<p>Any thoughts on the question? :) Thanks!</p>
<p>D had Conn as her top choice until a recent visit, but returned disappointed on this exactly this count. She'd seen seemingly inscrutable references in college guidebooks to Thursday being a party night, but didn't really believe that this was much more than urban myth. During the (early pm Friday) tour, people asked why computer labs and whole academic buildings were closed or empty. The tour guide said that this was because it was a weekend. When people pointed out that it was Friday, the guide said that virtually no classes were scheduled on Fridays, so there was no need for them to be open. D saw only a handful of students up and around mid-morning and early afternoon, and her conclusion was that they were recovering from Thursday night. There even seems to be a traditional of TNE (Thursday night events), non-academic, but no-alcohol social events that compete with the parties on Thursdays. </p>
<p>This raised questions, so D compared the on-line campus calendar to those of other similar LACs of interest. The number of academically oriented events at Conn such as lectures, seminars, language tables, department colloquia, etc., was, to put it mildly, way below the level found at other comparable colleges. D is definitely not looking for a Swarthmore or University of Chicago experience, and would be quite comfortable at a place with a "work-hard, play-hard" ethos, but she was really turned off by these impressions.</p>
<p>The things she noticed had less to do with something as nebulous as "intellectual atmosphere," but instead involved structural aspects of the college re class schedules, the scheduling of social events, allocation of resources, etc. Conn's pretty much gone from the top to the bottom of D's list.</p>
<p>In the not so distant past, Connecticutt College was a school serving social, intelligent, upperclass prep school students looking to enjoy their college years before moving on to the family business. Conn. Coll. has an artsy side that makes it slightly similiar to Skidmore. Colby College, St. Lawrence University & Kenyon College might be more appropriate for those seeking a bit more academics blended in with their social life.</p>
<p>I would like to respond to both the general question regarding intellectual life at Conn, as well as the negative experience one visitor had on campus. I am currently a senior at Conn and I was truly disturbed by the comments posted earlier. My initial decision to attend Conn was based on my understanding of the amazing intellectual environment available, specifically in relation to international studies. I do not believe the comment posted previously accurately reflects the actual life at the college. I am sorry that the misinformation presented by a particular tour guide tarnished a prospective student's experience at the school.</p>
<p>The tour guide referred to in an earlier post managed to tell his tour that there are fewer classes scheduled on Fridays and that because Thursday night marks the beginning of the weekend, labs are not open on Fridays. A simple review of the course schedule for any semester reveals that this is not the case. Both classes and labs are scheduled on Fridays and it even appears that a number were in session on Friday morning during the scheduled tour. Other departments may indeed schedule their classes at different times during the week, and yes, it is entirely possible that a student may not have a Friday class. However, the college has a specific "Common Hour" scheduled around lunch every Friday so that no students have class for a short period each week. This allows the entire campus to be free to participate in weekly lectures or campus discussions. </p>
<p>I must add though, that I do not recommend judging a campus' entire intellectual community by the class schedule. I think the very idea of an intellectual environment suggests that discussion, debate, and inquiry cannot be scheduled or planned. Rather, it is constant, and I know it to be vibrant on this campus. Sadly, it is incredibly hard for a brief visit to convey this message, and even more difficult when an individual makes an offhand comment. So please, stop by for Common Hour, visit the Thursday night Student Government Association Meetings, and attend a class or even check out the library any time of the week. There are no better examples of the "work hard, play hard" atmosphere than these routine events. Yes, Conn students might party on Thursdays and I hope they have a good time. But those same students are often taking Saturday afternoon to write a paper and staying at professors' office hours long past scheduled meeting times. As in any college, the environment here must be lived.</p>
<p>I know a sophomore at St. Lawrence University who said there are 5 to 6 ambulances at the campus every weekend for kids who have passed out drunk!! I really don't see SLU as intellectual at all!! And when we visited Bates, the school newspaper had a big article about all the damages done to the dorm houses from drunken students. I have heard that the students at ConnCollege party hard too, but I think the Honor Code probably keeps some of the worst offenses that happen on other campuses from happening there. They all drink, but I have to say I am surprised at what your daughter found as the lack of activities - Conn College seemed to have the livliest campus, and the most going on of any of the campuses we visited.</p>
<p>Now if you want lack of liveliness, go visit Middlebury!!! That turned my son and I both off!</p>
<p>hey collegeconfused, do they still have the freshman focus program? that always seemed very "intellectual" to me.</p>
<p>i feel a need to respond to this thread too. i'm a freshman at Conn, and based on my experience here so far, i think it is unfair to dismiss Conn as a party-school with no intellectual atmosphere. granted, Conn is nothing like UChicago, Swarthmore, or Reed, but people do actually care about their academics. there is definitely a 'work hard-play hard' mentality here. I am always amused to see the hard-core partiers, kids whom I think only know how to have fun, work their asses off and bury their heads under books when they are not partying. And indeed, the scheduling of classes really has nothing much to do with the academic atmosphere of the school. Besides, I only know of one friend who has no class on Friday. So it's not like everyone goes out of their way to avoid classes on Fridays, and even if they try to, they may not suceed since the faculty is unlikely to feel obliged to comply with the college's partying habits. Admittedly, there really isn't a geeky-intellectual kind of atmosphere here at Conn, but the people here are generally smart, care about their academics, and wanna have fun at the same time.</p>
<p>Thanks to the posters who provided first-hand insights. It may be that D, through luck of the draw, got a tour guide who made a bad ad lib to explain a locked computer cluster on a particularly sleepy Friday. I think highly of several of Conn's programs and was disappointed at her experience, too.</p>
<p>i'm really disappointed that you met your D met a tour guide like that too... i thought our tour guide selection was much more stringent than that! maybe she herself had too much to drink the night before...</p>