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I am considering middle Tennessee state in Mufreesboro. Nice town? Good college?
Its a good college. The professors are very good, no complaints. My daughter just graduated from it this month. The town has lots of shopping and restaurants. My son lives there as he works for Verizon. Check out the Avenue for Shopping.
If there are any more questions feel free to ask. About Dorms , nearby apts etc
Murfreesboro (or "The Boro" as it is sometimes locally referred to as) is a pretty nice town, and MTSU is a pretty good school.
Murfreesboro is somewhat of a cross between a large suburb and a large college town. You can find plenty of college pride there, and the university has a pretty large impact on the community. However, it's big enough (pop 111,000) where there is much more going on than the college itself.
As a university, MTSU has grown by leaps and bounds not only in enrollment, but also gaining in prestige. A couple of decades ago, it was somewhat of an afterthought as far as state universities go. The current president (Sidney McPhee) has done an excellent job raising the schools profile, and turning it into a solid liberal arts school (especially in communications and teaching)...the only thing that really brings it down is the lack of doctoral programs -- but that is not the fault of the school itself, but rather a state decision to concentrate a lot of those programs at the flagship school, UT Knoxville, and the University of Memphis.
The campus isn't much to write home about -- it's flat as a pancake, with a few trees, and no real "historic" factor going for it. The dorms are what you would expect -- although none of them are high rises. The campus buildings are pretty boring, with the notable exception being the library (which is quite nice).
Sports are division I, (FBS - major division football), but the school is in the Sun Belt, so most of the teams are average at best (Women's BB is pretty good, though). The facilities are clean, but average. The atmosphere is lacking, but you can still have a bit of fun if you are a sports fan.
The city of Murfreesboro is a lot like the campus -- quite flat (especially compared to the rest of the Nashville area). But there are some pretty parts. There are a few parks in the area, notably Old Fort Park and Stones River National Battlefield (free to visit). With the cities explosive growth (from 44,000 in 1990 to 111,000 in 2010), a lot of the buildings are pretty new in town, but there is a solid core of historic property in town, including a nice little town square and picturesque courthouse.
The town has a range of income levels, socioeconomic groups, and is somewhat diverse compared to some of the other suburbs. It's somewhere between a blue collar and white collar town. There are a lot of in-town jobs...especially manufacturing and retail/service jobs...most of the office-type jobs are located elsewhere, so a fair amount of the community commutes to Nashville and surrounding suburbs. The street infrastructure hasn't caught up to the growth, so there are a number of traffic problems around town, although things have gotten better as two new interstate exits have opened up. Interstate access is fine (and the interstate is 8 lanes - 4 on each side), but the secondary roads are quite crowded.
There is a decent amount of shopping in the Murfreesboro area...especially with the growth of The Avenue shopping district, as well as other retail that has sprung up along Medical Center Pkwy and Thompson Ln. There is also a medium size mall on Old Fort Pkwy (Stones River Mall)....so although there may be better shopping areas elsewhere, most of what you need can be found in town.
For more detailed info on the town, a Murfreesboro resident may be the one to ask.
You did a great job nashvols. I have lived here for almost a year and you taught me a lot in that one post.
I am applying to MTSU now myself. Figure, I live in a college town, I might as well add a teaching degree and probably continue on for a master's degree.
It is a geographically large area so in many parts of town, you wouldn't know there was a college, except for all the MTSU Blue Raider stuff that the businesses post!
You did a great job nashvols. I have lived here for almost a year and you taught me a lot in that one post.
I am applying to MTSU now myself. Figure, I live in a college town, I might as well add a teaching degree and probably continue on for a master's degree.
It is a geographically large area so in many parts of town, you wouldn't know there was a college, except for all the MTSU Blue Raider stuff that the businesses post!
I agree. MTSU does not define the Boro. Young families, good schools and life surrounding the little darlings is what the Boro is MOSTLY about. You will find everything here in the Boro because of the growth recently. Traffic is dicey rush hour but nothing compared to Nashville.
To the OP Murfreesboro is a nice place. I personally lived there before and I attended MTSU in the late 1990s (and yes it has grown considerably since then). Nashvols summed up the demographics pretty well, but I can only give my honest opinion and experiences.
Now if you are coming from a very big city you MAY find Mboro and even Nashville boring. When I attended many kids complained about MTSU being a suitcase school and having nothing to do. But I partied every weekend! We just drove to Nashville for dance clubs sometimes, but there were often house parties, frat parties, and local bars we frequented. I also had friends from Nashville colleges and was frequently invited to their functions and parties. I was never bored (but I also worked and studied alot too)!
I never experienced any crime and there was minimal crime on campus, I felt safe in all parts of the town, just do not go out late at night alone ever! (that would apply to anyone anywhere though) We must face traffic issues as a part of life, but Mboro was and is very easy to get around in. I dislike Nashville traffic and the city lay out in general, so when I go to the Boro I feel getting around is a piece of cake.
Sorry I do not know any current college kids, but aside from the growth I do not know if much else has changed. I just find it hard to believe a college kid would be "bored" today. There are alot of apartment choices off campus for reasonable rent if a dorm is not your thing.
