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I wasn't quite sure where to post this question, so I'll try my luck here
I am from California and am looking at App State, UNCG, and ECU for speech pathology programs. I have never been to North Carolina before, and I might not have a chance to visit all three areas before moving out there, so I was hoping that some of you could give me insight as to which area would be best for me.
I am from the Bay Area (originally from Illinois, though) and I am ready for a change of pace, so I don't mind being in an area completely different from California. I am fine with both small and large cities (my current town only has about 12,000, but I used to live in a city with 200,000). I would like to be in an area where people are friendly since I won't know anyone.
I did notice that Appalachian had the fewest number of grad students compared to the other two, and I wonder if that's evident in Boone? Would I be able to easily meet other mid-20s people, or is it more of an undergrad town? Are UNCG and ECU similar?
I know it's a bit difficult to judge since these are all in completely different parts of the state, but any help would be appreciated!
No offense, but this seems like a rather odd question. Shouldn't your focus be on which one has the best program in which you're interested?
Anyway, to answer your question in very general terms, neither App nor UNC-G are big graduate schools. They have some good grad programs, but their focus is more on undergrad education. ECU has a little more weight in the graduate area (due in part to their med school), and it is a bit larger than the other two. Regardless, all three schools have their merits, and I don't think social life would be a problem at any of them.
No offense taken All three of those schools have good, well respected programs, and with speech pathology, ranking doesn't matter as much in terms of finding jobs after graduation. I'm just trying to figure out which area I would prefer living in.
Boone and Greenville primarily revolve around their schools. They're also both fairly isolated. If (when) you get sick of town, you're looking at 90 minutes minimum to get to anything else from either place. Greensboro is a regular small city with the usual things that entails, and it's closer to other places of interest.
My best friends' daughter graduated with her masters at App in Speech Therapy and found a job right away in her field. I don't know if it would be the same today because this was a few years ago. My son graduated with his masters in computer science from App State and found a job right away. A lot of my son's friends had graduated by then. Both of these folks loves the area, so it wasn't as important to them that most of their age group had moved on. Jobs here are difficult to come by. Maybe a bigger University like East Carolina would be better for meeting folks your age.
I'm just trying to figure out which area I would prefer living in.
And since we are not you, and you haven't really said what you are looking for, there is no way any of us can say what you would like the most. Can you share a little more about what specific things you would consider good or bad in a town?
Boone's main "thing" is that it's in the mountains. Greensboro is a city in a booming metro area. Greenville is a small city that is the "cultural center" of that part of the state.
Here are City-Data's city pages on the three municipalities. We really can't make the subjective decision for you as to which you would like the best (It would be like one of us asking "Hey, which city in California would I like the best?").
One thing I'll add that's good about Greenboro...there is Elon, High Pt. University, Wake Forest, Elon, UNCG, Guilford College. all within about 30 minutes drive. If you're on the fence whether you'll get into a program this is probably the best hedge. Cost of living is very reasonable and there may be more PT jobs/internships in the area given the size/population.
Boone and Greenville primarily revolve around their schools. They're also both fairly isolated. If (when) you get sick of town, you're looking at 90 minutes minimum to get to anything else from either place. Greensboro is a regular small city with the usual things that entails, and it's closer to other places of interest.
Thank you for this information! I did not realize that Boone and Greenville were more focused around their schools. I would have thought Greenville would be more like Greensboro.
It's hard to say what I'm looking for, because I'm pretty open. I enjoy the southern hospitality in the southern states, and I assume that that will be everywhere in NC. I like the mountains, I like the beach. People were recommending Greensboro to me on the basis that it has more to do in general than the other two cities, but I almost feel like if I move somewhere, it should be to the eastern or western part of the state. I don't know, the middle just seems kind of blah, but I could be wrong
I'm not a club person, but I do enjoy going to the bar and getting a beer. I go to different bars, but I love pubs! How popular are English/Irish pubs in these areas? There are quite a few in the Bay Area, but I know in other parts of California there are hardly any around.
Oh, I suppose I should add that I'm Catholic (a pretty bad Catholic; I hardly ever go to church!) and it doesn't seem like it's too popular out there. Do any of these cities have a fair number of Catholics in them?
Boone is by far the most beautiful being in the mountains, but can feel isolated to people who prefer living in a city. Greensboro is nice with great inexpensive neighborhoods around the campus. It is also fairly close to Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem etc. which are great towns. Greenville is in the eastern part of the sate which IMHO has a much lower quality of life than anything west of Raleigh (beaches not included). If you are outdoorsy at all and love the mountains than App State is a little known gem that will make you very happy. If you don't really care if you live in the mountains or not and want to be able to get easily to more happening towns like Chapel Hill than I'd say UNCG. If you love the beach and it is most important to be able to get to the beach in an hour than Greenville could work. ECU is NOT at the beach but is obviously closer than the other two.
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