Furman University, a picturesque campus with its own lake, is located in Greenville, S.C., a city of about 64,000 residents. The campus is five miles away from downtown Greenville, and has its own stop on the local bus route. Students can ride the Greenville Transit Authority buses for $1.50 a way, or can hop on the university shuttle on nights and weekends. In Greenville, students can check out more than 600 restaurants and eateries, and five shopping districts. On campus, there are more than 200 clubs and organizations, and all students must take advantage of campus events through the Cultural Life Program: Before graduation, a student must attend at least 36 school events. All students must live on campus, too, unless they commute from a parents home or are married. There are more than a dozen Greek organizations at Furman. The Furman Paladins compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference.Outside of class, students can grow through programs at the on-campus Shucker Leadership Institute. Through a series of stages - Explore, Engage and Emerge - Furman students learn how to be effective community leaders. Eventually, Shucker Fellows put their leadership skills to work by serving on a local nonprofit organizations board of directors and can take a five-day Outward Bound trip through the surrounding wilderness. Notable Furman graduates include Richard Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education; John Broadus Watson, widely known as the father of behavioral psychology; and Charles Townes, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.

Bard Colleges setting is less like a typical campus than a vast village spread out across 500 acres of parks and woodland. Located in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., the secluded school is close to the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. Many students have views of the campuss nearby scenery from their dorm rooms. First-year students must live in one of more than 40 residence halls and houses, on campus,some of which have alcohol free, quiet and wellness themes. For outdoor recreation, students can go horseback riding, canoeing, hiking and biking. There are nearly 100 clubs on campus, and students are welcome to start new organizations. There is no Greek system at Bard. About half of Bard students study abroad before graduation. There are tons of student volunteer options, including one that sends students to maximum- and medium-security jails throughout New York to tutor inmates. The Bard Raptors sports teams are members of the NCAA Division III Liberty League. Freshmen at Bard start college earlier than their peers at most other schools, arriving in early August for a three-week orientation to campus, academic and community life known as the Language and Thinking Program.For day trips, New York City is 90 miles from campus and easily accessible by train. Students have several options for longer stays in the Big Apple, too. Through the Bard-Rockefeller Semester in Science, students can enroll in an intensive semester of research and study at New Yorks Rockefeller University. Students live at Rockefeller and work in the universitys laboratories. Students can spend also spend a semester or two in New York through the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program, which pairs students with internships in international relations and human rights areas. In addition to its undergraduate offerings, Bard has unique graduate degree options such as a masters of music in conducting through its Conservatory of Music and a doctorate of philosophy in decorative arts. Notable alumni of Bard College include journalist Matt Taibbi; actor Christopher Guest; and the founders of Steely Dan, musicians Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.