Academics?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Connecticut College
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<p>Obvious flaws of the website aside, I always felt that Debate and Model U.N. were better clubs for high-school. I realize that obviously many of the ivies have those clubs, but I never once felt that my model U.N. experience would actually help me get an I.R. career at any point. Perhaps this reveals my lack of impatience with the way the Model U.N. meets/competitions are run, as well as my inability to debate “properly”, more than anything else, however. ;)</p>

<p>While Grinnell’s students are right, I think beyond a certain level (“tier”) many students are like that: motivated, highly intelligent, inquisitive. (Funnily enough, Conn put out “Fun Facts” about this admissions season. The most common zodiac signs were Geminis and monkeys, who are Friendly, quick-witted, charismatic, versatile & Imaginative, humorous, and downright curious, respectively. But that’s probably not what you meant… :slight_smile: ) </p>

<p>Both of the books I have with me mention “sometimes the original topic is pushed aside in class to follow the controversial/exctiting/thought-provoking discussions/argument that has ensued.”, “Academics at Conn really filter into our everyday life. We’re talking about sociology while we’re brushing our teeth… Students here compete only against themselves, to do better, to work harder.”, “The more you put into a class, the more you learn. You not only learn from your professors, but from your fellow students in class discussions.” </p>

<p>But looking through my books, I know many schools said similar things. What I honestly did was go through, and underline key words, Conn coming up with the “good” ones: “Intriguing, amazing, interesting, little ivy, [nice] library, academic environment.” </p>

<p>For contrast, Grinnell had “genuinely interested, really fun, super intelligent, high expectations [from professors].” </p>

<p>I also underlined negative words/phrases as I went through student review guides, but usually only if they were really striking to me, such as Grinnell’s “On the weekends, the townies make comments both racial and sexual. I disregard it though, because they are from Grinnell, Iowa. What do they know?” Conn’s was “New London is not a nice college town. There isn’t much to do there.” (This was followed by mentioning nearby towns that are better, and the assurance that Conn was lively enough to stay on campus anyways. So take of it what you will.)</p>

<p>Nicely enough, in this guide, the top 5 best things/worst things are listed by students. The top #1 thing for both schools is “Professors” Followed by Conn’s self-scheduled finals and Grinnell’s Titular Head Film Festival; The Arbo at Conn, and G: Block Party; C: Meal plan, and G: sexual promiscuity,C: Shared Governance, and G: Harris Parties.</p>

<p>I take every review with a grain of salt, though. (Though I did consider applying to Grinnell at one point, if that helps, I think it’s a great school.)</p>

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<p>yurtle, thank you for your comments. these are helpful. I want to be sure there is an organization for a kid who does not play sports or perform in the arts, where academic competition is a possibility. He does not do Model UN because of a career interest, but because it’s a place to engage in a topic of interest with like-minded peers outside the classroom. </p>

<p>I put forth the Grinnell comment to characterize what we are looking for in a college environment intellectually – not just how good the professors are, but the level of engagement and discourse among students, an environment where students challenge each others’ ideas and stretch each other intellectually – not in a competitive sense, but in encouraging personal growth. </p>

<p>So, maybe Conn will provide that. As I said, we’re listening.</p>

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<p>I realized politics would be an uphill battle for me due to the excessive amounts of patience required in not being able to have a free discourse without using parlimentary procedure. Glad your son likes it though, haha. </p>

<p>I don’t know that there are already academic competitive clubs. I would say that with a little poking around, debates still go on: [CC</a> Republicans and Democrats Debate Healthcare Reform | The College Voice](<a href=“http://thecollegevoice.org/2010/03/09/cc-republicans-and-democrats-debate-healthcare-reform/]CC”>http://thecollegevoice.org/2010/03/09/cc-republicans-and-democrats-debate-healthcare-reform/) </p>

<p>Although, interestingly enough, Conn seems self-aware of its marketing issues- [ExtraOrdinary:</a> How College Marketing Shapes Students? Collective Identity [PERSPECTIVE] | The College Voice](<a href=“http://thecollegevoice.org/2010/02/15/extraordinary/]ExtraOrdinary:”>http://thecollegevoice.org/2010/02/15/extraordinary/) Hm. </p>

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<p>I think they’re partially right; with this:</p>

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<p>Conn seems to be trying to point out the great resources the school has, which they do, and you personally don’t seem worried about that. Neither am I. But somewhere in that mess of College life, they’re putting less emphasis on the students themselves both as a resource and a selling point to differentiate themselves better. I think Conn can do this, and has the ability to, but needs to figure it out. Interestingly enough, I get the feeling that this change (slowly but surely) would go over fantastically well, and would serve to fix the “negatives” of it being a small campus. </p>

