Hartwick College.. anybody

<p>Anyone out there have an opinion on Hartwick College. My S apoplied and got a rather generous merit award. Just thought I'd see what impressions you folks might have, first hand knowledge, or otherwise. We plan to visit soon. S would be a comp-sci major.</p>

<p>Both of my kids looked at Hartwick. It finished third on D’s list. S visited twice and ended up not applying which surprised me. He would have been a CS major too. We were very impressed with one of the faculty members we met there. He showed us around, invited us into his office and we talked for a while. I thought their program was good. We also met a faculty member from another dept. who was very welcoming and willing to talk with us.</p>

<p>The 2 times we visited with S, the campus seemed run down from when we visited with D. The dorm they showed us was quite dark and unappealing, very stained rug in the hallway, furniture in the room was very chipped. The cafeteria was small and dated, food was not great. On the other hand, their science building was impressive and if you are into swimming, you must see the outside view from the pool!</p>

<p>I guess S was happy with the CS program, but could not see himself living on the campus. It is a small school and does have Greek life which he was not interested in. We enjoyed the town of Oneonta - found a great little Greek restaurant, but there may not have been enough to keep S happy. </p>

<p>Hartwick was having some financial issues a few years ago, so do your homework and check that out. Otherwise we thought it was a decent school.</p>

<p>My D applied and got a merit scholarship too,…but we haven’t heard yet if she is accepted. We visited for a nursing open house and found the program very professional and impressive (and with a very high number of clinical hours, around 1500). </p>

<p>But D’s overnight stay was a mixed bag. The roommate of her host was transferring out and had negative things to say. Some boys on the floor were “jerks” according to D and she was put off by the cleanliness of the dorm. That being said, I expect her to be put off by the cleanliness of most dorms. Her host had to study and she was left alone most of the time.</p>

<p>Oneonta is very small but charming. Downtown is about 2 blocks long but has 4 independent coffee shops. SUNY Oneonta is up the hill and you can take classes there too.</p>

<p>Hartwick would have been a great safety school for my D had she not been accepted to first choice ED.</p>

<p>Incredibly comprehensive study abroad program, if that appeals to you.</p>

<p>Beautiful area of NY State, out in the boonies. It makes some embrace all the athleticism, it makes others drink.</p>

<p>Academics are strong…not Ivy, not top LAC…but strong. I agree, science building gets big points. Your S could absolutely, positively do much worse. He got a merit scholarship? Two thumbs up. :)</p>

<p>How many colleges are in the USA? I’d bet 99% have stained rugs. Many dorms are dark and ugly. Food sucks everywhere (except at Dartmouth…I gained 20 pounds over a summer).</p>

<p>In other words, I would not have had any qualms about sending D there.</p>

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<p>Not at the other colleges we looked at. Perhaps they have updated since we were there in 2006. Between my 2 kids we have been on the campus 4 times.</p>

<p>greenwitch - that’s interesting about your D’s overnight because the overnight is what made Hartwick fall from 2nd to 3rd on D’s list. She had a great host, but life in that dorm wasn’t what she wanted. I think it may have also been a “rush” period.</p>

<p>I worry about internship possibilities at some of these more rural colleges.</p>

<p>Thought they were selling off stuff from their museum or whatever to make money, to boost their endowment! I know I read that somewhere.</p>

<p>It has a good reputation in its category. The internship question is a very good one, which their admissions office should be ready to address. My sense is that some rural schools try harder than others. Congratulaitons on the merit award!</p>

<p>Congrats on your merit award! </p>

<p>We looked at Hartwick for D2 and like the school a lot. D’s only complaint was that the campus was hilly (I posted a review in the trips/visit section). I was somewhat troubled prevalancethe short-term (3-4wks) extra-fee study abroad prgms in lieu of the more traditional semester an year-long programs - - but that’s a trend everywhere, not just at Hartwick. The availability of internships never crosssed my mind because, being from NYC, I knew D would have no shortage of summer intern opptys and I never expected either of my Ds to have a school-year internship.</p>

<p>In fact, I think you’d be surprised at how many student DO NOT have internships during the school year. Certainly there are fewer opptys in rural/remote communities than in the cities, but transportation b/w campus and the city is often more cumbersome in pracatice than it appears in theory. When we visited Goucher the adcom touted the availability of school year internships, but then admitted that it would take 20-25 min driving (one way) to get from campus to downtown Baltimore and even longer via public transportation.</p>

<p>D1 attends school in a fairly large town and has never worried about school year internships. She has landed w/s jobs related to her major and has f/t internhips (last year funded by the school) during the summer. </p>

<p>D1 spends 9-12 hrs/wk working 3 afternoons at her on-campus w/s job. She was able to log in the hours that she did because it took her no more than 5 min to walk from her dorm or classroom to the job site. Adding 60-90 min for r/t transit would have made an off-campus job/internship unworkable unless she had a free day with no classes (or a single class early/late in the day).</p>

<p>As for the summer internships, I think kids who reside in cities have more opptys simply b/c they don’t have to worry about housing, which can be a huge expense for out-of-towners. As for finding jobs or generating placements, so much is done via internet that I don’t think a school’s location is much of a factor - - it’s certainly less of a factor than having a committed pool of alumni as resources for the career development office.</p>

<p>Hartwick…we are a struggling family and they reached out with generous awards. Their orientation is warm and fuzzy. The hills are difficult to manage when it snows, especially for kids out of town, so if your kid has a car, get ready for your insurance to increase for Oneonta. They under “miscalculated” the TAP estimate by $1200+ dollars per semester! From Sept to Nov, kids were transferring out due to feeling like they weren’t getting their money’s worth and just not being able to afford it. (I have the inside scoop on that.) Then, when we tried to transfer out, to add insult to injury, they withheld his transcripts until I could scramble and pay off that $1200. with no offers to work something out. It was their miscalculation and my son’s future education options were closed until they got their money. If you have any reservations at all about costs, run across the street to SUNY. You will breathe easier. I am going to be paying for that mistake for a long time, being I had to take out a parent’s Direct Plus Loan for whatever balance I had to help him get in. Big, big mistake. They’re not on top of problems. They had a fire drill, and my son who is a very heavy sleeper, was woken up by the fire department saying the words “You’re dead,” which he would have been, because no one did a door-to-door shaking him awake. Thank you Hartwick, I’m glad I still have my son. Oh, and the roommate match, could be worked on. Both had serious psychological/family problems.</p>

<p>For what it’s worth, I’ll respond. My kids didn’t go to college there, but went to Hartwick’s Summer music festival for several years a while ago. Hartwick offered a very impressive 2-4 week music program for classical and jazz musicians. They have scaled it back in recent years, however. </p>

<p>Our impression was that it was a small but very charming school with enormous hills on campus. The town is cute but very isolated in upstate New York. One note for parents: the hotels in the area charge an outrageous amount for what they have to offer. You sometimes have to stay over a half hour away just to find a hotel, let alone get an affordable rate. Part of this is because Oneonta is near the baseball Hall of Fame, so there is an influx of tourists in that area. Anyway, you have to book reservations well in advance.</p>