Just in case you're interested, the New York Times did a travel piece on Lawrence, Kansas, where I spent six years getting two college degrees.

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/travel/escapes/25hour.html?ex=1110171600&en=8689f2edc3e7eb17&ei=5070

I don't think I'd make a special trip from New York or LA just to see Lawrence, but if you're in the area it makes a nice weekend getaway and it's not expensive. Lawrence is very pretty, especially in late spring and early fall, and there's plenty to do there. The article doesn't mention crashing parties down in the "student slum" along Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky streets, where the local hippies and alternative folk hang out. Just follow the noise every Friday and Saturday night.

On the wild off-chance that somebody out there is thinking of going to an American university, Kansas is good and cheap, one of the two or three cheapest major state universities, and I highly recommend it. Lawrence is a nice introduction to America because it's small, low-key, and friendly instead of huge, anonymous, and bustling. They have a summer English-language program that's a good value for the money; you could also enroll for a full trimester. I used to teach there.