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ASU alum, so yes I am biased. Great Business school.
Tempe is a great town. Great public transportation. More than enough entertainment.
Due to the large metro, it is very easy to score internships and jobs.
It really does have an untraditional look. I am not a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wrights Architecture though, I mean its interesting, it just isn't traditional and looks bland and dated. But I did learn not to bad mouth FLW in this town
ASU alum, so yes I am biased. Great Business school.
Tempe is a great town. Great public transportation. More than enough entertainment.
Due to the large metro, it is very easy to score internships and jobs.
Phoenix is seen as a big sprawling city with a bunch of old snowbirds everywhere. I read somewhere that Phoenix isn't attracting millennials at the level that it could. What'd you love about it, Tempe, Scottsdale, etc as an ASU student?
I personally think the topography is pretty cool from what I've seen on Google Maps.
As I mentioned in your other thread, while Notre Dame has a beautiful campus, South Bend is a disappointing Rust Belt town. The business school is pretty good.
Michigan has one of the top BBA programs in the country, but it is hard to get in. Unless it has changed, you apply during your Soph year of undergrad. Most of the people I know that didn't get in ended up getting BS or BA in Econ and then going for an MBA. Ann Arbor is one my favorite college towns. It has great schools and low crime, plus good entertainment for a city its size. On paper it may not be the richest city in Michigan, but that is only because 1/3 of the residents are broke college/grad students. Most of the other residents are fairly well off.
Wake Forest also has a pretty good business school. The rest in your list are decent, but aren't top programs. I'm surprised you put A&M on your list but not Texas, since Texas' business school is much more highly rated, and Austin is widely considered to be the best city in Texas, whereas College Station nationally is a second tier college town at best. Good luck.
There is a certain degree I am aiming for. I listed these cities/schools because they have the degree. And I am a post grad. Thanks for city info, SB sounds like its straight out of Rudy. AA continues to get high marks.
Might be stating the obvious, but Boston is likely the higher education hub of North America/the Western world.
Downtown Boston has ~40 colleges, with Greater Boston coming in at ~100 colleges and universities. BU shares neighborhoods, bars, and restaurants with BC/Northeastern/Harvard/MIT/Berklee/Emanuel/Simmons/Wheelock as well as the other Universities in downtown proper like Suffolk, Emerson, Wentworth, etc.
Location: BU falls between the Fenway neighborhood and Allston/Brighton. The mega bars and nightlife in Fenway serve as a mini downtown for students to the east, and Allston/Brighton are a hub for culture, music, food etc. to the west. Brookline falls just south, which is another neighborhood of ~60k, which offers a lot more shopping, food, entertainment. Most students eventually live off campus in Allston/Brighton, with a mix of tri-levels, apartment buildings, student neighborhoods. You can always cross the bridge north from campus and you'll find yourself in Cambridge, which is arguably the most desirable area for students and young professionals in all of Greater Boston.
Jobs and local economy: Boston, in general, has an extremely diverse economy. It's always been revered for it's ability to lure and keep talent, and is about as close to recession proof as a large city can be. Tech has boomed here, and is probably the per capital tech hub of the east coast, with Raleigh following suit. It's also a research hub for obvious reasons. Consulting and advisory is big, with BCG and Bain headquartered in the city. And of course, large financials institutions are prevalent- State Street and Fidelity are headquartered in Boston, and are both large employers of college grads in the area.
COL: High. Stupid high.
Food: Major city, so the food scene is super diverse. Large Asian and foreign born population, and you feel it in the neighborhoods like Allston/Cambridge/Somerville/Mission Hill. South End is one of my favorite food neighborhoods in the country, but tends to be fairly upscale across the board. All in all, you're going to get a lot more options than a Durham, NC, but certainly less than a NYC.
People: Almost 300k students in the city walls, so there's plenty of folks around. Local Bostonians are type A, and have a great sense of humor. You'll find a little bit of everything, much like any other city.
Social and events: BU has a lot in the way of networking events, clubs, etc. That multiplies itself as you begin to network across campuses in the area. Plenty of bars and clubs around town.. It's very very vibrant during the school year to say the least. I'd be remiss to mention, it is a sports town. At BU, hockey is massive, but a lot of time will be spent at/around pro sports games.
Transportation: Probably the best public transportation outside of maybe NYC and Chicago. Train stops and buses are everywhere.
Recreation: The Charles River and waterfront offer incredible recreation. Run trails, bike trails, outdoor gyms, sailing, boat cruises, fireworks, outdoor movies.. Boston uses the water very well, and during the fall and spring, there are students everywhere. Outside of the city, you have cape cod and the islands an hour south, so you'll meet a lot of local students who frequent the areas on weekends. In the winter, you can always find buses and car loads of people heading to the mountains of VT, NH and ME. You're only about 2 hours from the best skiing east of Colorado.
Overall, BU has quite an international presence, and is one of the, if not the largest private university in the country. I think total enrollment was closing in on 40k students. The network is vast, and the job placement programs are really wonderful (just shy of Boston College in comparison).
Once you get away from U of I, Champaign is kind of ghetto...and in the middle of nowhere. Decatur is nearby, but that's even more ghetto and more rundown. Not really a place to hang out.
Not too sure about the other cities, but I've heard Ann Arbor is really nice, and even though it has been a while since I've been in South Bend, if I remember correctly it was a nice town and the ND campus is amazing. It's really nice.
Illinois itself is a fiscal mess and COL is very high! Can also agree with the above poster that the area is a dump as well as the surrounding area! South Bend Indiana is the exact opposite! Never been to Tempe but it's only 20 minutes to Phoenix and my brother lives there. Obviously very hot in the summer, but an overall good area and low COL. Can't comment on the others.
If you enjoy places like U of I, have you considered Indiana University? Equally highly regarded business school in one of the coolest and most attractive college town, Bloomington! COL is cheap, and although the idea of living in southern Indiana may be unappealing to some, the school has a huge out of state and international pull, making it super cosmopolitan and diverse. The city also has an awesome culinary scene, and lots of the typical college eatery type places and more!
College Station has a very happening college vibe due to the spirit of Aggieland....being an Aggie is a huge deal there.College Station is conservative so that could be a turn off but you are close to Houston.Its hot and humid.
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