How is a college's campus setting determined?

From the school's IPEDS urban-centric locale (City, Suburb, Town, Rural). We map City → big city, Suburb → suburban, and Town/Rural → college town — the same setting families weigh in the conjoint exercise. It's the physical location, a standardized federal field, not a subjective label.

Does campus setting affect admission odds?

Setting itself doesn't change your odds — it's a fit/preference factor, not an admissions one. But it correlates with size and culture, and it's one of the things QuantAdmit lets you weight so your list reflects the environment you'd actually thrive in.

College-town colleges — Selective Schools by Campus Setting | QuantAdmit

College-town colleges

Selective colleges where the town is the campus — a walkable, community-centered college town built around student life.

Big-city colleges Suburban colleges College-town colleges

#	College	Location	Accept.	SAT 25–75	Earnings (10 yr)
1	Dartmouth	Hanover, NH	5%	1500–1570	$97,434
2	Colby	Waterville, ME	7%	1460–1550	$80,490
3	Bowdoin	Brunswick, ME	7%	1470–1550	$82,735
4	Williams	Williamstown, MA	8%	1490–1570	$88,665
5	Middlebury	Middlebury, VT	11%	1445–1550	$76,310
6	College of the Ozarks	Point Lookout, MO	12%	1050–1220	$41,592
7	United States Military Academy	West Point, NY	12%	1200–1430	—
8	Colgate	Hamilton, NY	14%	1430–1540	$85,139
9	Washington & Lee	Lexington, VA	14%	1430–1540	$94,810
10	United States Air Force Academy	USAF Academy, CO	14%	1230–1440	—
11	Grinnell	Grinnell, IA	15%	1410–1540	$62,830
12	Berea College	Berea, KY	19%	1156–1335	$43,150
13	Carleton	Northfield, MN	20%	1450–1560	$75,525
14	Hillsdale College	Hillsdale, MI	21%	1320–1490	—
15	University of Virginia's College at Wise	Wise, VA	29%	945–1120	$45,325
16	Bucknell	Lewisburg, PA	29%	1310–1470	$93,807
17	Kenyon	Gambier, OH	31%	1358–1503	$71,830
18	Oberlin	Oberlin, OH	34%	1360–1520	$58,343
19	Dickinson State University	Dickinson, ND	37%	—	$50,720
20	Thomas University	Thomasville, GA	38%	990–1220	$49,716
21	Hampden-Sydney College	Hampden-Sydney, VA	41%	1030–1250	$67,640
22	Ave Maria University	Ave Maria, FL	41%	—	$49,520
23	University of West Alabama	Livingston, AL	43%	860–1120	$44,232
24	Point University	West Point, GA	44%	—	$38,740
25	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Socorro, NM	44%	1080–1310	$76,489
26	Grambling State University	Grambling, LA	45%	920–1080	$41,109
27	Alcorn State University	Alcorn State, MS	45%	670–998	$36,421
28	Brigham Young University-Hawaii	Laie, HI	47%	960–1190	$52,064
29	Governors State University	University Park, IL	48%	—	$58,169
30	St Olaf College	Northfield, MN	48%	1300–1470	$65,543
31	Tuskegee University	Tuskegee, AL	49%	—	$49,641
32	Oklahoma Baptist University	Shawnee, OK	49%	1070–1240	$48,434
33	Anna Maria College	Paxton, MA	50%	—	$46,651
34	Quincy University	Quincy, IL	51%	1000–1200	$50,369
35	University of West Georgia	Carrollton, GA	52%	950–1140	$49,587
36	William Penn University	Oskaloosa, IA	52%	880–1110	$48,936
37	Bard	Annandale-On-Hudson, NY	52%	1270–1450	$46,543
38	Maine Maritime Academy	Castine, ME	54%	1095–1260	$89,964
39	St Lawrence University	Canton, NY	54%	1255–1420	$67,258
40	Centre College	Danville, KY	54%	1160–1450	$66,240
41	Allegheny College	Meadville, PA	55%	1173–1358	$62,069
42	Wayland Baptist University	Plainview, TX	56%	—	$51,838
43	Bemidji State University	Bemidji, MN	56%	—	$53,755
44	Averett University	Danville, VA	57%	926–1143	$51,516
45	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences	Fayette, MO	57%	960–1045	$48,991
46	The University of the South	Sewanee, TN	57%	1260–1390	$64,911
47	Alma College	Alma, MI	57%	—	$54,742
48	DePauw University	Greencastle, IN	57%	1200–1410	$70,527
49	Florida Polytechnic University	Lakeland, FL	58%	1170–1340	—
50	East Texas Baptist University	Marshall, TX	58%	—	$52,788
51	East Central University	Ada, OK	58%	900–1120	$44,962
52	The College of Wooster	Wooster, OH	60%	1220–1460	$59,629
53	Freed-Hardeman University	Henderson, TN	60%	952–1087	$47,485
54	State University of New York at Cortland	Cortland, NY	60%	—	$60,236
55	Bethel University	McKenzie, TN	60%	830–1120	$47,482
56	University of Hawaii at Hilo	Hilo, HI	61%	945–1175	$47,856
57	Gustavus Adolphus College	Saint Peter, MN	61%	—	$65,607
58	Reinhardt University	Waleska, GA	62%	—	$46,541
59	Southwest Minnesota State University	Marshall, MN	62%	—	$51,342
60	Lincoln Memorial University	Harrogate, TN	63%	1000–1210	$49,956

Quick answers

How is a college's campus setting determined?: From the school's IPEDS urban-centric locale (City, Suburb, Town, Rural). We map City → big city, Suburb → suburban, and Town/Rural → college town — the same setting families weigh in the conjoint exercise. It's the physical location, a standardized federal field, not a subjective label.
Does campus setting affect admission odds?: Setting itself doesn't change your odds — it's a fit/preference factor, not an admissions one. But it correlates with size and culture, and it's one of the things QuantAdmit lets you weight so your list reflects the environment you'd actually thrive in.

Setting from IPEDS locale; test scores and earnings from College Scorecard (lag ~2 years). Rankings fill in as more schools are processed. Weight campus setting in your own list with the Best-Fit Simulator.

These outputs are estimates from a baseline model — not guarantees of admission, cost, or outcome.