Type: Public
State: Pennsylvania
Website: www.iup.edu


Quick Overview:
Small classes, student groups and frats are very common and popular as well as student publications. Drinking is a popular activity along side smoking.


The word from: the Students

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a nice place to study. Said to be academically challenging although not overwhelmingly hard if of course some effort is put into it. Great professors and even greater availability, not needing any kind of special appointment to get in contact with and are very well concerned with the students welfare and academic growth. These educators and the fact that classes have a relative small size make it so that it's possible for students to develop their critical thinking and it's even possible for those with the need for a bigger challenge to enroll in honors programs and classes. As for the administration, it is said that it sometimes can be a little out of touch with the world with constant changes they make but still accessible to any one that needs aid, although in some cases scheduling problems can be an issue. Overall at IUP there is potential to get as good of an education as any other college or university in the U.S. students just have to make the effort to learn.

Socializing is a big part of the IUP experience. Since it's location is in a more village area, parties are a great way to pass the time and have fun. The large majority of these involve alcohol of course but there are alternatives to those parties like movie nights and games. When the weather is nice there are also out door activities to be enjoyed. Clubs and other associations are popular at IUP making it another viable alternative to past the time and meet people.
The town also provides nice places to hang out, like a theater, pool hall, bowling alleys, restaurants and bars.

As for its student body, IUP is diverse, contrary to the local area. Being a public university makes it a mix of many different people. Students can meet and socialize with a diversity of people from conservatives to unique. It's easy to find people with similar interests given such array of diverse individuals. Even if frats and sororities are popular within campus, there is always some place to fit in at IUP, overall it's a very down to earth community.

Type: Public
State: Colorado
Website: www.colostate.edu

Quick Overview:
Good library and computer facilities, great food outside campus, campus is safe and publications are common.

The word from: the Students

Between the vast array of majors available and the strong science programs there is a whole lot to get excited about at Colorado State University (CSU). Even with a large student body, every student can get his own individual attention when he needs it.
Professors are very much willing to help and very approachable, they also like knowing their students name, making the general environment a bit more familiar than the regular university. If however students feel the need for an even more personalized experience there is also the Honors Program, although it requires a little extra effort but the benefits are great in comparison.
Classes keep improving each year but introductory ones seem to be getting too large on size unfortunately for students.

There's not much time spent indoors at CSU, there is a lot of activities to be done outside and students know that. Among the immense variety of things to do there's biking, hiking, visiting the Horsetooth Reservoir, Poudre Canyon, camping, skiing, snowboarding, the list goes on. Some students can even skip classes to enjoy the outdoors activities. Regarding the few indoors activities that still exist, drinking and partying are the most usual ones. But even with this selection of "distractions", students still find a very good balance between schoolwork and all the rest. The town has a very community feeling to it and it's a very nice place to hang out with stores, restaurants and bars. It's no surprise that people don't go home much on weekends with this amount of things to do in and out of campus.

CSU has a student body typically composed of white, middle-class, athletic and tipically Coloradoan. In general people are very laid-back. Of course atypical students still exist and everyone still finds a niche to fit in. The large student body provides a large pool of cliques and groups for everyone but it's size and amount of people can be overwhelming for freshmen. Minorities seem to fit very well into the community since it's so friendly and open to others.

Type: Private
State: New York
Website: www.colgate.edu



The word from: the Students

Colgate provides a very rigorous academic environment, excellent student and faculty population and plenty of opportunities at a social level for their student body to take. As for academics, Colgate has very strong courses and programs when it comes to humanities, political science, English, psychology and economics, as well as good natural science programs.
students must fulfill some general education requirements that make them to widen they're views beyond their majors, sometimes even leading to new finding new interests in other areas.
Its size and location makes it so that a tight community can be created and developed, a very nice thing to look for since it helps creating bonds between students.
Administration and faculty staff care very much for their students education and create a very passionate, hands-on, inspiring place to learn. Colgate also offers great opportunities to research with its professors but the tough workload can be a bit intimidating.

At first glance, Colgate students don't seem too diverse, its majority is white and dressed very similar, but despite this great discussions can start in and out of class due to very different points of view and opinion among the students. It's a very preppy campus, with a very laid back but well groomed student body. All of them are very passionate about something and everyone has their own thing to enjoy. Colgate students are very active members in the community as a whole.

Type: Private
State: Massachusetts
Website: www.bu.edu

Quick Overview:
Sports facilities are good, the city is great, food outside campus is very good and the campus feels safe.

The word from: the Students

At Boston University students have a very wide range of choices then can make when it comes to academics. It's the perfect place for independent students to explore all the options they have with access to over 65 majors and to top-notch pre-professional programs. Boston University(BU) fosters independence, students do whatever they want, they just need the motivation to. academic wise it's very rigorous, maybe even having a hidden grade deflating policy, regarded as unfair by the student body of course.

BU doesn't have a traditional campus so social life doesn't revolve around the university itself therefor the city is the place to go, it's great and has plenty to do on weekends. Walking around is very enjoyable with lots of places to go to, downtown, the entertainment areas, Cambridge, Central Square or the river. Everything is really close to campus.
Parties are for the great majority held off campus due to the school's strict policy on alcohol and drugs. Bars and clubs are plenty so going out for a drink or dancing is a common thing on weekends. For the ones that don't enjoy parties and prefer school activities, Boston university tries to provide as much as possible, things such as comedy clubs, student concerts, several interesting lectures for every kind of interest.

There's no typical student per say, at BU, they tend to be liberal and political aware, still there are no types. The strong focus on athletics and strong arts programs creates a very good mix of people and everyone gets along. There is an amazing dynamic in class discussions due to the diversity. The great majority of people are rich, well dressed and snobby but still there is a broad array of nations represented in campus.