<p>Dunkaroo - I go to Trinity and I can say that you are way off base and more than a little hysterical (what time of the month is it?) ... Hartford's not a great city but you make it sound like we are in the middle of Iraq with bombs going off potentially any moment...and that is just nuts. I walk to Walgreens. I go shopping at the local supermarket down the street. I volunteer at the Boys and Girls club. I walk home from the library at night alone. People like you and JTVoyager perhaps need to pick a more buccolic setting like Kenyon - way out in the cornfields where you might see ghosts in your drunkern daze walking home at night but that's about it.
Trinity is an urban LAC - that comes with plusses and problems - if you can't deal with it, don't come. Most of us think the benfits of this school far away the negatives. Those who don't - like Voyager - move on. Maybe you should, too.</p>
<p>And fortunately - kids from families that are "socially and financially" similar to yours - is not the norm so much any longer at Trinity - each year, there are fewer popped collar ditzes,and more and more kids who are less materialistic, more academically-oriented, globally-focused, community-service driven. Being concerned about who's house is larger, who's on the social register, and where the best place to stay on the Med this summer is don't come up in the majority of conversation's here..</p>
<p>well then I will gladly take myself elsewhere for college where I can get a great education and at the same time enjoy the surroundings.</p>
<p>There is one positive to Trinity and that is that crash you don't seem like a ditz which is a good thing because seems like most are unintelligent and stuck up in the materiallistic chase.</p>
<p>You find materialistic, unintelligent kids at all colleges, Dunkaroo - they're the one's who's Mumsies and Daddies can afford to pay full tuitionand will be inheriting a nice trust fund affter they kick off so who needs to learn anything??! Sad but true. After all, college is a business.</p>
<p>Good luck on your college search, Dunkaroo...</p>
<p>Eh, about that safety thing...</p>
<p>My guidance counselor (this be her 2nd year out of college) told me that she played lacrosse against Trinity one time on their campus (Trinity's campus), and that during the game somebody was shot outside the gate.</p>
<p>Sounds safe :)</p>
<p>On the other hand, I live in a little white-person ghetto where murder and stuff is low but fights and theft are high, so I know how to keep a low profile and not run around wearing a $200 shoes and a $100 pink polo shirt :)</p>
<p>For those of you still interested in Trinity inspiteof Anarchy24 and JTVoyager's comments, check this out:</p>
<p>I just got it from another site - I didn't even know lj existed like this but I went on and found it very inisghtful. And you can ask your questions directly to trinity students who actually take the time/or have the time to respond....</p>
<p>I don't remember who put up that comment that said HPD are no longer patrolling the campus border and gangstas are waiting to rumble around every corner...but I'll quickly clarify.</p>
<p>Hartford Police are no longer PAID overtime to sit in their cars on summit and crescent st. 7 days a week--they are only paid 3 days a week. Instead, local patrols have integrated the campus borders into their daily routines. The campus safety building is a substation for HPD, and the south hartford district station is literally two minutes from campus.</p>
<p>Sure Trinity is still an open campus and yeah, people looking for trouble do occasionally walk around, but the college is no more dangerous than any other open campus in a city, period.</p>
<p>Hi all, guess whose back...if anyone remembers, a few months ago I sort of railed against Trinity hard. I felt that as the deadline for admission approachs I might want to post some additional info. As of the last time I posted I was transferring, I have since decided not to for several reasons. One thing I must say though, all of the stats and everything I said in my earlier posts about crime and preppy kids and such was true. That said, I have decided to stay because I have gotton to know things better. For those of you who come here next semester...most people here will try to scare you so much that you doubt even stepping one foot off campus. Most people I know do not leave campus...ever...unless they are in a car. As for me...I have been walking down to Downtown on a regular basis...its not far to walk and I feel fine walking alone from Trin to downtown during the day and if I stay into the night I take the bus back...downtown is a business downtown...not too much retail...but the city of Hartford is currently building Adrien's Landing which should open later this year (but knowing Hartford probably not til 2006) and that is going to be retail galore. Hartford also has some vibrant neighborhoods, you just have to know where to look...Yes, the area around Trin sucks, but even that is picking up a little bit. Also, the idea that Trin is no more dangerous than any urban campus, complete b/s...Admissions office propaganda...I visit NYU often and have no qualms about walking around alone at night there (especially to go to Mamoons...umm falafel). Trin is not the same, but either you'll learn how to interact with Hartford or you'll live in a bubble until you get a car and can drive to where the white people live. The people in Hartford, well, most of them, are actually less phony than most Trin students...its so strange to be walking around the neighborhood and seeing real people going about thier lives and then walking on to campus and seeing a bunch of popped collar phonys. Anyway...come to trin, but know what ur getting into...it is NOT New York...Hartford is a city that is still recovering from a major recession, but it is on the way up, not down...its not called New England's Rising Star for nothing.</p>
