<p>hi, i was wondering how going to school in hartford is? Is it a good atmosphere? are you mostly isolated to the campus? do you feel safe?</p>
<p>Hartford has few redeeming qualities. Even the downtown area and downtown West Hartford are mostly a series or generic bland stores and bars. There is the Wadsworth, I guess. </p>
<p>Trinity marketing is smart because they don’t hide that they’re in Hartford and try to turn their biggest challenge into a strength. The unfortunate reality is that Trinity is probably in a more blighted, dangerous, and forgettable location of any other first-rate college in the entire country and it severely hurts the applicant pool of an otherwise excellent school. The small campus is essentially surrounded by, and isolated by, “the hood”.</p>
<p>Georgie33: </p>
<pre><code>Going to school at Trinity is terrific! I loved it there.
The campus is gorgeous and you will spend a lot of time there because the place is so vibrant and full of activities to meet every taste. You will feel safe on campus when you use common sense. The immediate area around Trinity is poor and has very little to recommend for social life. You will not wander around there late at night. It is, however, wonderful for students who want to volunteer and do community service as the needs of the surrounding mostly Hispanic community are great. Trinity boasts the only Boys and Girls Club that is part of a college campus and is directly across the street from the extensive “Learning Corridor” of Hartford magnet schools (Montessori, arts, and sciences) which provide great tutoring and mentoring programs using Trinity students. Students volunteer in the Trinfo Cafe, which provides free internet and computer classes to the community. If you like Hispanic foods you are in luck, too! Students majoring in Spanish use the city as an academic resource.
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<p>CamelMan21 does not know Hartford and its suburbs very well. I have lived in Hartford and its immediate suburbs for 20 plus years. Doesn’t it strain credulity to say the capitol of a state like Connecticut has nothing going for it? The Wadsworth Athaneum (oldest art museum in America), Hartford Stage, Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe houses (where Trinity students intern), Bushnell Park free concerts, XL convention/concert center, brand new Science Center of CT, brand new Convention Center, and multitude of bars and restaurants are just a few things offered in Hartford. The problem is students without a car cannot easily access these places at night. During the day the free bus pass provided by Trinity will get you just about anywhere and it is perfectly safe to take the bus during the daytime when it runs very regularly. Students love to take the bus to the huge mall in West Hartford.</p>
<p>And speaking of West Hartford, CamelMan21 is so far off the mark it is laughable. West Hartford is home to the brand new Blue Back Square which is thriving and hopping with nightlife and shopping opportunities. Blue Back is about ten minutes from Trinity and you are sure to find a friend with a car as many upper-classmen bring them to access the suburbs and internships with government agencies and major businesses in Hartford. West Hartford just won these accolades in part because of places like Blue Back Square: Kiplinger’s Top Ten Best Cities for the Next Decade, Travel and Leisure’s America’s Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit, and CNN Money’s Top 100 Best Places to Live in USA.</p>
<p>Students should get past the fear of the immediate neighborhood. Take care, be city smart, and enjoy a terrific education in a beautiful setting teeming with opportunities.</p>
<p>We live outside Hartford and the area around Trinity is bad but like most urban schools have this type of issue. The general campus is small but nice. There isn’t much within walking distance from campus. There are things around Hartford and surrounding towns but you’ll need a car.</p>
<p>Tringrad, I understand the defense of your great school and I appreciate your defense of Hartford. Indeed, it has plenty going for it if you dig deep and are into finding small, local spots (which few college students are), but that’s not a useful answer to a prospective student who is not from the area. We can probably both agree that, realistically, few students at Trinity will do anything in Hartford beyond volunteering near campus and eating out every once in a while–things that can be done at any college. As far as West Hartford is concerned, driving 15 minutes to what is essentially a plastic looking outdoor mall (blue black square) realllly isn’t worth promoting. West Hardford has a “nightlife” because people are afraid of Hartford. This is all OK because, from my experience visiting friends, there is a ton going on around campus. But please, it is dishonest to hype-up Hartford as if it is a good place to go to college. Unless you’re into urban revitalization, there is nothing particularly college-oriented in this struggling city. </p>
<p>" the area around Trinity is bad but like most urban schools have this type of issue."</p>
<p>No other school, that I can think of, is in an area as blighted as Frog Hollow. Not Yale (downtown New Haven is now great), not Wesleyan (not much violent crime), not Columbia (Morningside Heights is upscale), not Penn (West Philly has tons of students living around the campus and a huge retail area). Trinity is in a unique situation of being in a neighborhood with many boarded-up houses and much violent crime, and has thoughtfully addressed this problem by engaging the community through partnerships and service, and Trinity should be commended and respected for this. But again, let’s be honest about Hartford as a struggling city…</p>
<p>CamelMan21: </p>
<pre><code>I completely agree that Hartford is a struggling city. The enormous wealth generated at the major corporations and insurance companies all flows out to the suburbs like West Hartford. I agree Trinity is a wonderful and generous neighbor to the community.
