Many aspects should be considered when deciding where to apply to school, including whether to attend college in a city or in a small town. The type of geographic location of a prospective college is often overlooked in the decision-making process. However, when you consider that you will likely be living in this place for the next four years, it’s plain to see that your surroundings could impact your lifestyle considerably.
In fact, it may even make a difference on your life once you graduate and leave campus. While there are great things about both city and small town living and only you can decide which one works for you, let’s take a look at the value attending college in an urban setting can provide.
The City Becomes Your Campus
Some people feel that city universities are lacking in the quaint, bucolic feel of a rural or small town college. They think a big city college can be cold or sterile. Another way to look at things, though, is to realize that when you attend college in an urban area, the city is wide open and essentially becomes one big campus to explore. You aren’t confined to campus, along with a few outside offerings of a small town. You have the world at your fingertips in a metropolitan area, and that can be very exciting, as well as rich in opportunities.
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You’ll Never Be Bored
In the vast area that is your playground while you’re attending college in a city are an abundance of leisure, cultural and personal development options. You and your friends will never be bored on a weekend because you can just take a look around to find a concert, museum exhibit or even night club to visit. Your counterparts in a small college town likely don’t have nearly the choices and opportunities you do.
There Are More Career Opportunities
You may be required to perform an internship in order to graduate in your chosen major. In a city, you’ll find there are plenty of internship opportunities within a fairly easy commute. In the small towns, you may not be able to find anything at all to fit your needs. In such cases, you would likely have to relocate geographically, causing you to spend money on a new place to live while you complete your internship requirement. Finding an internship near your city college lets you complete your requirements without disrupting your life. In addition, there are likely more job prospects available to you within your city when you graduate. Starting a new job in a place where you’re already comfortable can be an advantage.
You’ll Have Additional Opportunities for Growth
In a big city, you will be exposed to people from all walks of life, as well as experiences that offer diversity. This multitude of encounters will help you to grow as a person. You’ll likely develop improved interpersonal skills, an appreciation for new experiences and an openness to change. With so many opportunities surrounding you, you’ll never lack for the chance to try something new, and the ability to change your original academic course may be more flexible also.
Attending college in a city simply provides you with a wider range of experiences from which to learn if you are open to doing so.
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