<p>I was impressed with Mr Ainlay at Union's Open House last summer. He is apparently already having an impact, as Union just made SAT's optional. (Mr Ainlay came from Holy Cross, which made them optional 2 years ago). </p>
<p>The campus is indeed beautiful. We crossed Colgate and Hamilton off our list due to their remoteness and the long drive, but Union clocks in at exactly 3 hours from our Boston 'burb. </p>
<p>It is good to hear that Schenectady is on an upward trend. I can see that the college has done a lot to try to invest in the community. </p>
<p>I would definitely feel better about my son's safety at Union than at Trinity. (Although perhaps that's not fair, we never got around to looking at Trinity, I'm just going on Hartford's reputation.) Also looked at Providence, which is in a sketchy neighborhood. And my husband and I attended Lafayette in the 80's, and I must say Easton was pretty "iffy" at that time and we never had a problem!</p>
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Wisteria, are you a student or do you live in Schenectady? Maybe you can tell us more about actual threats vs. perceived threats.
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<p>I live within walking distance of campus. During their high school years, my kids took classes at Union as well as the community college at the other edge of downtown. They also took advantage of a number of cultural events on Union's campus, the community college's campus, at Proctor's theater, at the nearby Schenectady Museum, at the excellent public library, etc. They also did quite a bit of community service work at a number of nonprofit agencies located downtown.</p>
<p>Even in their early teens, I never had any concerns about them walking alone around Union's campus, or downtown, or any of the surrounding areas during the daytime. During the day, there is lots of foot traffic--it's a beautiful place for people to be out and walking about, and many take advantage of it. I was also comfortable with them taking public transit buses from downtown Schenectady to a variety of other destinations.</p>
<p>After dark, it is an entirely different matter. Downtown becomes pretty deserted when the office workers go home at 5, unless there is a major event (like a show or concert at Proctor's Theater.) After the renovation of Proctor's is complete (in a year, I think), there will be a lot more going on downtown at night.</p>
<p>I was just back at Union for my son's overnight visit (second time in 10 days) and drove around a little more. There are definitely restaurants and bars a short walk from campus (Peter Pause, Union Inn, Night Sky Cafe, Manhattan Exchange, Pinhead Susan's, not to mention Friendly's...) that appear to be realistic for students. I believe Geppetos and Rupsis Tavern are frequented by Union students. If kids head into downtown (looks like a 10 minute walk from Union at the campus' closest spot), there appear to be several other places. These walks look just fine in the daytime and looked okay in the early evening. I do not know after that.</p>
<p>The Proctor's project downtown may indeed have a positive effect. I would imagine that the Hampton Inn and the movie multiplex and offices, both under construction downtown, will have a very big effect if they are successful since business will pop up around them just to service clients of those establishments. It remains to be seen whether these new places will do well.</p>
<p>I drove through the Stockade, which is beautiful. I also drove through Little Italy, which is small and there is not much there -- it needs a lot of work.</p>
<p>Overall, there seems to be quite a bit within easy walking distance of campus. However, my son confirmed that the kids he met do not like Schenectady. I wonder if they simply do not know what is available (these kids were freshmen and sophomores) or if they know something I don't (safety, quality, etc.).</p>
<p>He liked it. I think it is definitely his favorite of the schools he has looked at. He is an athlete, so some issues there will need to be factored in. He really likes the campus, he likes the location (he thinks Schenectady looks okay and he does not want to be in a rual setting), he likes the athletic facilities (at least as they would apply to him) and he REALLY loves having DI ice hockey at the school. He went to a game and he was in his element. He plays ice hockey (not the sport he is looking to play Varsity at Union) and the prospect of going to the games, + perhaps playing on the club team or at least intramurals, gives the school an added element that few small liberal arts colleges have. He thought the dorms were above par and the food was perfectly fine. He liked the kids he met, although it is hard to tell on a brief overnight.</p>
<p>Thanks Three Sons. It looks as though you visited Hamilton as well? How would you compare? I know Hamilton is harder to get into, but they are both great schools. My D thought the kids at Union seemed really nice and friendly, as well.</p>
<p>I should add that we never visited Hamilton because my son was never recruited there. I do know someone who went on a recruiting overnight to Hamilton. His son liked it, but did not love it. From what I am told, Hamilton is a very rural campus, which would not have fit my son as well. It is no doubt a school with an excellent reputation and certainly more difficult to get into than Union (but especially in the Northeast, I question whether it does anything more for you when you graduate). I think a lot of people who look at these two schools also look at Skidmore, which I hear mixed reviews of. It seems like half love what they see and half hate it. Usually, the people who dislike Skidmore think it is too artsy and some do not like the campus, whereas everyone I have ever spoken with LOVES Union's campus. They have mixed reactions to Schenectady, although I find it is rarely an issue with people. I guess it is all personal taste -- they are all excellent schools.</p>
<p>Both of my older kids said they didn't care if their campus was pretty or not while we were visiting different schools. They didn't think it mattered to them. But both of them ended up on beautiful campuses, and both (independently) commented later that some days it really made a difference to be in such a pretty place. (Funny you should mention Skidmore - we visited yesterday with #3. Much prettier than I thought it would be...)</p>
<p>I think the prettiness of the campus should not be the #1 factor, but a student should like the surroundings they are in. I have read postings where parents say that the campus is irrelevant. How many of us move to areas, even for a few years, that we do not like? Feeling good about the campus and/or location is important.</p>
<p>I have not seen Skidmore. Some people think it is very pretty, others do not like the architecture. Everyone has their own taste. Of the campuses we saw prior to Union, my wife's least favorite was a favorite of my mine. Go figure...</p>
<p>We didn't go to Skidmore either, although I wish we had. Kids told my d it was too "artsy," but I wonder. Right now she is visitng Bucknell for the 3rd time, another pretty school.</p>
<p>We went to an open house at Skidmore yesterday. There was a strong emphasis on the arts, but they are also strong (they say) in business. However, I did not get the "far-out, purple hair, alternative" kind of vibe I thought I would from a school known for its arts.</p>
<p>I am a Union graduate (from the dark ages). For what it's worth, I loved it there, and felt that my years at Union changed my life. I found my classes to be interesting and challenging, and met a lot of terrific people. Schenectady has had its ups and downs over the years, but I would not let that be a deciding factor. When I was there, the school made a real effort to have lots of stuff going one for us on campus (including an early Bruce Springsteen concert that we all still remember more than 30 years later!). At the time, Union had a really solid record of getting people into good graduate programs.</p>
<p>I Feel Fortunate To Have Sent My 2 Oldest To Union. Excellent Facilities, Food , Ambience; Most Of All, However, Is The Student's Ability To Interact With Professors (all Phd Whether Lecture, Lab, Review Session Etc.) Dtr Senior, Son Fr.</p>
<p>Union's website is a little wierd. Go to the Admissions page and type in your question exactly as you wrote it here, "Does Union Offer Merit Scholarships?" It should bring you to a section with an answer.</p>
<p>I believe the answer is Yes, but the website would have more info.</p>
<p>Union does give merit based scholarships. My son is what's known as a Presidential Scholar. This works out to 10K per year. From other postings here that seems to be the amount given. Don't know if they give more under some circumstances.</p>