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<p>I stand by the comments about the attractions of West Hartford’s Blue Back square and repeat that three major publications agree with me! And funny your think Yale and Wesleyan are so safe. Each had a female student murdered on site last year.</p>
<p>I agree that most of College life revolves around the campus and student activities. Does Hartford have any revived areas like other cities (e.g. Baltimore) that are safe and tourist friendly?</p>
<p>My daughter is a current student at Trin. She loves it and enjoys the multitude of activities in Hartford. She has attended numerous arts and music events in and around Hartford with her teachers as part of classes. A fabulous resource you would never have at other LACs that are in the middle of nowhere. Campus life is vibrant and full of diverse activitites. Students don’t have to leave campus to find fun things to do. </p>
<p>Another benefit to a capitol city location is the internships and mentoring opportunities. Almost every one of the daughter’s friends has done some kind of internship in the city with government, hospitals, finance, etc. </p>
<p>She feels safe and I worry less than I would if she were in college in NYC. College life can be dangerous and the kids need to be careful wherever they go to school. Last year in Connecticut, there was a murder at Yale, a murder at Wesleyan, and two murders at UConn.</p>
<p>As a Connecticut native and Wesleyan alum, I want to clarify the statements made here about “there was a murder at Yale and Wesleyan last year”. The murder at Wesleyan involved a jilted boy friend who had nothing to do with Wesleyan and did not even live in Middletown–he had met his victim, a female Wes student, while they had lived in New York a few years earlier. As for Yale, a female doctoral student was murdered in a lab by a lab technician. Both cases are in court still. Neither involved random neighborhood violence. To be fair to Trinity, it is a lovely campus, and I have spoken to female students there who have absolutely no fear about going to school there. I took my son through there on an early evening last spring, and yes, the immediate area across the street is as inner-city as you can get, and there was a murder at a gas station just two blocks away a few days after our brief visit. But I can find no evidence that the crime scenes that take place just a few blocks away have any impact whatsoever on life on the campus itself. Finally, Hartford itself does have a thriving small downtown with lots of cultural events, and the fact that the state capitol building is just minutes away is another great opportunity for students.</p>
<p>My S has expressed an interest in Trinity and we have been doing some research before actually making a visit. We have repeatedly come across concerns about the environment surrounding the school. While people tend to address the “how safe is it” question, we really want to know if Trinity students are isolated from Hartford. Do you go off campus to live, dine, and for entertainment? Do you feel trapped on campus (for 4 years)? Thanks in advance for any honest answers from current or former students.</p>
<p>What about i have a relative there???..</p>
<p>When I went to college (many years ago) there was near total isolation between the college and the town. This detracted significantly from the overall experience. A few friends and I lived in town for years and found it a very enjoyable experience. I want to know if the students at Trinity spend all of their time on campus without interacting with Hartford.</p>
<p>The Trinity campus is safe.</p>
<p>The area around it is significantly better than it was 15 years ago, as a result of the Learning Corridor, the expansion of Hartford Hospital, and some redevelopment on Park Street. Actually I think the neighborhood, along with opportunities such as mentoring at the nearby Fox Elementary school, are good reminders of the larger world in which we all live. </p>
<p>I don’t think students at Trinity feel trapped on campus - most time is spent on campus with classes, studying, sports, and activities/entertaniment provided on campus as is typical of any school. However, students also get off campus.</p>
<p>Trinity offers reduced price tickets and transportation to area events, including at the Bushnell - beautiful performance space 10 minutes away from campus - such as to see the upcoming Blue Man Group show. The Webster with more alternative music is a 5 minute cab ride away.Trinity also provides tickets and transportation to events such as the Big E fair, Wadsworth Museum special exhibits, and the movies. Dinner in West Hartford or a trip to Westfarms Mall are easily accomplished by car, by bus, or by cab.</p>
<p>Thank you Swain51 for the very helpful information.</p>
<p>I do not perceive that my daughter feels trapped on Trinity’s lovely campus. She does interact with the city but not particularly with the neighborhood around the college. She has been on Trinity sponsored trips to the Connecticut Science Center, to the Bushnell auditorium for Broadway shows, and to the movies off campus. She also volunteers in a local elementary school and enjoys the local shopping and restaurants at Westfarms Mall and Blue Black Square in West Hartford.</p>
<p>Thank you Daddyof3.</p>
<p>This link might give some objective insight into the Trinity neighborhood and the college’s involvement in it. It describes Trinity’s physical isolation on one side (high on a ridge of rocks), how the college used to keep itself aloof from the community, and the incredibly productive and transformative partnership that has recently been forged between the college and the neighborhood. It also gives historical insight into the gems in a neighborhood often just seen as “blighted.” Too bad you can’t see the pictures of the historic homes referred to in the article or eat the magnificent food at the dumpy looking but warm and welcoming Trinity Restaurant.</p>
<p>[Stockbroker</a> tudors a unique piece of Hartford - Courant.com](<a href=“http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-hopkins-tudors-hartford-1031-20101031,0,2537359.story]Stockbroker”>http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-hopkins-tudors-hartford-1031-20101031,0,2537359.story)</p>
<p>Fascinating article - thanks.</p>
<p>Interesting article but the neighborhood is not safe at all. My son transferred from Trinity partly because of the safety issue. His roommate was hit over the head and robbed of his phone and wallet at the doorway to the dorm . The lockdown with the armed gunman on campus cemented my sons decision to transfer. I think he could have tolerated the preppy, partying non academic atmosphere if there was a way to occasionally escape . The area surrounding campus and Hartford in general has nothing to offer. Do not take the directions Trinity gives you to campus, follow you GPS and see what they are hiding.</p>
<p>Thank you mlwer. We (S and I) made a trip to see for ourselves. We not only drove to the campus but took enough time to drive all around it as well. On or inside the campus, everything seemed great. Outside things weren’t as great. We haven’t decided to rule Trinity out but the surrounding area is something we are discussing. I also will add that we received inconsistent and/or incomplete information from admissions on the phone and even when we were on campus. It was one of the least organized visits we have had. That too seems to be indicative of other things.</p>