Like people, you can divide colleges into two types: city and rural. One isn't better than the other, and either comes down to personal taste. If you're a big city person (or want to be one) who is looking to enter college, then this is the right article for you.
Every big city in America is unique. From the compact metropolis of New York City to the sprawling mass of Los Angeles, there is so much choice. But every sizable US city has certain things in common that people desire. There's the mix of cultures, the greater variety of activities, the unexpected encounters and the camaraderie that comes with belonging to a place that has its own identity. Perhaps most importantly, all big cities offer significantly more jobs than smaller cities/rural locations, so you will be in an environment where you can find more opportunities. If this is what you're looking for, then you're probably wondering what the best college options and what the best city options for you are.
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This article will point the way forward. It will highlight both the best urban colleges and the best cities surrounding these urban colleges. This list allows you to know the best possible college options in America's finest cities, but it also has other uses. If none of the cities or none of the colleges on this list appeal to you, then you can take the information given below and use it to inform your ultimate choice. The entries below will give you a feel of the cities and colleges and the things that they have on offer for prospective students. You can look for similar opportunities in your city and college options and ensure that you make the right choice. At the end of the day, choosing the right environment is a huge factor in achieving educational and career success.
Top 30 Urban Colleges
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Factors Considered When Ranking Schools
To compile this unique list, we've consulted a range of sources. These sources come in several forms. Some are lists of the best cities for students, and some are lists of the best city-based colleges. Ultimately, our rankings combine both to give what most sources agree to be the top options.
Our sources are as follows:
WalletHub, 2018's Best College Towns & Cities in America: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-college-cities-and-towns-in-america/8974/College Magazine, Top 10 Universities with The Best City Life: https://www.collegemagazine.com/top-10-universities-best-city-life/Princeton Review, College City Gets High Marks: https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=college-city-gets-high-marksThrillist, America's Best Big Cities for College Students: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-college-cities-for-studentsTime Money, 10 Commuter Colleges That Give You a World-Class Education: https://time.com/money/4048777/best-commuter-colleges/Times Higher Education, The best university cities of 2018: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-university-citiesThe Edvocate, 2018 America's Best Urban Colleges and Universities: https://www.theedadvocate.org/2018-americas-best-urban-colleges-universities/Niche.com, 2018 Best College Locations in America: https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-college-locations/To be considered a college in an urban environment, the college must have its main campus in a big city's metropolitan area. That means that while University of California, Berkeley, for example, is not within the heart of San Francisco, it still counts as a big urban college, because Berkeley, its home city, is in the San Francisco metropolitan Bay Area. And to be considered a big city, the city's metropolitan area has to have a population of one million people or more.
The ranking criteria of our methodology sources are diverse. For example, WalletHub combines 28 different factors, including the cost of living, quality of education and crime rate. Other sources, such as Niche.com and Princeton Review use student reviews and ratings as a primary source to indicate the quality of an urban college. Our list combines the range of sources above and sorts it into a list that prioritizes the colleges and cities that are most frequently cited as the best across the articles. We've also conducted our own research into the cities and colleges, to ensure that the article's statements are factual and give a genuine opinion on quality.
