Kingston, RI: When my mom took meand my friends through New England to look at colleges, I was excited because Iwas convinced I wanted to go to school in Massachusetts. You wouldn't believe mydisappointment when I saw the colleges I was interested in. At least after seeingthem I knew whether I wanted an urban or suburban, large or small college.

A university I hadn't planned to visit was the University of RhodeIsland. This public, coed state university is in Kingston, near Narragansett Bay.It's a small town, but the beach is 10 minutes away and skiing is nearby. The 139buildings are granite and date back to the University's founding in 1892. Theschool has a modern library, student center and two more campuses in Providenceand West Greenwich.

URI has about 10,000 undergraduates from all 50states and many countries and is comprised of nine colleges, including theCollege of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences. The CentennialScholarship rewards superior academic performance with four-year scholarshipsfrom $1,000 to full tuition, which has greatly increased the enrollment at URI.There is also a nice athletic facility where their championship teams practice.Sports available include basketball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and sailing.They have an exceptional swimming facility including three pools, with one justfor diving, which impressed me.


Reviewed in 2000