College location is one of the foundational elements of your college search. Yes, it’s important to know whether you can get in and afford a university, but you should also consider the city or town in which it is located.
Should you go for an urban or rural environment? Do you want to be far from home or nearby? There are many factors to consider—and only you can tell what's truly right for you. Use this advice to help you explore your options, then take the quiz below to help you figure things out!
A good campus fit is like a well-fitting shoe
Imagine you're in a shoe store with hundreds of sneakers, slides, dress shoes, and more neatly laid out before you—but you can only choose one pair. You’re not going to pick the first one that fits your feet and your budget, right? Of course not! You’re going to pick the pair that fits your feet, budget, style, personality, and—most importantly—the level of comfort you need. A pair of shoes you could see yourself wearing for say…four years.
The same basic shopping principles apply to choosing your college. Picking a school with just the right-fit environment can have a tremendous influence on the quality of the college experience—for better or worse.
You need to be totally honest with yourself when weighing the pros and cons of individual cities and towns. You may be eager to move to an environment that is far different from your high school and home, but if you have never visited a big city, are you really ready to attend a college in the middle of busy New York City? Conversely, if you have lived your whole life riding city buses to school, can you comfortably live in a town where the trees are taller than the buildings?
Thankfully, the solution to finding this out is straightforward: Visit the campuses of your top-interest colleges and universities. If one of your favorite schools is too far away to visit, do your research online and consider visiting a similar university closer to home that could offer some insights into what life would be like at your far-flung school of interest.
Questions to ask yourself about college locations
In planning, you should take a lot more into account than the college itself. Think outside the campus. Whether through online research or in-person visits, really get to know the surrounding areas where your campuses are located. You should be asking and seeking answers to these important questions to help you find the right place:
- Are there ample opportunities for employment as a student intern, part-time worker, and graduate?
- Would you want to stick around the area after you graduate anyway?
- Does the city have a decent arts and culture scene with stuff to do in your free time?
- What outdoor adventuring opportunities are there?
- How do students get around: Public transport, personal vehicles, campus transportation options?
- What’s the relationship like between the town’s full-time residents and your potential college?
Related: Smart Questions to Ask Before, During, and After College Visits
Take the college town quiz!
Now that you’ve got a little bit of an idea of what to look for in a town or city, let’s find out which one would better suit your needs. This quiz isn’t exactly scientific, but it should help you determine whether the cities and towns where your favorite schools are located fit you and your lifestyle needs and academic goals. Let’s find out!
1. When I picture my classmates in college, I see...
A. Essential strangers sitting at desks around me. There is too much to do outside of class to spend even more time with classmates.
B. My go-to study mates and friends for life. These people are totally going to be invited to my wedding!
C. A couple of people I know, but most of my friends from the residence halls are in other classes.
2. I’m serious about academics, but when it comes to distractions, I...
A. Can control my impulses. Beyoncé was seen down the street? No biggie. I’ve got to study for a final in the morning.
B. May be easily led astray. Hey, did anyone else just hear there are food trucks on campus?!
C. Know when I can have fun and when I need to buckle down and be serious about my studies.
3. When I leave campus to explore, I want to...
A. Get lost in the hustle and bustle of a crowd and have endless things to see and do.
B. Why would I ever leave? There’s so much to do on campus!
C. See my university’s logo on flags hanging off every house on the block.
4. When I want to blow off some steam, I like to...
A. Hop on the subway to attend every street festival and art gallery opening I can find.
B. Get out in the wilderness. Does anyone have a bike I can borrow?
C. Watch football at the stadium with 100,000 of my peers. Go team!
5. When I’m trying to go to sleep, I want to hear...
A. Honking busses, thumping nightclubs, and buzzing streetlights. I want to be surrounded by humanity that’s just outside my door.
B. Absolutely nothing! Some crickets are okay, but they better keep it down after 11:00 pm.
C. No buses or sirens, but I’d like a bustling dorm. What’s life in college without hearing intellectuals down the hall arguing about the best coding language?
Your college town best-fit results
Ready to find out what kind of college campus location you’d fit best in? Here are your results!
If you chose mostly A’s
Hello, big city! You yearn for a college experience where there are major museums and events within a 20-minute bus ride and you can study at diners that stay open—and are packed with customers from all over the world—until 4:00 am.
If you chose mostly B’s
It looks like you’re interested in a rural college experience, far from the distractions of the big city and the traditional college town. By the time you graduate, you’ll know the middle names and birthdays of everyone in your graduating class.
If you chose mostly C’s
You’re cut out for the classic college town experience, where there’s more to the city than your university—but just about everything revolves around your school. Are you going to Saturday’s big game? So is the entire town!
Related: Spotlight on 3 Great College Cities on the East Coast
These are all challenging questions to ask yourself, but they could make all the difference in your college search and, ultimately, your four-year experience on campus. If you make the right choice for you, you’ll be living the dream, and college will be some of the best years of your life. Make the wrong choice, and you run the risk of struggling socially and academically as you lack the support you never realized you needed. Whatever you choose when you do make your choice, don’t forget to pack some comfortable shoes!
Ready to start exploring college locations? Use our featured college lists to search for the right place for you. You can explore by US region or settings like the beach, big cities, the mountains, and more!
