Connecticut College Top Questions

I really love the community at Conn, especially in the Spring. Everybody is so friendly when the weather is nice, and people enjoy the outdoors together. I feel that getting involved in extracurriculars is extremely important because you meet people that you may not meet in classes, or socially. It also helps you form a community, which then becomes your best group of friends. New London as a college community is slowly but surely improving. Since Conn is in a "bubble" (a bit separated from New London), you do not have to leave campus for anything, really. It is nice though, to explore New London and the surrounding areas because it has some really great stuff to offer- cafes, shopping, movies, other entertainment. It can get a bit monotonous on campus and leaving always offers a new taste to what there is out there.

Conn coll is a small school where you will really get to know everyone. This is a good thing, but it can sometimes feel suffocating, especially in the social sense. The campus is full of amazing resources if you are brave enough to seek them out and go outside your comfort zone. New London is a fabulous college town, don't be scared of it. It's amazing. Conn has a very normal front but underneath its got this totally awesome artsy side full of musicians and dancers.

The best thing about Conn College, for me is the student body. While Conn is not racially diverse, it is diverse in "types" meaning students have a broad range of interests; the school does not simply sports oriented or arts oriented, there is a great balance. The students are positive and very well-rounded: most play at least one sport, are in a couple of clubs, and put considerable care into their studies. Downtown New London gets a worse rep than it deserves. The problem is not the city but the lack of transportation: downtown has galleries, cafes, bars, and a nice "progressive" atmosphere, but it is not close to campus and the "camel van" is inconvenient and unreliable. The campus itself is gorgeous with old stone buildings and a view of the Long Island Sound and Thames River. There are hundreds of acres to hike around--a resource often neglected by the student body. I have had great experiences with dorms and they tend to be spacious; Sophomores are pretty much garenteed singles, which is great, and all dorms are an equal mix off all classes which really helps breakdown age barriers and create an integrated community. They have been improving the athletic facilities, and will have a totally new fitness center by next year. The library is not very attractive or luxurious, but is large and sufficient for student research, and is part of a consortium with Trinity and Wesleyan, so finding the books I need has never been a problem. The problem with the campus is that the physical area of where there are actually buildings is only about 90 of the campus' 750 acres, add that to the fact that we are surrounded by woods and the campus can feel clostrophobic. People's reaction when I tell them I go to Conn College various: those who know what Connecticut College is are impressed, and those who don't ask about UConn basketball. In the Boston area, where I am from Conn is quite prestigious, so I was suprised to find out that was not the case elsewhere. The reason much of the student body seems to be wealthy is because NESCAC schools seem to attract private school students who have the oppertunity to learn about schools through ample college counseling as opposed to mere word of mouth. But let me put in this way: I came Conn know that most people would not have heard of my school, but that people that mattered (grad schools, jobs) would know my school-- the lack of of a name does not seem to hurt the many Conn students who go on to some of the best grad schools and prestigious financial institutions after graduation. Many students complain that all there is to do on weekends is drink. I have not felt limited to drinking. What I really like about Conn's party scene is the Friday break, meaning, at Conn people generally party on Thursday and Saturday leaving Friday as a night for relaxation. Every Friday the school hosts indie bands at the student center for "Friday Nights Live," there are also student performances, films, and a generally "low-key" atmosphere. This adds a nice break to the weekend. As far as Thursday and Saturday: there is a lot of drinking. Its a work hard/play hard type of school, and many feel that all there is to do is go to a keg (which are held in dorm common rooms) drink in friends' rooms, go then go to the student center which serves as a holding tank for drunk students. It took some searching for me to realize that, while this is the easiest and most common weekend activity, it is by no means all there is to do. Students make oppertunities: Conn's large music community plays a part in this. "MOBROC" the society of bands on campus hosts concerts, djs compete and host dance parties, on campus apartments host theme parties; and then there is always off campus: Providence and New Haven, both of which have great night life are only 45 minutes away, and Boston and New York are two hours respectively. Downtown New London offers a veriety of bars and venues. Ultimately, however, this is a small isolated college, and drinking and socializing is the typical method of blowing off steam. A new president and dean arrived in 2006 who have ambitious plans that seem to be paying off: in the last year, alone, dozens of renovations have occured around campus, our endowment has increased by $60,000,000, and admissions statistics have changed favorably. As a result, Conn seems to be on an up-swing and there is a positive consensus around campus about the changes that are occuring. The administration, however, tends to baby the students, leading to the nickname "camp Conn". Lastly, I think saying any school is "too small" or "too large" is not a helpful comment because it is part of the nature of the school, not a problem with it; if Conn is too small then hundreds of schools are too small... if NYU is too big, then hudreds of schools are too big. Being a small school is an essential part of the Conn College experience: there is a strong sense of community; professors and students form close relationships; and one becomes an important part of the pace and lifeblood of the school after a year or so and finding their "niche".

