My review of the University of Hartford

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Hartford
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<p>I've been living and studying at the University of Hartford now for 3 years, and I just wanted to make this thread to voice my opinion about the school as my experience here has been nothing short of awesome.
The academics are incredible; the professors are absolutely brilliant not only in their field, but at giving instruction. They offer flexible office hours and have always responded to my emails quickly. If you are still having trouble with a class, they have tutoring labs that you can walk into without an appointment and receive immediate help. As a science major, we are given the opportunity to participate in undergrad research, and access to state of the art lab facilities. I think the academics are the best part of the school. </p>

<p>Residential life is fine - I now live in an on campus apartment style dorm, but we don't have access to a stove or full sized fridge, so we rely on dinning services for food (my next point). Freshmen live in close quarter dormitories, usually in doubles, that are perfect for meeting new people. Upper classmen usually live in The Village which offers condo like apartments, full fridges and stoves. This area is party central. </p>

<p>Dinning services - This is the hardest part about living on campus for me; while the dinning services here are not terrible, they certainly fall short of standard. Commons, an all you can eat buffet, has limited variety and the food is extremely low quality. There is a restaurant style service of campus, but the food there is greasy and cheap. The food services are outsourced to Aramark. There is between 9 and 11 places to grab food on campus, from Taco Bell, to a fancy full service restaurant called the 1877 Club. </p>

<p>Organizations: Joining clubs and organizations has really enhanced my experience here. I joined a fraternity, studied abroad, and joined a couple of programs which introduced me to many new people and kept life here exciting. </p>

<p>I would definitely suggest attending Uhart. It was easy for me to adjust to life here, and I love every day I'm here. I don't work for the University or have any vested interest in who attends and who doesn't, so you can take my word over the tour guides. I have no incentive to mislead you. The weather in Connecticut is rough, the food sucks, but the things that truly matter to the college experience continue to excel here. </p>

<p>I am subscribing to this thread with email updates so please feel free to ask me anything. I will answer all questions as quickly as possible.</p>

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<p>do you think the two year college brings down the overall quality/rep of u of h?</p>

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<p>I think you’re talking about Hillyer, and I don’t really know much about it since it’s for undecided students. I do think it brings down the reputation a bit.</p>

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<p>Your description matches the experience of my D, a third year Hartt student. The dining options were one factor in her decision to move off campus.</p>

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<p>My daughter is looking at the physical therapy program at university of Hartford. Do you know how competitive this program is? Do most students stay on campus for weekends?</p>

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<p>I second your opinion. I graduated recently and am now a grad student at University of Hartford. The school is overall a great experience and is respected by employers. I felt that way coming from the Business School there. I definitely think it is under-rated at times. My graduating class had it the worst in history since the great depression and I still pulled off a solid job with starting salary of 60k and with low debt compared to many of my high school peers. When I finish my MBA, I am off to law school! </p>

<p>In response to the other question, I don’t think the two year college brings down the quality per say. It does invite some people who are less serious about long term educational commitment. They may not be college material and are kind of just trying it out.</p>

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<p>This was helpful!</p>

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Wow. Whoever made this thread… I love you. People had me scared of this place but nice to know!!!

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DS is just starting 11th grade and he is a C+ / B- student. GPA at the end of 10th grade was a 2.98. He has
some LD issues and we’re expecting his ACTs will be 20 - 21. Also we are hopeful he can raise his GPA to a 3.1 or 3.2. With this info, would admission to Hartford be a stretch ?

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@dspflyer I don’t think its a stretch. Have you checked out the CDS for UHart? I know of a student who had a GPA under 3.0 from DS school who was accepted. He was admitted to art school and was a gifted artist. He was 3 years ahead of DS and is now a sophomore at UHART and excelling. Family said he had a rough first semester but the school has excellent resources and wants students to succeed. My DS is also into the arts so this is a great school but as of now my preference is for LACs.

