Washington DC vs New York City vs San Francisco

[Gantz]

If you can get into NYU you GO there, doesn't matter where you live. The only step up is going to Harvard or Yale or something.

[Pruzhany]

If you can afford it, NYC is still the best experience. You can get nearly everywhere in NYC by public transportation, short hops with a cab or even walking. There are enough things to do in NYC that'll it take years to do it all. DC is a few hours away. So if museums are you're thing then them you finish those in about a week. DC has its cultural aspects, but its too spread out. SF - too many hills. I liked SF for its weather being on the cool side (but their fog is a real pain). Of course you could be in Tahoe within a few hours, thats an extreme plus.

Public transportation. DC Metro is like SF Bart as they both charge by the mile. NY is flat rate for under $3 (they may up the rates soon, so I rounded up).

DC and NY will have one thing in common - Humidity. So be ready to sweat, especially if you are coming from the West coast.

[ffknight918]

If you're smart enough to get into NYU then why would you consider UDC? It doesn't make sense. Either you have done no research at all or you haven't gotten into any of the colleges yet considering UDC is the WORST college in the DC area. If you're serious then look at at U of MD, Georgetown, George Washington, American, Howard, George Mason.

[18Montclair]

I think you should go to community college in LA first and then when you become more mature and know what you want, you can transfer.

[terrence81]

First look at the actual best schools not the names. UDC is not on the same level as NYU. UDC is more or less a 4 year community college from my understanding. Although I heard their graduate program is pretty challenging.

It sounds like you're just itching to get out of LA and try something new. Good! But as others have mentioned look at the school as well. I know what its like to want to get as far from home as possible to be independent but don't get ahead of yourself.

So which city? These are 3 very different cities it will depend on what you want out of said cities. I've been to all 3.

New York: Will give you the big city experience. Its exciting and non-stop. Its not a college town per say but there's all walks of life in NYC. Out of the 3 you get more of everything.

San Francisco: The thing that San Francisco and DC have in common is being compact. So you will get a lot of city in a small area. Which might be more appropriate for a teenager on his/her own for the first time. Also you're from LA, so there will be some California familiarity and you're a little closer to home. You'll be surprised how much you'll appreciate being to get home quickly and cheaply during family emergencies or just when you're homesick.

DC: My personal fav so pardon me if I'm biased. Out of the 3 DC is smaller, semi-less expensive, and the only one that could be called a college town. I know a couple George Washington University grads and have heard lots of good things. Very expensive school though. Howard has an excellent reputation as does American and Georgetown. Marymount is in VA and it too has a good reputation. Marymount is a small school so it won't have the big classic college feel. Oh and Catholic University has a good reputation as well. University of Maryland is the big state school in this area but be prepared to pay out of state tuition. Oh and they're building an NYU campus in DC. But I have a feeling it will be a commuter campus for working professionals versus the classic college experience.

So while I vote for DC I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

[TrumpetPlayersWife]

My daughter is a freshman at The King's College in Manhattan. We're from a suburb of Chicago and she loves it more than you can imagine. She's also friends with a lot of kids from NYU. We've been really happy with the experience thus far.