A Great Place to Find Yourself

Far from being stranded on a self-contained campus removed from "civilization"—where entertainment, shopping and a good slice of pizza can be found—Champlain College sits perched near the crest of the hill overlooking downtown Burlington and the Lake Champlain waterfront. It's an easy walk down—literally—to downtown.

With college students numbering one-fourth of the city's population, Burlington is full of energy, ideas and experiences. Burlington has the look, feel, charm and friendliness of a small town, but the lifestyle, music, food, arts and sports scenes radiate a big-city, urban vibe. The grass roots are deep here: Social activism, volunteerism, environmentalism and entrepreneurism have long been outstanding features of the Burlington community landscape. In fact, the city ranks eight on Kiplinger's list of the Best Cities for the Next Decade. Burlington is known for its diverse restaurants that source their ingredients from local farms and for being home to 22 LEED certifications. For a city ahead of the trend on the green movement, it's no wonder that the Burlington community is environmental and community oriented.

In a community where strangers say 'hi' on the streets, it's no wonder why you'll feel right at home in Burlington, Vermont.

BURLINGTON NEAR AND FAR

• Burlington is compact enough that activities are easy to get to. Church Street, a four-block, cobblestoned, outdoor marketplace cordoned off exclusively for pedestrians; lakeside trails; bike paths and North Beach are only minutes from campus.
• Local residents and students mingle in many of downtown's great restaurants, laid-back cafes and funky shops.
• From campus, it's only 90 minutes to Montréal, three and a half hours to Boston, and five to New York City-great destinations for weekend getaways.

LOOKING TO BE ACTIVE?

With 160 cloudless days per year, lots of Champlainers play outdoors. Favorite activities:

• KeyBank Vermont City Marathon and Relay
• Skiing and snowboarding competitions (Champlain students won the 2007 Battle for Burlington on the slopes.)
• Take a walk or ride a bike along Burlington's Waterfront Bike Path
• Go Caving, downhill and X-country skiing, ice hockey, kayaking, mountain and rock climbing or whitewater rafting through Champlain Recreation & Fitness.

HANDS-ON INVOLVEMENT & INTERNSHIPS

• Internships enable students to influence people throughout the state: Read about Lindsay Johanson's internship with Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
• Champlain students also bring the world to our state: Read how Emily Howland '09 helped to attract Chinese tourists to Vermont in the spring 2007, Champlain View.
• Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation educates Vermont police officers, images digital evidence for the city and prepares students for government and corporate internships.

ULTIMATE COLLEGE TOWN

As well as being home to the approximately 24-acre Champlain College campus, Burlington boasts three other colleges and one major university research hospital; students represent a full one-fourth of Burlington's total population. Champlain and other local colleges offer a full calendar of open-to-the-public cultural events, concerts, lecture series and sporting events.

Dubbed by msn.com as one of "America's Coolest College Towns," and "One of the 10 Great Places for Campus Culture" by USA Today Travel Guide, Burlington is such a distinctive city, it shows up in the top of many "best" lists, including:

• TOP ADVENTURE TOWN: Voted #14 in the list of Top 100 Adventure Towns by National Geographic Adventure magazine.
• HEALTHIEST: Burlington was named Healthiest City in the U.S. in a 2008 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• BEST SKIING: Sugarbush Ski Resort, Vermont, ranked #1 for "Terrain Variety" in 2008 by Ski Magazine. Sugarbush offers deeply discounted season passes to all Champlain students.
• BEST PLACE TO LIVE: Burlington named the "Best of the Best" places to live by Men's Journal Magazine (top 5 of their "50 Best Places to Live").
• TOP HIGH-TECH METRO: Voted #11 in a list of the Top 20 High-Tech Metros by the Atlantic