The Best of Both Worlds
Stop me if you’ve been to one of our info sessions and heard one of our counselors say something like this before: “Boston is the world’s best college town.” While this may be our opinion, it’s also on the internet! Check out this study by the American Institute for Economic Research, naming Boston the top major metro area for college students.
I mean, it’s on the internet, so it has to be true. Also, I’m a French model…bonjour.
This coming week is a big one for Babson, and students in general. Orientation for the Class of 2017 begins, and then all of our undergraduates will move back to campus, and for a lot of you, it means the start of the school year too. For some of our first year students, this will be the first extended period of time in the Boston area. For some of you getting into the college search now, there’s a very good chance you aren’t overly familiar with Boston either. So, I sat down with a couple of our interns, Manny and Jake, to talk about some of the things they have done in Boston. Both Manny, from Chicago, and Jake, from Southern California, are from well outside New England; therefore, I thought they would be good resources for this conversation.
For Manny, heading into his second year, the fact that Boston is a major city, but also a small in total area, made it very easy to get around. “Once you get in, it’s easy to find everything and get to know your way around. I think the best way to go in is to get a Zip Car and head in on route 9. You get a sense of the general area and all the things you can do on your way into Boston as well.” Manny noted Newbury Street as one of his favorite places, which is “… like an outdoor mall, because you can find everything there.”
Jake, a rising junior, loves kayaking and sailing on the Charles River. The adjective “awesome” was used many times when talking about this, so it must be good. Another one of Jake’s favorite stops is in the North End: “The only better Italian food you’ll find than in the North End is in Italy.” In addition to eating in the North End, Jake loves heading into the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science, Faneuil Hall, and to the Boston Garden for Celtics or Bruins games, or concerts.
There are lots of ways to get into Boston for students, including Zip Cars available on campus, the “T,” the subway in Boston, the Commuter Rail, and the Babson shuttle, which will take students into Boston and bring them back to campus Thursday through Sunday each week.
Personally, I love the fact that students can have a beautiful, green campus and still have easy access to a great city like Boston. The access expands not only the social opportunities and activities, but provides more internships and community involvement opportunities as well. To echo what Manny said, it doesn’t take long for students to learn their way around Boston and get used to the, well, unique driving talents of Boston drivers (Zip Cars come with insurance included, FYI). My personal recommendation is that people from outside the area check out Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. Even if they aren’t necessarily a Red Sox or baseball fan in general, it’s just a great experience. I have so many memories from going to games, especially this one I went to and sat right where the game winning home run landed. Yes, I know that was ten years ago, and yes, I know that means some of you were seven years old at the time. That makes me feel ancient, so let’s just move on.
With so many opportunities to get involved at Babson, and chances to get into the world’s best college town, the connections never stop for students. If you are coming to visit Babson, make sure to ask us for some recommendations on what to do while you are in town, we’d love to share.