<p>I don’t know what exactly you expect to be quirky, but CamelMans description of a particular “unlisted” quirky club appeals to me much more than just the list they’ve got up. So the solution, it seems, it to take advantage of the available things Conn does mention, and then to “fix” the problem by drawing the attention back towards the student character. </p>

<p>This isn’t something I really thought about, but I find it fascinating. I may just start a club on campus.</p>

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<p>This comment leaves me wondering that perhaps the best method would be to go on, and Market Conn as a “best of both worlds” scenario somehow. I have no power to make any of this happen, but I’m dying to try and make the suggestions now that I see the problem.</p>

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<p>We’re going to accepted students’ day at Skidmore on Friday and Conn on the 19th. I’ll keep you all posted on our impressions.</p>

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<p>SDonCC, sorry to have made you feel like you need to defend yourself–you don’t. Impressions are impressions and there is always some truth to them. I did MUN in high school too and was disappointed that Conn didn’t have a club. If your son feels strongly about a highly intellectual environment, than Conn probably isn’t the best choice. I suppose it was futile of me to repeatedly make the point that one exists–I think that fact is fairly obvious. To validate your concern and to respond to you bringing up Grinnell, I would agree with you that there are many many LACs, Grinnell included, that feature a stronger intellectual community than Conn. I think compared to its peers of a similar ranking, Conn fairs well. Good luck to your son with his process.</p>

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<p>My daughter started at Conn a few years ago; I visited once in a while to bring “the gang” out to lunch in Mystic or Stonington…What an incredible school, what a great group of kids…Academics?? That is almost all they would talk about, except what else to try for dinner in the cafeteria! These kids were very well read and well traveled…Yes, my daughter did end up transferring to BC (her 1st choice)…but I want to tell all of you that Conn was incredible in so many ways! Walk through the arboretum, sit in silence in the beautiful chapel, watch the kids study on the quad or in the library!
Study? Oh yes, look around!! These kids love the indie movies and great lit!! Bus trips to NYC! A campus where there are so many opportunities…
As far as “ditz factor?” Some of my best female and male friends would love to be called that…my daughter and her friends, however are anything but that!!!
Read the degrees that the professors have earned if you have any doubts! Incredible!!</p>

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<p>Camel, do me a favor would ya? Please rank these schools in the order you think there would be the most intellectual stimulation (and I’m not talking about that pseudo-intellectual kind of environment, if you know what I mean.) Conn, Skidmore, Hamilton and Bowdoin. I realize this is your opinion, but I am curious. Thanks in advance. I’d also welcome any of you to give me your opinion on this, as I’ve valued all your comments. Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>Having only attended Conn, I can only give you vague impressions. I have visited a friend at Skidmore and its climate seems similar to Conn’s. I have once visited Hamilton. Very nice school and liked the students I met. The student body didn’t immediately strike me as more intellectual but it’s harder to get into than Conn and they have things like the Emerson literary society, so for the sake of this assignment I will give Hamilton a leg-up. I’m not close with anyone who has attended Bowdoin and I’ve never visited the college. It’s Bowdoin: it is famous and very selective. So, superficially, if this gives you any reassurance at all (or lack there of) I would rank them from most to least intellectual being 1. Bowdoin, 2. Hamilton, 3. Conn and Skidmore (tie). Honestly, though, this exercise and my opinion on the matter is almost useless, although I am flattered that you appreciate my input.</p>

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<p>Only by 1% :wink: . Although the literary society does weigh that more, I would suppose.</p>

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<p>Interested to hear more views re Conn vs. Skidmore vs. Bard from an academic and social perspective. Thanks!</p>

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<p>I visited Conn last November for the Explore program (Wish I could’ve gone to the Spring Preview that’s going on right now but I was already visiting another college), and I’m visiting Skidmore this week for their Discovery Tour, so if you can wait until I get back (Which will be April 17th) I’ll be happy to give you my views of the two. I’ll try my best to be unbiased. xD</p>

<p>Can’t help you with Bard though, sorry D:</p>

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<p>Also, not sure if OP is still floating around, but to give my two cents to their question:</p>

<p>I stayed over last November during their Explore Program along with Yurtle, and I can say that Conn Students know the true definition Work Hard, Play Hard.</p>

<p>I went to the dance they had one of the nights, and everyone had a great time. I also saw my host hanging around there with his friends.</p>

<p>The next day, on a Sunday, he was studying and doing homework. </p>

<p>This revealed to me that although Conn students love to party and have fun, they know how to buckle down and do work as necessary. So overall, I wouldn’t say the people at Conn are lazy at all, they just love to have a good time and take advantage of it when they can (Probably because they’re obviously working so hard during the rest of the week!)</p>