I do not know what you plan to study. However if you plan to stay in the Murfreesboro area post grad you may find the job market lacking, but we know the market and economy changes.....But many professionals commute to Nashville, Brentwood for work. I think Mboro is an excellent place to raise children and to retire to. I have lived in several states and I think Mboro elementary schools are pretty good and I have worked with them in the past.
I hope my info helped! Good luck whatever you choose to do.
Murfreesboro (or "The Boro" as it is sometimes locally referred to as) is a pretty nice town, and MTSU is a pretty good school.
Murfreesboro is somewhat of a cross between a large suburb and a large college town. You can find plenty of college pride there, and the university has a pretty large impact on the community. However, it's big enough (pop 111,000) where there is much more going on than the college itself.
As a university, MTSU has grown by leaps and bounds not only in enrollment, but also gaining in prestige. A couple of decades ago, it was somewhat of an afterthought as far as state universities go. The current president (Sidney McPhee) has done an excellent job raising the schools profile, and turning it into a solid liberal arts school (especially in communications and teaching)...the only thing that really brings it down is the lack of doctoral programs -- but that is not the fault of the school itself, but rather a state decision to concentrate a lot of those programs at the flagship school, UT Knoxville, and the University of Memphis.
The campus isn't much to write home about -- it's flat as a pancake, with a few trees, and no real "historic" factor going for it. The dorms are what you would expect -- although none of them are high rises. The campus buildings are pretty boring, with the notable exception being the library (which is quite nice).
Sports are division I, (FBS - major division football), but the school is in the Sun Belt, so most of the teams are average at best (Women's BB is pretty good, though). The facilities are clean, but average. The atmosphere is lacking, but you can still have a bit of fun if you are a sports fan.
The city of Murfreesboro is a lot like the campus -- quite flat (especially compared to the rest of the Nashville area). But there are some pretty parts. There are a few parks in the area, notably Old Fort Park and Stones River National Battlefield (free to visit). With the cities explosive growth (from 44,000 in 1990 to 111,000 in 2010), a lot of the buildings are pretty new in town, but there is a solid core of historic property in town, including a nice little town square and picturesque courthouse.
The town has a range of income levels, socioeconomic groups, and is somewhat diverse compared to some of the other suburbs. It's somewhere between a blue collar and white collar town. There are a lot of in-town jobs...especially manufacturing and retail/service jobs...most of the office-type jobs are located elsewhere, so a fair amount of the community commutes to Nashville and surrounding suburbs. The street infrastructure hasn't caught up to the growth, so there are a number of traffic problems around town, although things have gotten better as two new interstate exits have opened up. Interstate access is fine (and the interstate is 8 lanes - 4 on each side), but the secondary roads are quite crowded.
There is a decent amount of shopping in the Murfreesboro area...especially with the growth of The Avenue shopping district, as well as other retail that has sprung up along Medical Center Pkwy and Thompson Ln. There is also a medium size mall on Old Fort Pkwy (Stones River Mall)....so although there may be better shopping areas elsewhere, most of what you need can be found in town.
For more detailed info on the town, a Murfreesboro resident may be the one to ask.
Proud MTSU grad here!!!! Pretty accurate on a few things, but let me correct and add a few more things. 1. Campus- The campus is split into at least 5 differnt sides, soon to be 6. Starting with the historic west side of the campus which includes the presidents house, Cope Adminstrative Bld, and several of the original dorms that have large rooms, lots of trees and very senic, this goes along Middle Tennessee Blvd. As you move east on the campus toward the center of campus is where you will find a more modern look, (1970's, 80's modern). This area includes Peck Hall, KUC (Student Center) LRC, computer labs, the old library which is now the art building, student cafeterias, Corlew and Cummons halls (both highrise dorms) as well as several outdoor enterance dorms (motel style), Intermingled in that area you will find even more modern buildings built in the late 90's including the Walker Library, Business and Aerospace building, and the Mass Communications building. Moving futher east you will find the newest additions to the campus, buildings built 1999 to present including Scarlet Commons student apartments, a State of the Arts recreation center which was built in the late 90's but just had a hudge expansion last year, the honors college opened in 09, Womac Lanes are the orinal family housing apartments, Greek Row which is along Ruthford blvd was open in 98 or 99 housing a large number of frat houses. MTSU also owns the land east of Ruthford Blvd and plans on building a new state of the art student center and other buildings and parking which will shift the geographic center of campus. On the northwest side of campus is where you have Murphy center, Floyd Stadium (expanded in 1998 when MTSU joined Sunbelt) a state of the art training facility for athletes, a new outdoor track and field event area and a brand new baseball stadium and practice fields. MTSU is changing daily.
Yes President McPhee has done tons of great things at MTSU but it was President Walker who started the major changes back in the 1990's.
Yes MTSU is flat as a pancake and is horrible when it rains, well at least when I was there in late 99 early 00's, tons of puddles...
I have lived in Murfreesboro for 11 years and it is an amazing place to live. Great town, great people, highly convenient and CLEAN! We had options of moving to other towns but wouldn't think of it!
I just moved here and have really enjoyed the friendliness of the community, diversity and the size. Good luck with your decision.
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is what the Boro is MOSTLY about. You will find everything here in the Boro because of the growth recently. Traffic is dicey rush hour but nothing compared to Nashville.
