Boston
Your Number One College Destination Awaits You

Boston, Massachusetts is a hot spot for college students—offering exceptional academic, cultural and social opportunities.

According to Collegia’s latest “College Destinations Index”, Boston ranked number one among major cities as the place to go to college.  Categories Collegia analyzed in their research included: student concentration in a population, diversity rates, research opportunities, and leisure and cultural opportunities.

With over 250,000 college students in the Greater Boston Area, you are bound to see college students commuting to internships, visiting coffee shops or talking with friends on their way to class. More students mean more opportunities to meet new friends from your college and from over 100 other colleges and universities in Boston.

If you are looking for a chance to meet people from different countries, Boston is for you. With the highest international student diversity rate in the country, Boston is a welcoming place for international students to get a taste for busy, urban American culture while providing domestic students with an opportunity to meet friends from all over the world and learn about different cultures first hand.

On the academic side Boston is known as the Athens of America, and offers a variety of colleges and universities with specialized academic programs. You have your choice of learning to compose your own music at one of the many music conservatories, preparing for your career at technical/industrial institutes and community colleges, shaping the future at a technology institute, exploring your passions at liberal arts colleges, solving social and economic problems at major research universities, discovering the latest medical developments at one of the colleges of health and sciences, mastering the art of debate at law schools, creating the next great masterpiece at art and design colleges, and finding your voice at communication and performing arts colleges.  Virtually every major possible is available in Boston; a Mecca for those interested in health care, education, technology and art and design.  Internship possibilities abound due to the number of finance, government, hospital and non profit agencies in the city. 

Because of the well-respected colleges, the talented students, and the types of industries, Boston offers students the highest research capacity in the country. Foundations, individual donors, companies and organizations fund research projects for students to explore particular areas of study making valuable contributions to many bodies of knowledge.

As you consider the vast array of academic programs available in Boston, you also have the choice of attending a small college or a large university – they are all here.  And no matter how small or large your college is, you can just walk off your campus and mix with students from other colleges in the area. 

High on the list of reasons students like Boston are its walking ability and arts and leisure opportunities. The number of arts and leisure opportunities places it third in the country.  Experience traditional Boston by going to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Science, Museum of Fine Arts, art galleries, observatories, and the infamous Swan Boats. Get a first hand taste of American history by visiting the USS Constitution, Paul Revere’s house or walking the Freedom Trail.  Take a run along the Charles River, or learn to sail by joining Community Boating.

Or celebrate the many cultures who call Boston home by stopping at cultural events like the Festival Da Independencia Do Brasil where you will find free live performances, dancing, a parade, ethnic food, a mobile art gallery, new people, and much more.

For different tastes around Boston, stand in a massive line at the original Pizzeria Regina in the North End, take the T to Chinatown for Dim Sum, grab a greasy frank and salty pretzel at Fenway Park, people-watch while sipping tea at a Newbury Street outdoor café, savor the many types of creamy clam chowders Boston offers at the Chowder Fest.

Boston is a college-town…or rather a college-city – Make it yours!

Editorial provided by Tania L. Green, Program Assistant at Colleges of the Fenway, Boston, MA. Colleges of the Fenway is a collaborative effort of six neighboring Boston-based colleges.