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I think this post is a good one. However, It is going to bring out a lot of biased as people post the town of the college they went to. There is so many also.
Madison, Ann Arbor, State College, Athens, Gainsville, Boulder, Columbus Oh, and so many more.
There are some great cities with major colleges in them, but the college forms too small a part of its identity to truly be considered a "great college town," such as Evanston IL (defined more by its shared border with Chicago than Northwestern University), Minneapolis (too big to be considered a "college town"), Pittsburgh (much of its east end is influenced by Pitt and CMU, but the city as a whole overwhelms this influence), etc. Excluding those types of places, Madison WI is my #1 pick. It's almost a little too big to be "a college town" but the presence of the university influences it culture enough that IMO it qualifies. Second spot is a tie between Bloomington IN and Lawrence KS. Bloomington has a (much) nicer campus, but I like the town of Lawrence a little better.
Places that don't do a lot for me: Lafayette IN; East Lansing MI; Champaign/Urbana IL (though it's tolerable); Morgantown WV (scenic from a distance, a little dumpy from up close); Columbus OH (a city of 700,000 truck drivers, and probably to big to be considered a college town anyway), and just about any place in the Midwest that has an also-ran state university in a small city where the student body makes up nearly half or more of the city population (Charleston IL, Terre Haute IN, Macomb IL, Manhattan KS, Eau Claire WI, etc.).
There are some great cities with major colleges in them, but the college forms too small a part of its identity to truly be considered a "great college town," such as Evanston IL (defined more by its shared border with Chicago than Northwestern University), Minneapolis (too big to be considered a "college town"), Pittsburgh (much of its east end is influenced by Pitt and CMU, but the city as a whole overwhelms this influence), etc. Excluding those types of places, Madison WI is my #1 pick. It's almost a little too big to be "a college town" but the presence of the university influences it culture enough that IMO it qualifies. Second spot is a tie between Bloomington IN and Lawrence KS. Bloomington has a (much) nicer campus, but I like the town of Lawrence a little better.
I don't consider Boston a college town for the same reason I explained why I don't consider Pittsburgh or Minneapolis college towns. Never been to Penn State.
Boston, Pittsburgh, and Minneapolis, first off, are not towns...you cannot reduce big cities like this to mere college towns...they are big cities that have much more to offer than just good schools. A college town to me is a place that would otherwise be rural and dead without the school. Places that come to mind include Terre Haute, Champaign-Urbana, Columbia (MO) and Rolla (MO). These cities live and breath by the colleges they have.
I went to PSU. I actually don't rate State College up there. I love that town, and it is in a great setting right in the mountains. However, the reason I don't put it up there, is just as you said.........Penn State. The town is nothing but Penn State. If there was no school up there, it would be three farms and a church. Madison and Ann Arbor for example have more to the town then just a huge college.
The article about Athens lists ten attributes that make it "the best". Most of those qualities, e.g. big time sports, lots of arts offerings, etc. could be said of many college towns. Spectacular setting would certainly apply to Boulder, CO. The article made no comparison between Athens and other college towns.
IDK, it depends a lot on what one likes. Northfield, MN doesn't have big-time sports, but there is a lot of cultural stuff going on at its two colleges. Climate, mentioned in the article, is definitely a matter of opinion. Athens' southern clilmate would not appeal to me.
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