As with most small schools, sometimes it feels VERY small. Once you meet someone you will see them everywhere, often when you don't want to. Also your business will often become common knowledge. However the small size is one of my favorite parts about the school. I am not an outgoing person and yet I feel like I know everyone. There is also a definite sense of community.

Conn is a small great school that has alot of personality. Everyone gets along and everyone has their own unique style and ideas. Students are able to come together easily and discuss matters from differnt music to politics. You may feel like you know everyone cause you walk by the same people to class everyday but i see someone in harris everytime that i have never seen before.

A little small, but provides amazing opportunities to be close to the faculty. The social scene gets stifling, but there really is no better way to get in touch with the material than look at it closely with professors. The faculty here is PHENOMENAL, and really CARES about the students. There is not very much dating, and the girl/guy ratio really does make a difference...it is hard to find a descent guy because they are in such high demand that they dont want to be tied to one person. The campus is gorgeous, though New London is not. There are a lot of nice restaurants though, and Mystic and Harkness beach are wonderful and easily accessible. Cars are allowed for all four years and all non-freshman get singles.

The best thing about Conn College is the people. Most everyone is very friendly and laid back and generally just wants to have a well-rounded college experience. People usually react in a very nice way, they know that it's an extremely respectable school. Most of the time spent on campus is in friend's room/dorms and on the green (when the weather's nice). Shain library becomes very social when the weather's too cold for the green. The biggest controversy on campus was when a student was kicked out of school for very unfair reasons. There is a bunch of school pride, everyone's always out on the green cheering for lacrosse or soccer games. Hockey games are huge as well, and of course the spring music festival is like Christmas for everyone on campus. The best little known thing about Conn is that the beach is so close, even when it's freezing you can have bonfires on the beach!

The people that go to conn are extremely friendly. The sport teams suck but people still go to all the games and support their friends.

The best thing about Connecticut College is my friends, the small and beautiful campus with its arboretum its close proximity to the water and nice beaches and its fairly liberal students. The worst thing about Connecticut College is its lack of common spaces, housing that accommodates friends living together and party activities. As well if you do not have a car, you can virtually go nowhere and the campus can get very constrictive and boring. I spend most of my time with my friends, during summer it is the beach and during winter it is mostly in my dorm. Although Conn College does not have much of a college town, New London is a growing town in which over my four years at Conn College I have learned to love New London and its many quant restaurants such as lobster dock! As well surrounding towns such as Mystic are very enjoyable and cute. I don't believe there is a lot of school pride because we do not have any major sports teams but when our teams do succeed all of the school goes out to the games to support. One experience that I will remember is FLORALIA and ski club. As well, the first few weeks of school after summer and when the spring comes, the entire school congregates at the beach is something I will never forgot. One thing about Conn College that I do not like is the lack of classes offered and the lack of information about important events or needs that are required by the college.

Conn College is a great place to be because of it's small ratio. However, I would change campus life because some dorms are just tacky! like Lazrus! yo they need some help!!!!!!! People think I go to UCONN when I say i go to Conn College. I spend most of my time at the library so I wish it were open 24 hours.