...according to a study by Wallet Hub. Using 23 metrics (such as crime, unemployment, and earning potential for graduates), Oxford finished first in the small city (under 100,000 people) category and in the overall rankings. Of course these rankings mean next to nothing, but the MAC represented fairly well.

1: Oxford
28: Bowling Green
42: Kent
43: Mt. Pleasant
57: Buffalo
59: Kalamazoo
77: Muncie
166: Akron
179: Dekalb
204: Toledo
Not listed: Athens, Ypsilanti

http://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-coll...rica/8974/

No Athens??...seriously, it's a nice college town.

Wow. Congrats.

Mt Pleasant better than Kzoo? LOL

Out in nowhere-land hick-ville,away from everything -- it's not a great college town. Kzoo's way better. Yeah, there's some ghettos but the heart of that is on the other side of the tracks. Downtown is Real, very cool, and a shade under an hour from downtown Grand Rapids.

Congrats to Miami, but a list of great college towns that doesn't mention Athens is seriously flawed. I know I'm a homer, but I think most would agree.

Madison is 54th, that list sucks.

Who or what is "Wallet Hub"?

(12-17-2014 03:51 PM)axeme Wrote:  Who or what is "Wallet Hub"?

The Oxford, OH business development group.

(12-17-2014 03:34 PM)Y-CityCatFan Wrote:  Congrats to Miami, but a list of great college towns that doesn't mention Athens is seriously flawed. I know I'm a homer, but I think most would agree.

I wouldn't. Great, great campus, but the town is a bit of a dump. Great dive bars, and I spent more than a couple of weekends there (well, my OU friends tell my I did. My memory is a bit hazy on the subject.) I'd rank OU very high for the campus and campus life, but the town? No.

(12-17-2014 11:38 AM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  No Athens??...seriously, it's a nice college town.

This tells me all I need to know about this list.

Athens makes top spots in most every other college town list, but not even considered in this poll, makes it bogus. No cred.

Well, at least they got the winning town correct! :)

if economic factors like employment rates are a part of it Athens is going to suffer because south east ohio is one of the most economically challenged regions in the country.

(12-17-2014 06:34 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  if economic factors like employment rates are a part of it Athens is going to suffer because south east ohio is one of the most economically challenged regions in the country.

If you read the business newspapers around NE Ohio, you'd think it's in the middle of an economic and infrastructural renaissance thanks to a natural gas boom.

Lol what a joke. Mt Pleasant being above any other city. No Athens. Etc etc....

(12-17-2014 06:31 PM)BobcatAttack11 Wrote:  Athens makes top spots in most every other college town list, but not even considered in this poll, makes it bogus. No cred.

+1

Not only does that make it bogus, Athens > Oxford IMO.

I took the exclusion of Athens as a sign that they weren't able to record all of the data necessary for the city to qualify. Other notable cities like Green Bay and Oxford (the Mississippi one) were excluded as well. For the record I agree that Athens is a great college town in its own right, although an outsider's opinion depends on what kind of vibe you prefer in general. I love Oxford, but the hyper-fratty atmosphere was a bit much after four years and I can definitely see how a visitor would be turned off by it.

Also the first post has been edited to correct a mistake in Bowling Green's rank. They're 28 instead of 38, where Bowling Green, Kentucky is.

(12-17-2014 07:17 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  I took the exclusion of Athens as a sign that they weren't able to record all of the data necessary for the city to qualify. Other notable cities like Green Bay and Oxford (the Mississippi one) were excluded as well. For the record I agree that Athens is a great college town in its own right, although an outsider's opinion depends on what kind of vibe you prefer in general. I love Oxford, but the hyper-fratty atmosphere was a bit much after four years and I can definitely see how a visitor would be turned off by it.

Also the first post has been edited to correct a mistake in Bowling Green's rank. They're 28 instead of 38, where Bowling Green, Kentucky is.

From what I can see they are 26 and Kent is actually 28. Granted I would personally flip them around especially after teh changes in downtown Kent but then again I am a homer.

(12-17-2014 06:40 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  Lol what a joke. Mt Pleasant being above any other city. No Athens. Etc etc....

The real joke is anyone saying Kalamakompton is a nice college town.