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That is very encouraging to hear. Thank you. We are definitely planning a visit to Hartford and I have my fingers crossed that it is a school that works out for him.

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My son was accepted to UHart. We haven’t been able to see the campus bc we are out of state. Pretty much any college he wants to go to is OOS. Except 2. And one of them is major reach. (Well it was 3, apparently 2 of them are a reach. One denied him) he slacked off in HS. And he sees its biting him in the butt now. Mid year GPA is 3.3 and on new SAT 1170.
We saw some acceptances to Temple which were under his GPA and test scores but haven’t yet heard from temple. Anyhow my point
When he applied to UHart he hadn’t yet got his midyear GPA and it was 3.1 and he was accepted. In fact they responded fast.
We don’t like the idea about some of the dorms not having a/c (silly I know but he has a skin disorder and he can’t not have a/c in summer months but I guess he’d be home before it was too hot)
Also for UHart. The dorms, for freshman, don’t seem to have any suite style dorms (4-6 people share a bathroom rather then a whole floor)
I am so against communal bathrooms for the cost of what college costs! It’s just wrong on so many levels!!!
It’s really is an issue for myself and for him! (Again in part due to his skin condition…) and I have no clue if UHart even has this type of option. Doesn’t seem like it’s
As for racking up student debt, he wants to be a teacher (elementary education) unless that changes.
And even with the merit scholarship he got, 4 years (not including grad school) is going to set him back big time. Which on a teachers salary, he will be paying back for the rest of his life.
I’m just wondering… is it all worth it?

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@Mom2JRx2 : no, it’s not. It may make sense for people from the area who want a business degree, but for elementary education, absolutely not.

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Thank you. And yes. After doing all of the research I did. And finally getting back all of the colleges he applied to. He was rejected from 2. And the rest all accepted him. We narrowed it down to our top 3. (Only one was in state, and he wanted more of an Urban College then a suburban setting anyway…)
He committed to Temple University. It won’t be cheap, but it’s not as expensive as UHart was going to be. And it offers much more…
now to get some loans to fill in the gaps! Lol. But that was going to be inevitable no matter where he went.
He really loved Temple… he totally loved that they only have 2 dorms that use communal bathrooms! (He’s extremely insecure about his skin condition and he would be ok with a couple people seeing it but not a whole floor of 40 something kids seeing it) the dorms he put in for are all suite style and 2 person per room or 4.
He knows about 6 other guys going from his HS so they’re going to try and be roommates and these guys he’s comfortable enough with. Since he’s known them forever. He’s looking forward to meeting tons of new people and all of the opportunities that college will afford him. Temple definitely seemed like a good fit for him… and he is really excited about it. (He wasn’t very excited about UHart honestly… he’d love to maybe attend grad school in the New England region. But we have plenty of time before we think about that!! I’m still nervous about getting loans to cover the next 4 years!!! It was NOT this difficult when I went to college lol!)

Thank you for your honest answer. I felt the same way clearly… or wouldn’t have asked!!

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I got in with a full tuition scholarship but I’m still not sure about it because I want to go to a school with very good academics but I’m going to consider it as an option

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@Mom2JRx2 congrats on Temple! My D is a freshman and we debated between UHart and Temple last year. Temple won and she LOVES it.

If he and his buddies want a suite-style dorm, get your housing deposit is asap. We waited and the only rooms left were communal dorms. Or they can apply to an LLC that’s housed in a suite-style dorm.

Welcome to the nest!

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Thanks for the update ! And congratulations on committing to Temple.

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My son was accepted today to the Business School… I was hoping for some feedback about the program, campus life, etc… Any feedback welcome

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Did you hear by mail or email @whatabout

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@whatabout I have heard great things about the business school and great location for internships. Did your DS get a good FA package? What other schools are you considering. Of course you must have heard about the awful roommate situation which made the national news. I don’t like the administration slow response and I think it may affect enrollment this year.