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Hi, my daughter is considering going to Meredith in Raleigh. We currently live in the Md, DC, Va area. My daughter is used to attending many cultural activities, cafes, museums, sporting events, plays etc....she loves going to the mall, and movies. So I have been wondering how is Raleigh? I know nothing about the south. We have been Marylanders our whole lives. In Raleigh, are there things to do? How is public transit there and do the students from Meredith have access to transit? Here, we can hop in the car or hop on a metro train and be downtown in no time. Is Raleigh a relatively safe place? I know cities have their issues...the DC area is no stranger to crime but we feel pretty safe when we are out and about. Any thoughts on the school.? It's quite pricey but seems like a really nice place for her to spend the next four years. If anyone could give me some thoughts I would be greatly appreciate it and your thoughts may put my mind at ease. Thanks for your time.
Concerned Mom in Maryland
raleigh is certainly not comparable to a city like DC, but it (together with durham & chapel hill, which makes up the triangle area together with their surrounding localities) can hold its own in terms of cultural activities. public transportation isn't much to speak of although there is the CAT busline in the area & especially a fantastic free busline (the r-line) that circulates through the downtown districts that include restaurants, museums, & nightlife.
nearby NCSU is often a popular place for the meredith college folks to land since it's a larger campus & may offer more activities. i think both colleges offer some additional classes & activities to the other campus.
has your daughter visited the campus & the area? i'd think that would be first on the agenda to be sure that she'd even like it & they can give many more answers about student life & the area. it's a very small, but pretty campus. it's also something that suits different people differently so she may want to consider that (as i'm sure you both are probably already doing). i'd definitely recommend that she do some of the legwork in determining whether she'd want to go there (rather than mom & dad doing the legwork &/or mom & dad mandating that she attend there)!
you might invite her to join the board with more specific questions that we can help answer.
by the way, i have to say that your post is rather amusing ... wondering if they have movies / cultural events / sporting events (in one of the hottest college basketball parts of the country!) / music / restaurants / movies "down south". heh.
the Mason-Dixon line forms the northern border of Maryland, so you are in fact a Southerner.
Raleigh is a small city, but a student will find plenty to do when she's not studying. Public transportation is a weak spot, but there is a decent downtown bus line. It might take her a while to get to the mall (of course I think Southpoint when I think mall; Crabtree is probably easier for a Meredith student to get to.)
I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. Most of the girls at Meredith end up spending their free time at NC State frat parties, so the absence of equivalent cultural facilities here vs. D.C. shouldn't be much of an issue. She won't miss them.
I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. Most of the girls at Meredith end up spending their free time at NC State frat parties, so the absence of equivalent cultural facilities here vs. D.C. shouldn't be much of an issue. She won't miss them.
[I'm kidding, of course. ]
I'm sure that put her mind at ease
between Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, I think she can find a lot of the cultural arts she's used to
My daughter goes to Meredith, it's an excellent school and very safe. It is down the street from NC State U, as posters have mentioned. She can ride the CAT bus to Crabtree Mall, or to Cameron Village, max a couple of miles away. "Culture", is all around us here...no problem with lack of it. You might want to web search Raleigh Convention and Visitor's Bureau for more info on the area.
Hi, my daughter is considering going to Meredith in Raleigh. We currently live in the Md, DC, Va area. My daughter is used to attending many cultural activities, cafes, museums, sporting events, plays etc....she loves going to the mall, and movies. So I have been wondering how is Raleigh? I know nothing about the south. We have been Marylanders our whole lives. In Raleigh, are there things to do? How is public transit there and do the students from Meredith have access to transit? Here, we can hop in the car or hop on a metro train and be downtown in no time. Is Raleigh a relatively safe place? I know cities have their issues...the DC area is no stranger to crime but we feel pretty safe when we are out and about. Any thoughts on the school.? It's quite pricey but seems like a really nice place for her to spend the next four years. If anyone could give me some thoughts I would be greatly appreciate it and your thoughts may put my mind at ease.
Meredith is a fine school with a good reputation at least locally (I'm not sure how many folks outside this area have heard of it). Raleigh is a medium-sized-and-growing-quickly city with plenty to do, and the Meredth Campus is safe and beautiful. Surely she would pay a visit before coming? There isn't much public transportation going to Meredith itself (except buses) but once you're in the downtown area, there is the "R Line" that goes around downtown, which is where all of the plays, museums, etc are. Meredith is walking distance from a small shopping center with a drugstore, a great independent bookstore, a Whole Foods, and a few other places. That area of Raleigh is pretty quiet and safe.
You can read the City-Data page for Raleigh to get some basic info and statistics--also Wikipedia and Googling, of course.
I know & work with several Meredith alums and all seem to have enjoyed their time there.
Most likely, if she does not have a car herself, she will be able to easily catch a ride with somebody who does, to get out and do lots of things.
That said, public transit can get you plenty of interesting places from Meredith. Meredith students can ride the Raleigh city buses (CAT) for free. CAT bus #4 stops on Wade Avenue next to the Meredith back entrance and takes you to NCSU or Downtown in one direction and Crabtree Vallely Mall in the other. CAT #12 takes you to Cameron Village or downtown and TTA 100 takes you to the airport. Both routes stop on Hillsborough right at Meredith's front entrance. TTA route DRX and CRX take you straight to Downtown Durham/Duke, and Downtown Chapel Hill/UNC respectively. They both stop on Faircloth right by Meredith's side entrance.
If she's used to riding buses (from your post and the fact that you even mention public transit, it sounds like she probably is) then she will have zero problem figuring it out. Even if she's not really used to it, all the routes are programmed into google maps which makes it even easier to figure out.
Meredith is a pretty campus and produces amazing graduates. I haven't met a graduate from Meredith that I have really enjoyed working with either on a volunteer or a business basis.
It is a nice area of town - walkable, livable, enjoyable.
You really must come down and visit! We are a relatively short drive from D.C. and if you give it a few more weeks, the weather will usually be consistently lovely and you can really enjoying our early spring.
I would definitely come down and get a sense of the campus and its surroundings. It is really close to the NCState campus as prior posters have mentioned. There is a strip mall behind the campus with whole foods, a great book store, cycle shop (bicycle), yarn store, bagel shop, bank, cleaners, drug store, etc. So quick errands are in walking distance. If she likes to run/jog, there is a lovely trail that connects meredith to the art museum -- depending on how far she likes to run/jog/bicycle. access to public transportation links you to downtown as well as NCState. There is a train downtown (amtrak) that goes to D.C. as well as RDU for a quick flight home so there are alternate ways to get home other than a car. I would consider it a safe campus as the campus security keeps a pretty obvious presence and it is in a relatively quiet, "home filled" area of town.
Meredith has an excellent reputation down here so congrats for her getting in! Come and visit to be sure it is a good fit!
I love that newish greenway trail they have that goes from Meredith to the art museum.
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