<p>Also, not sure if this means anything, but the Valedictorian of my school from '08 is there now, and I’m very sure she wouldn’t be there if Conn wasn’t academically rigorous. (I actually got a chance to talk with her briefly while I was there, so that was a pleasant surprise.)</p>

<p>EDIT: Also, noticed OP visited Conn on a Friday…that would probably explain why they didn’t feel it to be academically rigorous…when we stayed over, we were there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so I saw the whole process from party mode to work mode. Saturday night, people were out and about and just having a good time. Monday morning, there were lots of students streaming in and out of the library. I think you have to just be there long enough to get a real feel of the atmosphere.</p>

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<p>A belated thank you for your thoughts on my question to you, Camel. Although it might be an “almost useless” exercise, it’s interesting, because that’s exactly the same order I had in my mind. For information sake, we spent the day at Skidmore’s Accepted Candidates’ Day and my daughter loved it. Obviously the town, but especially this quirky, intelligent psychology professor who gave a most interesting talk to the students and parents. She loved the fact that there were a variety of different types of kids. And – the food was good in the cafeteria, so important to a “foodie”. We are Conn. College bound on Monday for their Accepted Students’ Day.</p>

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<p>Sarmom, I just came back from my second trip to Conn- I honestly think their food is fine, and there are kitchens available for student use. I went from friday to monday, so I obviously saw the partying, but also the academics, which I really enjoyed. I did see a lot of “regular” kids, “preppy” kids, and a smattering of kids with nose rings, dredlocks, and dyed hair. </p>

<p>It was incredibly nice out, so I lounged about the green- and I did see some studying going on, so I can’t say everyone was taking advantage of the weather. </p>

<p>As a final test, for my second tour, I chose a guide based off of their attractiveness. He was actually probably far more informative, helpful, and intelligent than expected, so the plan to find the ‘bad’ guide back fired on me, since he showed everyone around campus and told us to ask questions about whatever we wanted, and then answered them.</p>

<p>The faculty lunch was great- all but three professors in the department showed up to my table- one was teaching a class, and two were at other tables, though one of those two made their way over to say hello. It was very exciting, they also fielded my questions (I had a lot) and were very friendly. </p>

<p>I skipped the parental/student Q&A type sessions on Monday, as I showed up early for the minority presentations (friday-sunday) but otherwise, it was very informative, and the weather will hopefully stay lovely for you.</p>

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<p>You all should check out the website of the student newspaper, it’s a well put together site and may provide some insight into the going ons at the college: [The</a> College Voice](<a href=“http://thecollegevoice.org/]The”>http://thecollegevoice.org/)</p>

<p>sarmom, it’s great that your daughter can rest assured that she has at least one school at which she would be happy. The food at Skidmore is great–it’s one of the nicest dining halls I’ve seen and I’m a sucker for the fireplaces.</p>

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<p>Yurtle, thanks for sharing about your recent visit; I’ll be sure to let you know how ours goes. Camel, thanks for the link to the paper – good thought. </p>

<p>One other thing. What happened to the nice Conn. logo with the tree? That new camel is mean and scary looking. Is he/she supposed to scare off other sports teams, or is that the new official logo for the school? Just my reaction. I’m not putting that on MY car! :)</p>

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<p>The new camel will only be used for athletics. The old camel will still be used as a logo. I have to agree, that camel looks hardcore.</p>

<p>For those who don’t know: [Connecticut</a> College : News : Connecticut College athletes welcome new camel mascot](<a href=“http://aspen.conncoll.edu/news/6157.cfm]Connecticut”>http://aspen.conncoll.edu/news/6157.cfm)</p>

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<p>Ah, you’re confusing the mascot with the school’s seal, sarmom! There are four ‘images’ now. The round tree is the seal for official documents and papers (it’s a watermark on the acceptance letter, so try holding it up to the light!) That would be this: <a href=“http://www.conncoll.edu/images/content/about/collegeseal2.jpg[/url]”>http://www.conncoll.edu/images/content/about/collegeseal2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Then for the ‘logo’ there’s the other tree in a square frame. It was changed so that the official seal wouldn’t be printed on napkins- they don’t want people trashing it, haha. Both are in use, although the logo is going to be more on apparel, and glassware, etc. </p>

<p>Then there’s the althetic camel mascot that SaintSaens showed, and the regular camel (which is still on all the stuff in the bookstore, for the most part.) Both are being kept, they just wanted something a little more fierce for their sports. You’ll see a costumed mascot at some point, I’m guessing, and it’s still cute.</p>

<p>The window clings don’t have the athletic camel. They have either the round tree seal or the square tree logo, depending on when you got them. If your kid enrolls, you’ll get a window cling with the new square one. It’s very nice. ^_^</p>

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<p>Yup, thought that’s what it was, just wasn’t sure. Good to know.</p>