<p>I have moved this from the Parent Cafe Welcome thread. Hopefully those with info , and Maiby, will find it here. </p>
<p>"I'm not sure where to post this but thought I'd try the Cafe. I have a question about Connecticut College My son is interested and applied to the college and is in contact with the coach, etc so I've read up quite a bit on the school. It seems a major complaint is "nothing to do on the campus".. He wants to major in one of the sciences and has also applied to a few other NESCAC schools but I think he's leaning toward Conn if he gets in. Any opinions on Conn College in general?" </p>
<p>in a nutshell: its an outstanding school that is very underrated/underranked. great academics, gorgeous campus, extremely friendly student body with tight knit sense of community.</p>
<p>The girls I've known who have got there are friendly, athletic, and sociable people. None of them has been particularly happy at the school, but it could just be their personalities. One had a boyfriend she was keeping up with, so she spent a lot of weekends with him, for example. These are students from a tough high school, but they all said that classes were too easy. One of the girls who did pretty well in high school, but not great, got a 99% on her first lab. I can't tell you much beyond that. I've been to campus, and the people there seemed nice and happy; my information is only based on a couple of my friends who went there.</p>
<p>No real insight here, but will pass on what I can--
S. visited twice. It seemed deserted the first time (maybe too early on a weekend?), second time he went for a summer interview, and was too nervous to think about much else.<br>
Our impression: beautiful, well-kept campus overlooking the sound. Much prettier than I remember from my own visit there in 1978...! Town of New London nothing to write home about, though guess most fun is had on campus.
Friends of our family have two girls there who absolutely LOVE it, have made wonderful friends, enjoy the small college sports opportunities, etc. I get the impression of a somewhat preppy, but easy-going and friendly student body. Also know of another student (male) who was equally happy there, now in law school in NYC.
Our S ended up focusing on larger schools/universities and was accepted ED elsewhere, so we never pursued CC further, but it sounds like a school that more people should be aware of.</p>
<p>My D and I visited twice. I can't tell you about the social aspect, but she loved the campus and liked the few people she met. There was a lot she liked about it- I didn't like that there wasn't a big hille/jewish presence.
She wanted a bit more competitive campus and ended up at another school.</p>
<p>My son and I visited during the summer three years ago: we got the same impression that the students are social, athletic and preppy. Beautiful compus and arboretum. A couple of things convinced my son that this was not the school for him: the parking lots (full of conspicuous consumption) and the bulletin boards. These were full of notices of college sponsered entertainment and dances: one got the impression that the school needed to entertain the students. I am sure that a good deal of this is the location.</p>
<p>That said, one of the the vals from my son's year attended on a huge scholarship, and is, as far as I know, doing fine. He is social, athletic and a bit preppy - probably a good fit.</p>
<p>My son was also recruited for athletics at Conn Coll and, after visiting and considering several schools this fall, he decided to apply ED-1 and he will be attending there next fall. He thought it was a very friendly and open environment with a great mix of athletics, academics and social life. He likes the idea of a close-knit, residential campus, but one that is also within easy traveling distance to the beach for surfing or sailing, mountains for skiing, as well as big-city experiences. He liked that CC doesn't have the "stratification" that sometimes goes along with frats/sororities, that the school makes real efforts to be environmentally friendly, and that students are encouraged to give back to the community. He is also interested in the science fields - and originally was looking only at schools that offered engineering! - but really liked CC's support for interdisciplinary studies; not only do they offer established interdisciplinary programs, but they encourage students to design their own majors if the existing majors aren't what they are looking for.</p>
<p>And, of course, the 60/40 female/male split doesn't hurt.... </p>
<p>As far as negatives, we have heard that it is somewhat preppy, but not exclusively so, that the town is small and doesn't offer a lot of options, but the school does a lot to keep students happy on campus. It does not offer scholarships per se, but the financial aid package he was given was exactly what we expected from having filled out a number of online calculators. This was a real concern for us with applying ED, since we had heard a lot of horror stories about scarce financial aid for ED applicants, but - at least in our case - it turned out not to be the case. </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck to your son in his search. If you are comfortable with it, I'd love to know what sport he is being recruited for? We found that it was really a challenge to find a good match school when considering academic AND financial AND athletic goals.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your feedback. It all seems pretty consistent with what I've read or what my son felt about the college when visiting a few times. He's not preppy but for other reasons I think it might be a good fit for him. (Environmental awareness, internships, possibility of doing research with a professor).. He is an avid runner and would participate on those teams... he wants to be an active team member and that is why a Division 3 school would be more suitable for him.</p>
<p>My son is currently a senior at ConnColl and has really liked his four years there. Two GREAT things about Conn: Their study-abroad options (just about everyone does that at least one semester their junior year), and CELS -- which I think stands for Career Enhancing Life Skills. It's basically the career center; my son has met with one specific person there on a routine basis. S/he has helped him create a very professional sounding resume that has knocked my socks off.</p>
<p>Oh-- and also, their guarantee of an internship between junior and senior years. The school makes sure you get at least $3,000 by making up the diff if the actual intership doesn't give it to you.</p>
<p>He's enjoyed his major, has gotten very close to some professors, and has made great friends.</p>
<p>Downside: The campus is small and New London doesn't rock. But they do have Mystic just up the road, and the casinos (yech :() if that's your thing. </p>
<p>its really not as preppy as its reputation. the 'yacht club kids' are a small minority. plus, the student body is very liberal and accepting- the hippies hang out with the jocks who hang out with the theater kids who hang out with the preps etc etc</p>
<p>new london isnt the greatest town, but there is ALWAYS something going on on campus- the student activities board and the office of student life do an excellent job of keeping students happy. the vast majority of students stay on campus on the weekends, which should signify that there are plenty of things going on.</p>
<p>many of the academic departments are truly top notch. the psychology department is well known and does an excellent job of placing students in competitive grad schools and research positions. the chemistry department, while small, sends its graduates to the elite grad schools and med schools. other outstanding departments are english, dance, art, education, history, economics, and political science. a ton of students go on to excellent law schools.</p>
<p>most of the faculty are great, and really want to help students succeed. many are known to take classes out to dinner or their own home. if you want to get involved in research, most of the profs are eager to help.</p>
<p>Yes, the summer internship program (stipend of $3,000) is a great opportunity! Most of the schools we looked at didn't really have great college towns, either. If accepted, I think my son will be going to Connecticut College. Overall, I think it has most of what he's looking for.. and it's the only one he did an overnight at.. he truly enjoyed the experience and the kids he met.</p>
<p>I visited with D and we both had a favorable impression. The coach for her sport was not a good fit and so it fell off the list. I only hear good things from the students who attend but they fit the smart, athletic and preppy categories.</p>
<p>Yes, I'd also agree that the psychology dept at Conn has to be top notch. Although I've never visited the campus, I attended school many, many years ago with one of the leading psy professors (we lost touch) and I remember well what a dedicated and outstanding student she was.... So, for anyone considering psy/Conn, it's the place to seriously consider. The only drawback here is the tuition - unless you can get some kind of financial aid/merit award.</p>