IMHO, the state of Illinois doesn't offer the same type of super collegiate atmsosphere of college towns in neighboring states (i.e. Madison, Ann Arbor, Iowa City, Bloomington).
That said, we do have some nice collegiatge settings. Which is the best?
Among the "major college towns", who wins this battle:
Evanston vs. Champaign/Urbana?
If the battle is extended further, how do these others compare (with some offering an urban type of collegiate experience):
• Hyde Park (U of C)
• Lincoln Pk (DePaul)
• Normal (ISU)
• Carbondale (SIU)
• DeKalb (NIU)
As for me, I like Evanston as a college town a lot more than C/U. The campus actually borders downtown Evanston (while neither downtown Champaign or Urbana are adjacent to the U of I). Evanston offers a much more pleasant and classy college town environment. C/U gets the nod on the basis of sheer numbers of students and how they influenece the place.
As for the others, Hyde Park is a perfect fit for the intellectual and architeturally classy U of C. Lincoln Park offers DePaul a wonderful setting for anyone in their 20's. Among the state schools, I can't imagine a worse college town thatn DeKalb...or one that less relates to its university. Northern is a decent enough campus, but once off campus, you're in nowhere's ville. SIU and Carbondale are in a most attractive part of our state and offer a scenery you don't see at other Illinois campuses.> |
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