<p>JT - I enjoyed your post and must tell you we just returned from four days in Hartford where I purposefully spent time getting to know the city, too. Trinity is in a lousy area, no doubt - but I walked down to the capital (passing MacDonald's and Walgreens - you know where I mean) and it was a lovely walk - no problems, people were friendly. And it is quite vbeautiful down around that area. I also spent time over on Woodlawn and Farmington Avenues - by the Mark Twain house and Harriet Beecher Stowe's...the mid-Victorian architecture throughout the city is magnificent if you are into that sort of thing...and there are many parks and green spaces. I see such potential for this city and it kind of breaks my heart what has happened to it...but I agree, I think a renaissance is coming.</p>
<p>"I'd say go to Boston University, New York University, George Washington University, Wesleyan or another college that has a similar academic environment but where the off campus and social opportunities are a lot greater and your safety won't be the number one concern."</p>
<p>Uhh... except BU and GWU don't have similar academic enviroments. BU is much larger and much easier to get into (over 50% of applicants get in). GWU is also way less competitive. And large. And NYU, while competitive is huge... a very different enviroment. The only school that can really be compared is Wesleyan. </p>
<p>And while BU may be safer... well they don't have a "campus"... and the dorms are basically high-rises. I stayed there for crew camp one summer and it was not a place I'd like to live. Trinity, even if Hartford is certainly no Boston, is in a beautiful little sectioned of campus, with a quad, beautiful old buildings etc. </p>
<p>Yea but that was kind of off topic. I basically wanted to say most of the schools you listed are compleatly different "academic enviroments" then Trinity.</p>
<p>What schools would people reccommend that are just like Trinity and have great academics, beautiful campus, etc. but are located in a safer area?</p>
<p>I really dont get it... all these post contradict each other. I guess im going to have to visit Trin in order to get a sense of what its really like, im going to visit Wesleyan anyway, so it shouldnt be that far away.</p>
<p>As for sugarcube questions, I cant know exactly what you're looking for, but other similar schools I would suggest to check out w/ strong academics and safe campuses:</p>
<p>Slightly More competitive:
Wesleyan
Haverford</p>
<p>About the Same:
Colgate
Hamilton
Washington and Lee
Macalester (thats in the MW though)</p>
<p>*These schools are similar in that they have strong academics and beautiful campuses. However do not be mistaken as they can be really different... for exmaple, Macalester is extremely liberal while Wash & Lee is very conservative... the best way to know is to check out all these schools. I laso didnt include any universities since I guess you know more about those.</p>
<p>Sugarcube: I think Kenyon, Hamilton, Conn College are comparable</p>
<p>Don't listen to the other posts claiming Trinity to be a similar school to BU, NYU, GW, etc. Trinity is much more intimate. I live in New Jersey, and the area Trin is in is not great, but I've spent time in Newark, Trenton, and New York, and there is a significant difference. The campus is closed off from the neighborhood more so than other schools. No main roads run through campus, and during the day it hardly feels like you are in the middle of a city. Yale and Penn for example (New Haven and Philly) are integrated with their cities, and it is easy to recognize that once on campus. The area around Trin is reasonably safe during the day, it might not be smart to venture out at night, but it is certainly not the combat zone described earlier. There won't be any gun-totting gangsters following you to and from the library, no dealers pulling you aside on the quad, and no graffiti bearing gang symbology on your dorm. </p>
<p>However, the Trinity experience does have an urban element with it, and it is not the only school of its kind. If you are searching for a similar school, look no further than the other NESCAC schools. (Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Conn. College, Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colby, Bates, and Tufts) Almost every school has a beautiful campus and strong academic reputation. In all fairness, most are in better areas than Trinity.</p>