May 13
Look at the Surrounding Neighborhoods When Looking at a U.S. University
The people that live in the neighborhoods around a university are going to have a huge influence on the lives of students at that university. Some universities are going to be situated in the hearts of bustling metropolises, full of business and activity. Others are going to be nestled in small, quiet towns. The type of neighborhood surrounding a university will impact what you, as a student, can do there. Do you dream of going out to clubs night after night after night? You need to go to a university in an urban area. Do you like the quiet life? Maybe a university in a neighborhood filled with older, married couples would suit you.
You need to look at the demographic data for the neighborhoods surrounding your university. This data will tell you a lot of interesting things: how many people live there? What is there average age? What is their ethnic background? What kind of lifestyle do they lead? These are important things to consider in choosing a town in which to spend four years of your life.
And once again, we’ve got some very good resources to allow you to check up on the demographics of your university’s town. First, for the raw data, you can’t get much better than Zipskinny, which provides all the latest census data in an easily-understood format. For a little more fun, go to this site, provided by Claritas, a target marketing firm. Claritas categorizes each and every American as one of sixty-six types, and will tell you which five types are most prevalent in any given location. For example, where I live, “American Dreams” are very common:
American Dreams is a living example of how ethnically diverse the nation has become: just under half the residents are Hispanic, Asian, or African-American. In these multilingual neighborhoods–one in ten speaks a language other than English–middle-aged immigrants and their children live in upper-middle-class comfort.
At either site you’ll need the zip code of your university. You may want to check surrounding zip codes as well.
The bottom line is that, as you research universities, it’s a good idea to do some basic research into the surrounding community.
For your consideration: What kind of town or city would you like to live in while studying at university? What kind of people would you like to live in that town?
Posts in this Series
- Conclusion - How to Choose a U.S. University - 02 Jun
- Activities Around a University Campus - 01 Jun
- Check Out U.S. Universities on iTunes U - 26 May
- Extracurricular Activities - 25 May
- Get to Know Your Potential Professors - 21 May
- Don't Forget Your Life! - 20 May
- What Do You Want to See in the U.S.? - 19 May
- How Many International Students go to your Chosen University? - 18 May
- The Problem with University Rankings - 17 May
- Using Facebook to Research Universities - 14 May
- Look at the Surrounding Neighborhoods When Looking at a U.S. University (This post)
- How Weather Should Factor Into Your Search for a U.S. University - 12 May
- Looking for a University in the United States: Cost of Living - 11 May
- Looking for a University in the United States - 10 May
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Tags: demographics of U.S. universities, International students in the U.S., study in the United States, U.S. university cities, U.S. university towns
