an ultimate college town but New Haven would be nothing without Yale. In New Haven though there is a large plant to combine the two campuses of Gateway Community College into one big one in downtown New Haven bringing it's 11,000 students to one location. Supporters say it would do wonders for the city to have more young people downtown and opponents say that there will be to much tax exempt property in the city with a new campus resulting in higher property taxes.