[natterer]

By that, I don't merely mean cities like Dearborn or Ypsilanti with colleges in them. I mean cities that are defined or dominated in large part by their colleges.

I can think of:

Ann Arbor (University of Michigan; Concordia University; close to Eastern Michigan University)

East Lansing (Michigan State University)

Hillsdale (Hillsdale College)

Mount Pleasant (Central Michigan University)

Marquette (Northern Michigan University)

Houghton (Michigan Tech)

Kalamazoo (Western Michigan State; Kalamazoo College)

Kochville Township (Saginaw Valley State)

Big Rapids (Ferris State)

Albion (Albion College)

Alma (Alma College)

Berrien Springs (Andrews University)

Olivet (Oliver College)

Adrian (Adrian College; Siena Heights University)

Spring Arbor (Spring Arbor University)

Rochester has two larger colleges, but it's more a suburb of metro Detroit than its own "college town."

Which of these towns is best, and which would be best avoided?

[Coldjensens]

I would be surprised if you find someone familiar with all of these towns.

Ann Arbor is one of the best cities anywhere. The campus and the city are intermingled. Hillsdale is a very pretty campus and a nice town. Albion has a nice campus, but the town is run down. Rochester is not a college town.

Is there a town in East Lansing? I have only seen the campus. I cannot remember seeing a town or City if there is one, it must be separate from the campus.

[magellan]

I would trim that list down quite a bit. Just because some of those towns or townships have a college, wouldn't necessarily make them a college town.

If that were the case, Allendale would be considered a college town with 24,000 Grand Valley students in it. Plus, Grand Rapids has probably 40,000 college students in it if you add up all the campuses of Aquinas, Calvin, Cooley Law School, Kendall College of Art & Design, Cornerstone, Davenport, GVSU's downtown campus, Kuyper, and GRCC. But I would hesitate to call it a "college town". There aren't really large areas of "student ghetto" like you get in other college towns, and no college dominates the scene.

With that being said, if you want to go to college in a real "college town", then Ann Arbor or East Lansing are probably the biggest with the best scenes. Maybe followed by Kzoo.

[Great Lakes Pirate]

This is hardly scientific, but I'd suggest that the ratio of the school's student populaton to its down would signify how much the school (its culture, its students, etc) dominate that town.

For example, Michigan Tech has about 6800 students, the town's (non student pop.) about 8000. That's ~ 7:8 ratio, pretty close to the university eqauling the town.

MSU/East Lansing, both at about 43,000 are 1:1. EL is definetly a college town.

Ann Arbors about 1:5 - still a Big Ten college town, but there's more going on there than just UofM

Mt Pleasant is about 4:5.

Hillsdale is about 1:7.

well, anyway, you get my drift.

[cardwellave]

I'd say Ypsi is more of a college town than a lot of the ones you mentioned.

[AngelfaceAZ]

Big Rapids is always what I considered to be a college town...I mean...is there anything else there besides the school or anything else that could survive there without the school?

[teachbeach]

I would agree with MSU/East Lansing, there is a downtown, right across from the university, but there are many housing developments and medical buildings with East Lansing addresses. That town is definitely a college town. Mt. Pleasant is a college town, and perhaps more so that Ann Arbor. I think of college town being defined by the number of people who are employed by or service the college and it's students. There are many other things going on in A2 that are not related to the college, but the town is definitely affected by the presence of students 9 months of the year.

[Softballfan]

Western Michigan University doesn't define Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo isn't a big "college town" WMU just happens to be located in Kalamazoo. For as long as I can remember the relationship between WMU and Kzoo has been a little shakey.

A lot of the students go home on the weekends or just hang around the campus.

[MittenDweller82]

Originally Posted by natterer

By that, I don't merely mean cities like Dearborn or Ypsilanti with colleges in them. I mean cities that are defined or dominated in large part by their colleges.

I can think of:

Ann Arbor (University of Michigan; Concordia University; close to Eastern Michigan University)

East Lansing (Michigan State University)

Hillsdale (Hillsdale College)

Mount Pleasant (Central Michigan University)

Marquette (Northern Michigan University)

Houghton (Michigan Tech)

Kalamazoo (Western Michigan State; Kalamazoo College)

Kochville Township (Saginaw Valley State)

Big Rapids (Ferris State)

Albion (Albion College)

Alma (Alma College)

Berrien Springs (Andrews University)

Olivet (Oliver College)

Adrian (Adrian College; Siena Heights University)

Spring Arbor (Spring Arbor University)

Rochester has two larger colleges, but it's more a suburb of metro Detroit than its own "college town."

Which of these towns is best, and which would be best avoided?

Thats all def a personal opinion, when I think of all the towns that have "colleges" residing in them, I think of one thing, does te city have anything else going for it when the students aren't there in the summer? East Lansing shrinks to virtually nothing in the summer, the only really two cities that have vibrant life outside of the University is Ann Abor and GR, the others listed virtually exsist because of the college being there, without the universities they would be every other town in Michigan, small with not much going on.

[mackinac81]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Holland, which has Hope College (And a Reformed Seminary. The campus is right downtown, and has a fantastic, wholesome feel.

Just wanted to throw that out there