Recently toured Clark University in Worcester, MA. My daughter (D19 in CC parlance, I think) had a great lunch with a current student and she loved the vibe during a student panel and tour. Campus appealed to D19 as well. All I have seen are negative comments about Worcester. I would love to hear/read some positive comments about life beyond campus. Anyone?
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One of my friends who works there says: Worcester has come a long way and is a great small city. There had been alot of investment and it shows. Great restaurants, coffee shops, micro breweries, farmer’s markets etc… Plus, great opportunities for students since we are a booming health and biotech region.
Also ask in: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/clark-university/
My D attends College of the Holy Cross also in Worcester. We were unsure about Worcester too, but it has been a pleasant surprise. Check out Shrewsbury Street - lots of great eateries popular with all the college kids in town. Worcester is home to I believe 7 colleges, a medical school and a pharmacy school, so it is indeed a college town with lots of young people. Grove Street is another option for good restaurants. Nu Cafe which is within walking distance to Clark is very popular for college kids to hang out and study. The DCU center offers the occasional concert and sporting event and Worcester Art Museum is better than it sounds. Newly refurnished train station with service to Boston makes that an easy trip, and Worcester is an Uber city so very easy for students to get around without a car. A couple of malls, movie theater and all the big box stores in Worcester/Auburn too so students have access to just about anything they need. Not sure about Clark, but Holy Cross runs some shuttles to these areas as well. And lots of opportunity for community service if your D is into that. Worcester is certainly not Boston or DC, but it has much more to offer than college confidential gives it credit for.
NPR: “Forget Oakland Or Hoboken. Worcester, Mass., Is The New ‘It’ Town”
Thanks for posting that article @LucieTheLakie
Worcester gets trashed on CC more than it deserves, mostly based on things that are no longer true
Just adding my 2 cents here as well. When we drove into Clark for our visit, DD was very concerned with what looked like a very run down city, reminding us of some bad areas near where we live. Not what she had been expecting when she heard about Worcester and the 7 colleges there. Having said that, once we got INSIDE, she really liked the campus, kids and staff, and that really changed her stance. She’s been accepted for Fall 19 (hasn’t made her final decision yet), and I appreciate these articles. As parents we worry mostly about safety/crime, and secondly about whether or not it’s a fun place off campus.