How do these 2 schools compare in academics, prestige/name recognition, campus/dorms, student body, and success after college?
I’ve visited both schools and really enjoyed them. I thought both campuses were very beautiful, however I thought the main dining hall at HC (Kimball) edged Conn’s (Harris). Although, I thought the overall campus and location of Conn was better, and I didn’t really like how you had to constantly go up and down hills in HC.
In terms of finance, both are pretty good. For HC, it would be roughly 16,000 a year (including school offered loans) and I did not receive any merit. For Conn, it would also be around 16,000 a year after merit ($20,000 a year scholarship).
I’m planning on studying Economics and afterwards going to grad school for an MBA.
My D is at Holy Cross and is very happy. For her it is a great community of students, small class sizes, professors who know her name and are readily available and engaging in the classroom. She also considered Conn College which is another excellent school. Economics is very strong at Holy Cross and there will be a quantitative component in the curriculum as opposed to all theory. Internships, networking opportunities and job placement in finance are strong.
Yes - Kimball is beautiful and the food is good too. I honestly don’t recall the dorms at Conn College, but the freshman dorms at Holy Cross are fairly standard. Decent storage, big common areas/social spaces, lots of light and wide hallways which make for lots of getting to know your dorm mates by hanging out in the halls. Best part is that the school and RA’s do a good job of building community in the dorms. Bathrooms can use updating. This past year, the freshman class was overenrolled so more triples than normal. but in a normal year, most will be in doubles. My D preferred the overall size of Holy Cross at 3,000 vs 1800 at Conn
Lots of hills at Holy Cross - but it makes for a stunning campus and good sledding!
I agree with @wisteria100 above. Our D chose Holy Cross over Conn College and is happy with her decision. Our D noted a higher “niceness” factor combined with rigorous academics at HC and that appealed to her. HC has a closer to 50:50 male/female student ratio, whereas Conn College skews more female, if that matters. Most students quickly learn to embrace life on The Hill- not only is the campus a gorgeous registered arboretum but the walking up and down inclines is good exercise and excellent stress reduction. There are many dining choices on campus for variety, and Kimball Hall was recently rated “healthiest” college dining by Bon Appetit. One thing that has come as an unexpected plus about HC is the proximity and easy access to Boston via van service right from Hogan Campus Center. It’s nice to know that a big city outing is just as easy as staying on campus and catching a movie at Seelos Theatre. Good luck.
Don’t think there are big differences in academics or “prestige/name recognition” between these two. More important differences:
CC is a former women's college (the female counterpart to all-male Wesleyan), and still has predominantly female enrollment (62/38%). The disparity may be offset to some extent by the nearby Coast Guard Academy, which is predominantly male. At Holy Cross, the ratio is almost even (52/48%).
Holy Cross is obviously Catholic, although on-Catholics are welcome too. Sometimes non-Catholics (particularly Jews) stay away, because they would prefer a more neutral name on their college diploma.
Holy Cross is noticeably larger, and is in a bigger city (Worcester) with many other schools (e.g. Worcester State, WPI, Clark, etc). So there is a larger local student population and more student-oriented services. CC is smaller, in a smaller city, with fewer local students. Even CC plus Coast Guard is smaller than Holy Cross alone.
Holy Cross has a bigger athletic scene, with Division I sports. There is less interest in athletics at CC; sports are played at a lower (Division 3) level. You won't be cheering for a football team at CC (unless you go to Coast Guard games).
Holy Cross has better access to a major city (Boston).
There are some 35,000 college students in Worcester, and its reputation as a “college town” has improved in recent years, as described in the link below. New London, on the other hand, is not really noted as a “college town.”
Congratulations on having two great options! Both will provide a great education, so pick by fit.
I cannot comment on Holy Cross, because we did not visit any religiously affiliated colleges. But here are some aspects of Connecticut College to consider:
-gorgeous stone buildings surrounding huge lawns with sweeping vistas of the Long Island Sound; an arboretum on campus
-fully secular
one of the best school-to-career programs of any of the small LAC’s, with an amazing opportunity to have a completely funded internship if you attend a series of workshops
-all the benefits of a small liberal arts college- small classes, research opportunities, close relationships with professors, close community
-history as a former women’s college encourages gender parity
-a ratio that skews female, which can be either a pro or con depending on your gender and preference
-near beaches for outdoor fun
-not near town center; you would have to drive to the heart of New London or to the nicer Mystic
-part of the NESCAC athletic league (Division 3)
-strong in all the arts, renowned for theatre and dance
-part of a twelve college exchange program with schools including Dartmouth and Amherst
pretty dorms, sometimes very spacious/roomy; mostly singles after freshman year
The religion course requirement at HC can be fulfilled with ethics courses like “Social Ethics” or “Comparative Mysticism and Human Ecology”, “Race and Religion in US”, “Buddhism”, if theology classes are not your thing.
Jesuits are very welcoming to all people of faith or no faith and I must say I respect that aspect more than some campuses, where the tour guides were doing back flips explaining away the presence of a chapel on the quad (Bates)!
Have to mention the newly built Luth Athletic complex- very impressive. Team spirit is strong without having an overbearing athlete culture on campus. Just a good balance of top-notch academics, Arts and sports.
@HCPP20 I’m not averse to theology/philosophy courses, as I’m kinda used to it coming from a Catholic high school. And yeah I visited the Luth complex and it was stunning (indoor football field??? whaaaat???). In terms of sports, I kinda know what I like between the two (I’m a swimmer) and I’d be fine swimming with either one.
@Corbett What would be pros/cons of living in a college town per say? I’ve heard a lot that many students don’t worry about the city because they’ll be spending most of their time on campus. As for me, I wouldn’t know because I’m not in college yet and not sure what I’d prefer in that regard.
@wisteria100 That sounds awesome! Do you happen to know anything on how HC fair after they graduate? Where they end up going to grad school or what jobs they take up? And are the alums active in this process?
@a3swim2017 The HC alumni network is quite strong and is ranked quite high among liberal arts colleges in various surveys. Alum have been good sources for internships, jobs and networking. In terms of outcomes after graduation, the top areas of employment have been health care and finance. The med and law school acceptance rates are quite high and HC is the one of the top producers of Fulbrights in the country.
In answer to your question about the Twelve College Exchange:
It is like studying abroad, except it is at another U.S. College. You apply with a special Twelve College Exchange application to spend a semester or year at another college. You list the courses that interest you at each college for each semester (or trimester if Dartmouth). Your financial aid from your home college follows you to the new school.
In many areas with a large concentration of college students, there is a distinctive ecosystem of off-campus businesses that cater to student interests and budgets, such as funky coffeeshops/cafes, trendy clothing/accessory stores, thrift shops, bookstores, comic book stores, bars/microbreweries, fast food, ethnic restaurants, clubs, and music venues that get cool bands. Such neighborhoods often exist within walking distance of larger campuses, sometimes as close as across the street, and so they can effectively enhance the “on-campus” experience.
Worcester does not have the reputation as a top college town in the way that (say) Cambridge, Amherst, or Burlington do, possibly because the colleges and students in Worcester are scattered around, rather than concentrated at one location. But with 35,000 students in town, there are probably local student-oriented businesses and services if you look for them. The local off-campus options will probably be a lot more limited in New London.
@Corbett So would not having a good college town hinder the experience and fun of college? And do you have any information on Mystic, CT? From what I’ve heard, students based in the New London area (Conn, Coast Guard, etc.) often go to Mystic as it’s said to be the superior town for going out as a opposed to New London.