When international students think of the US, they usually think of universities in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and so forth. There is a good reason for this: These cities and universities spend millions of dollars every year advertising themselves, are featured in numerous movies and other pop culture venues and are very much associated with American culture. The US, however, is a very big place and there are universities in what is usually termed the “heartland” by Americans—meaning the interior of the nation, as opposed to the coasts—that offer a very good educational experience.
For example, the Midwest, west and southwest of the US are full of fine universities. They’re generally not as well-publicized simply because many of them haven’t been around as long as the oldest universities on the east coast. The big city universities also tend to have a lot of prestige in that they oftentimes have legacy students from powerful families that have attended those universities for many years. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean anything where the quality of their education is concerned and, for everyday people, it sometimes makes those universities very hard to get into and means that tuition is extremely high.
In the heartland states, the cost of living is much lower than it is in the major cities. The most expensive places to live in the US include among their number New York, Boston and other cities that are known for their large university campuses. If you want to bring your expenses down to a more manageable level, you can do it by attending other universities without sacrificing anything where education is concerned. Prestige is nice, but not spending a mint to get the same degree that you’d get at a western or Midwestern university has its appeal, as well, and may make better sense.
Consider the entire range of universities available in the US. While it’s easy to get stuck on the big names and while their prestige does make them desirable to some students, they don’t offer anything different in terms of degrees than the more affordable universities in the US do. With the reduced cost of living in the heartland, many students find they have more time to study, less stress over expenses and that they actually have a lot more fun because of the lower-pressure environment that characterizes the heartland US.
