Where should I study for my year abroad in the United States? (cost, schools)

[GG3061]

I recently finished my first year of university in the United Kingdom. I am studying American History and in my third year I have the opportunity to study in the United States. Our lecturers told us to take the summer to research potential destinations and shortlist five destinations in order to submit them when we go back to university in October. I will be starting a summer job soon and will not have that much free time for the latter part of the summer, so I have decided to start my research now but I have no idea where to go. I was hoping that if I provided a short summary of what I want from the year abroad you would be able to advise me on five choices for my shortlist. The list of potential destinations are quoted below.

University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Arizona
Binghamton University
University of California (All Campuses)
University of Colorado
Florida International University
Framingham State University
George Mason University
Georgetown University
Goucher College
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Kansas
Louisiana State University
Loyola University New Orleans
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Middlebury College
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri
University of Missouri—St. Louis
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Northern Arizona University
University of Notre Dame
Oakland University
Occidental College
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
University of Redlands
Reed College
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
Roanoke College
Rutgers University
San Francisco State University
Stetson University
St. Olaf College
Temple University
Tulane University
University of Utah
Westminster College

As you can see, the list is very large and overwhelming for someone who has to big five out of 45 choices to spend an entire year of their life. I know little about most of the universities on the list apart from the top tier ones and big public universities, so I was hoping you would be able to fill in the blanks. In terms of what I am looking for; Firstly, I want an institution that is academically stellar, though I am not sure if I would make the cut for Georgetown or Notre Dame until I get my first year results back next month. However, if I do get the necessary grades they will be my top two choices. Secondly, I do not want to attend a really large school. My home university has just under 18,000 students and I think I would be too overwhelmed going to a country I have never been before and attending a university with a large student body. Thirdly, I would like the opportunity to travel on my year abroad. I am not fussed about travelling all over the U.S., but I would like to travel around neighbouring cities and states at least. Therefore, somewhere that is not too far from a major U.S. city and has good transportation links is ideal. Finally, I am a conservative politically and know that some of the universities on the list are known for radical, far-left views. I would not fit in in a place like that and I am looking for a campus that is either moderate or conservative politically.

If there is anything else you would like to know to help me narrow down the list then please ask.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this post!

[Qwerty]

If you are studying US History, being in the Washington, DC area will provide you to the easiest access to the major historical information from the US.

George Mason University would probably be the best fit if you don't think you can get into Georgetown. Neither school is very large too.

Notre Dame is a great school, but it's not really near anything, but there is a small airport there.

The schools in St. Louis would be pretty centrally located but in the best areas of St. Louis.

I would skip anything in Alaska, too isolated.

My list:

George Mason
Goucher College
University of Richmond
Roanoke College
Georgetown

[maf763]

A lot of these schools are bigger than you want, and a lot of the small ones may be pretty liberal. Notre Dame and Georgetown are good choices, and I agree that Richmond is good - don't know about Roanoke and Goucher, and George Mason is too big. I have a bias towards east coast because of the colonial history, and because you will likely be closer to other areas of historical significance than you would be in, say, Utah. You might look at Tulane as well.

[Coney]

The Manoa campus is in our most beautiful state, but the school itself, is probably not the best academically. You wouldn't be able to travel other than to the other islands and Hawaiian history is fascinating, but it won't give you much insight to much of the rest of American history. You don't have any schools located in Boston on your list. That would be an ideal choice for a history major, as well as anything in the Washington D.C./Maryland/VA area. Boston is very much a college town and you could viist many other areas of New England, NYC, and Philadelphia easily.

There's not much around Rutgers, except access to visits to NYC. However it does or did have the archives of Thomas Edison.

[Texas Ag 93]

I think Qwerty gives an excellent suggestion above recommending D.C. Or as Coney suggests, perhaps Boston or Philadelphia schools.

[minibrings]

I see the University off California is on the list. This would in include Berkeley, ine of the best public Unis as wel as UCLA. id avoid the Riverside, San Francisco or Merced. Ampuses.

[joe from dayton]

Do you want to "see" US History while you are here?

[Yvanung]

And URI if your grades aren't up to par for Georgetown, Notre Dame, Middlebury, Richmond, Tulane, UCLA, Berkeley or UNC. Your grades will be key for the operation to work. You can essentially forget about these eight universities if you don't have "first-class" grades.

Then again, I would recommend Tulane and UNC if you're more interested in the history of the South.

[GG3061]

Originally Posted by Qwerty

If you are studying US History, being in the Washington, DC area will provide you to the easiest access to the major historical information from the US.

George Mason University would probably be the best fit if you don't think you can get into Georgetown. Neither school is very large too.

Notre Dame is a great school, but it's not really near anything, but there is a small airport there.

The schools in St. Louis would be pretty centrally located but in the best areas of St. Louis.

I would skip anything in Alaska, too isolated.

My list:

George Mason
Goucher College
University of Richmond
Roanoke College
Georgetown

Thanks for the list. Quite a good shortlist, though I am unsure whether I would get into Georgetown.

Originally Posted by maf763

A lot of these schools are bigger than you want, and a lot of the small ones may be pretty liberal. Notre Dame and Georgetown are good choices, and I agree that Richmond is good - don't know about Roanoke and Goucher, and George Mason is too big. I have a bias towards east coast because of the colonial history, and because you will likely be closer to other areas of historical significance than you would be in, say, Utah. You might look at Tulane as well.

I don't have to be in any area of historical significance as I am writing my final year dissertation on U.S. foreign policy opposed to domestic affairs.

Originally Posted by Coney

The Manoa campus is in our most beautiful state, but the school itself, is probably not the best academically. You wouldn't be able to travel other than to the other islands and Hawaiian history is fascinating, but it won't give you much insight to much of the rest of American history. You don't have any schools located in Boston on your list. That would be an ideal choice for a history major, as well as anything in the Washington D.C./Maryland/VA area. Boston is very much a college town and you could viist many other areas of New England, NYC, and Philadelphia easily.

There's not much around Rutgers, except access to visits to NYC. However it does or did have the archives of Thomas Edison.

I'm not really interested in Hawaii and would prefer to be in the lower 48. I agree that the mid-Atlantic is a good area for history but as I wrote above, it's not important that the university is in a domestically significant area as I plan on writing my final year dissertation - for which the year abroad involves researching it - on U.S. foreign policy.

Originally Posted by minibrings

I see the University off California is on the list. This would in include Berkeley, ine of the best public Unis as wel as UCLA. id avoid the Riverside, San Francisco or Merced. Ampuses.

I'm not really that attracted by California. Also, the cost is too high.

Originally Posted by joe from dayton

Do you want to "see" US History while you are here?

Definitely! I presume you're going to advise me to go somewhere on the East Coast so I can go to the inauguration?

[GG3061]

I have made a shortlist of my own:

1. University of Missouri
2. University of Kansas
3. University of Oklahoma
4. University of Arizona
5. Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge

I would definitely be good enough to be accepted by any of these, and if my results come back better than expected then I will replace Oklahoma, Arizona, and LSU with Notre Dame, UNC, and Tulane. However, assuming that this is my final list, would you say they are good choices? I know I said I don't want a large school, but I feel I should push myself as it is my year abroad and about adapting to new scenarios.