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University of Missouri - Columbia and St. Louis: Typical college experience, however, possibly too isolated/mundane.
*I am specialising in US History, specifically 1800s to modern day.
Criteria:
- Good/average academics. No party colleges.
- Good location. Easy to get to and in a place rich in interesting history (mainly Civil War or anything post-1890).
- Not too hot. I don't mind the cold (obviously not freezing all year round).
- Typical US college experience.
- Not a 'fratty' college.
UM-Saint Louis is not isolated at all. But... are St Louis University or Washington University in St Louis options for you?
Public transportation outside of large city's in the US is generally not good or non-existent. One of the reasons I think Temple would work well is that it's right in Philadelphia, a city with a very good public transportation system. Life at Temple | Temple University
As for renting cars, you can rent cars from Enterprise car rental if you are under 25, but over 21, but you will have to pay an extra fee. Zip cars are great, but I think you can only use them for a limited distance. Philadelphia has service with mega and bolt buses directly to Washington DC and NYC, among other places.
I am on a budget. I neglected to mention that in my criteria, stupidly. Anything £7,500 ($12,000) or below is my range. I was sent the costs of colleges through my study abroad organiser today and I have narrowed the list down to:
U of Utah ($12,000)
UNew Mexico ($12,000)
Kansas U ($11,000)
University of Oklahoma ($11,000)
Uni of Mississippi ($10,000)
Westminster College - Fulton, MO ($11,110)
They're my only options now. I though Oregon would be relatively cheap, however, it's $14,055. Californian schools are $16-18k.
I have 5 choices, so it looks like my choices are going to be (in order of preference):
1. Utah
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma
4. UNM
5. Ole Miss
I am on a budget. I neglected to mention that in my criteria, stupidly. Anything £7,500 ($12,000) or below is my range. I was sent the costs of colleges through my study abroad organiser today and I have narrowed the list down to:
U of Utah ($12,000)
UNew Mexico ($12,000)
Kansas U ($11,000)
University of Oklahoma ($11,000)
Uni of Mississippi ($10,000)
Westminster College - Fulton, MO ($11,110)
They're my only options now. I though Oregon would be relatively cheap, however, it's $14,055. Californian schools are $16-18k.
I have 5 choices, so it looks like my choices are going to be (in order of preference):
1. Utah
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma
4. UNM
5. Ole Miss
Any advice now my situation as changed ?
I would take Utah and the surrounding natural beauty. Get a cheap car. UNM wouldn't be too bad either.
KU, OU, and Ole Miss are about partying and sports and fraternities.
FYI, Notre Dame is very far from Chicago, almost 100 miles to downtown Chicago. That's probably a 2+ hour car drive. I seriously doubt you'll be able to do much research there or visit more than a few times.
Much of the material related to mobsters in Chicago are going to be in the Chicago Historical Society and Chicago Crime Commission's archives. The Chicago Crime Commission was founded by the business community in Chicago to publicize the misdeeds of organized crime gangs in an era when the Chicago police was very corrupt. They produced a lot of reports and did a lot of contemporary research back in the 1920's through even today. You would be too far away to do any meaningful research from their archives.
The University of Illinois in Champaign is also a 2+ hour drive away, but they do have a campus in Chicago. Maybe you could split the year, fall in Champaign and spring in the Chicago campus.
I'd take Utah then. Still in the western US (do they have a good program for that area?) and it'll be a great experience coming from Ireland, something new and exciting. Kansas and Oklahoma are sports schools (I think Ole Miss is too) so it's hard to know academic quality. After Utah, I'd go with New Mexico. Also a very pretty area. Unfortunately, I don't know which of these is best program-wise for Western US 1800-present but I'd check into that. A quality program is worth a lot if you plan to keep going with academia. I hope you have a great time abroad!
I'd take Utah then. Still in the western US (do they have a good program for that area?) and it'll be a great experience coming from Ireland, something new and exciting. Kansas and Oklahoma are sports schools (I think Ole Miss is too) so it's hard to know academic quality. After Utah, I'd go with New Mexico. Also a very pretty area. Unfortunately, I don't know which of these is best program-wise for Western US 1800-present but I'd check into that. A quality program is worth a lot if you plan to keep going with academia. I hope you have a great time abroad!
Thank you very much!
I like the look of SLC, however, I cannot drive (there is public transport though) and I am not religious. I know SLC is very mormon, but would I struggle fitting in being non-relgious. Note: I am not an atheist.
Also, isn't U of U a commuter school?
Nonetheless, it does look like the experience I am looking for. UNM seems pretty cool too.
I am on a budget. I neglected to mention that in my criteria, stupidly. Anything £7,500 ($12,000) or below is my range. I was sent the costs of colleges through my study abroad organiser today and I have narrowed the list down to:
U of Utah ($12,000)
UNew Mexico ($12,000)
Kansas U ($11,000)
University of Oklahoma ($11,000)
Uni of Mississippi ($10,000)
Westminster College - Fulton, MO ($11,110)
They're my only options now. I though Oregon would be relatively cheap, however, it's $14,055. Californian schools are $16-18k.
I have 5 choices, so it looks like my choices are going to be (in order of preference):
1. Utah
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma
4. UNM
5. Ole Miss
Any advice now my situation as changed ?
I hesitate to recommend any of them because this is what you said was important to you in your first post:
Quote:
- Good/average academics. No party colleges.
- Good location. Easy to get to and in a place rich in interesting history (mainly Civil War or anything post-1890).
- Not too hot. I don't mind the cold (obviously not freezing all year round).
- Typical US college experience.
- Not a 'fratty' college.
For US history, the richest places are going to be on the East coast, although of course any place in the US is going to have a past but wouldn't UNM, in Southwest, have more of a Mexican -American slant?
All of these are large state U's, which means party and fratty schools.
None of these are going to have good public transportation outside of the college area, but there will probably be ways of getting to the airport. If you are looking for rail service, this link will help: Passenger Trains & Passenger Rail Travel in the Western US
I think Utah is the prettiest area, and the Mormon influence would probably have an impact in cutting down the party atmosphere. That would be my choice.
I hesitate to recommend any of them because this is what you said was important to you in your first post:
For US history, the richest places are going to be on the East coast, although of course any place in the US is going to have a past but wouldn't UNM, in Southwest, have more of a Mexican -American slant?
All of these are large state U's, which means party and fratty schools.
None of these are going to have good public transportation outside of the college area, but there will probably be ways of getting to the airport. If you are looking for rail service, this link will help: Passenger Trains & Passenger Rail Travel in the Western US
I think Utah is the prettiest area, and the Mormon influence would probably have an impact in cutting down the party atmosphere. That would be my choice.
I have been looking for some extra sources of funding to open up my possibilities. I think I could push my range up to $15k. Which would open up: Uni of Oregon, Colorado-Boulder, and some LAC's.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 10-25-2013 at 08:49 AM..
Reason: fixed typo
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