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Old 01-14-2007, 10:28 PM   #18
Swaggs
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Join Date: Oct 2000
I have a little different perspective of the town itself, since I am from there and remained there while the students left.

The things that come to mind are that there are two main campuses, one that houses most of the liberal arts/business/journalism-type colleges in the "historic" downtown setting and a more modern one that is the home of the engineering school a little ways away. There are roughly 28,000-30,000 students, but the town itself is relatively small, so there are probably less than 35,000 when school is out. Crime is very minimal and the student-nightlife is very, very good.

A lot of the student population is from West Virginia, but there are a large number that come from (particularly) Pennsylvania and New Jersey, because the school is very affordable compared to in-state options in both of those states. There is a great sports atmosphere, football is king (football Saturday's are awesome), but men's basketball is right up there--and both have been very successful lately, so their popularity is growing. Wrestling, men's and women's soccer, and baseball are also fairly popular. I was barely interested in the Greek life, but there is a pretty large fraternity/sorority population, as well. Public transportation is very good between the campuses and the downtown-area (there is a public rapid transportation system--essentially an above ground railway system--that is very well received by students) and bus systems. A car is a blessing and a curse in Morgantown. They are helpful, because there are some nice cities within driving distance, like Pittsburgh (nearest major airport--roughly 75 minutes away and a very easy drive) and D.C. (roughly 3 hours away) and the town, although fairly small, is very "hilly" and not always easy to navigate through. But parking and weather can make owning a car difficult for a student.

Kind of rambled there and didn't come close to covering a whole lot, but if you are interested in any other particular info, let me know.
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