在大城市，生活丰富，活动繁多。许多大学生正是为这个目的而选择位于大都市的院校读书。

在美国，有些市内高校的校园独占一区，自成一体——如休斯顿的莱斯大学(Rice University)或费城的宾夕法尼亚大学（University of Pennsylvania）；另一些校园则完全与城市融汇在一起——如位于首都华盛顿的乔治·华盛顿大学（George Washington University）或分散在纽约市格林威治村附近（Greenwich Village）的纽约大学（New York University）。

两种类型的校园都具有城市环境提供的优势：博物馆、音乐厅；公共交通和多彩多姿的人口构成。

纽约大学招生事务主任肖恩·阿伯特（Shawn Abbott）认为，多元化对外国学生具有吸引力。他说：“在纽约大学，我们有全美人数最多的外国学生。他们在这里可以感受一个说世界所有语言的地方，特色小区随处可见。外国学生能够在这里接触到来自他们自身文化传统的东西，如商店、咖啡馆和餐馆，从而不会感到纽约是那么不可一世。”

托尼·塔巴夏（Tony Tambascia）是坐落在洛杉矶市中心的南加州大学（University of Southern California）外国学生顾问办公室负责人。他说：“有时候，适应大城市的生活要比适应郊区生活容易一些。许多外国学生原本也是来自大都市地区。”

以下是在美国最大城市中学生不必破费便可享受的休闲娱乐活动。

纽约（New York）

华盛顿广场公园（Washington Square Park）

华盛顿广场公园是纽约大学学生汇聚的主要场所，这里经常有现场音乐会和其他演出活动。

圣热内罗节（Festival of San Gennaro）

每年九月，小意大利区（Little Italy）的桑子街（Mulberry Street）上都会举行为期11天的游行、美食和商摊购物联欢活动。这个传统始与上世纪20年代来到纽约的意大利移民。

博物馆大道（Museum Mile）

在位于82街北至105街之间的第五大道（Fifth Avenue）上，坐落着九座博物馆，包括大都会艺术博物馆（Metropolitan Museum of Art）和索罗门·古根海姆博物馆（Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum）。大多数博物馆都为学生提供优惠票价。

芝加哥（Chicago）

音乐节 

爵士和蓝调与芝加哥市渊源已久。每年芝加哥市都会举办免费的爵士音乐节和蓝调音乐节。芝加哥蓝调音乐节（Chicago Blues Festival）于六月在格兰特公园（Grant Park）湖滨举行；芝加哥爵士音乐节（Chicago Jazz Festival）于九月初在千禧公园（Millennium Park）举行。

芝加哥建筑开放日（Open House Chicago）

每年秋季一个周末，芝加哥著名的摩天大楼和创意不凡的建筑物免费向当地居民和各地参观游客开放。

社区街头联欢节

同纽约一样，芝加哥也有着独具特色的各式社区。许多社区举办联欢庆典，弘扬本区文化传统。例如洛根广场（Logan Square）的拉美美食节（Taste of Latin America）和在小村庄（Little Village）举办的墨西哥风味（Flavors of Mexico）。

洛杉矶（Los Angeles）

洛杉矶农贸市场（Los Angeles Farmers Market）

费尔法克斯区（Fairfax district）有一个一周七天营业的农贸市场（Farmers Market），设有食品摊、餐馆和露天食品杂货站。这里的食品风味来自四面八方，占主体的是拉美和亚洲食品。

阿伯特·金尼大道第一个星期五集市（First Fridays at Abbott Kinney Boulevard）

每月第一个星期五的晚6点-10点，阿伯特·金尼大道商家（Abbott Kinney Boulevard merchants）举行洛杉矶威尼斯海滩（Venice Beach）社区集市，街头商人、音乐人和艺术家云集。

圣莫尼卡码头（Santa Monica Pier）

有历史意义的圣莫尼卡码头店铺餐馆鳞次栉比，并且有一个历史悠久的转盘娱乐游戏场。夏天这里演出免费系列音乐会（free concert series），从雷鬼、独立摇滚到节奏和蓝调，各种音乐表演应有尽有。

无论你是否喜欢都市环境，在美国你总是可以找到符合自己兴趣的高校。跟踪“连线美国”，了解如何获得最充实的美国留学经历。

 

Some colleges offer street cred*

*Street cred: The quality of commanding respect in an urban environment

In the city, there’s always something going on. For many students who go to school on urban campuses, that’s the whole point.

Some urban schools in the United States have self-contained campuses — such as Rice University in Houston or the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia — while others are integrated into their cities, like George Washington University in Washington and New York University, centered around New York’s Greenwich Village.

Both types of campus offer the advantages of city living: museums and performing arts centers, public transportation and diverse populations.

Shawn Abbott, the dean of admissions for New York University (NYU), thinks diversity attractsinternational students.  “At NYU, where we enroll the largest number of international students in America,” Abbott said, “students get to live in a city where nearly every language in the world is spoken and where micro-neighborhoods are easily accessible,” he said. “International students find elements of their own communities — shops, cafes, restaurants — that make a place like New York less intimidating.”

“Adjusting to life in a large metropolitan area can sometimes be a little easier than moving to a less-urban locale,” said Tony Tambascia, who directs an office that helps international students enrolled at the University of Southern California, which is located in the heart of Los Angeles. ”Many international students come to the U.S. from large, globally oriented urban areas themselves.” 

Here are some low-cost pastimes enjoyed by students taking a break from their studies in a few of America’s biggest cities.

New York

Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park, a central meeting place for students at New York University, hosts frequent live-music and other performances.

Festival of San Gennaro

Every September, Mulberry Street in Little Italy is given over to an 11-day fair featuring parades, food and street vendors for the Festival of San Gennaro, started in the 1920s by Italian immigrants to New York.

Museum Mile

The stretch of Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th streets houses nine museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Most of the museums offer discounts on admission for students.

Chicago

Music festivals 

Jazz and blues music have long histories in Chicago, and every year the city hosts a free festival for each genre. The Chicago Blues Festival is held in lakefront Grant Park in June, and the Chicago Jazz Festival is held in Millennium Park at the beginning of September.

Open House Chicago

This free, weekend-long event, which takes place each fall, gives locals and visitors access to Chicago’s famous skyscrapers and other architecturally significant buildings.

Neighborhood festivals

Like New York, Chicago has an array of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct characteristics. Many hold neighborhood festivals to celebrate residents’ heritage, such as the Taste of Latin America in Logan Square or Flavors of Mexico in Little Village.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Farmers Market

Open seven days a week and located in the Fairfax district, the Farmers Market has food stalls, restaurants and open-air grocers. Though many cuisines are offered, there’s an emphasis on Latin American and Asian food.

First Fridays at Abbott Kinney Boulevard

From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the first Friday of every month, Abbott Kinney Boulevard merchants host street vendors, music and artists in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood.

Santa Monica Pier

The historic Santa Monica Pier has shops, restaurants, a historic carousel and amusement rides. During summer, it’s the site of a free concert series with a lineup including everything from reggae and indie rock to rhythm and blues.

Whether or not city life is for you, there’s a U.S. college that will meet your needs. Follow ShareAmerica to learn more about how get the most out of studying in the U.S.