OK hopeful Trinity applicants and parents

Colleges and Universities A-Z Trinity University (Texas)
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<p>hmmmmmmmmmmmmm DDs did not receive the card. I think it's a case of the admissions office being overwhelmed at this time of year. It probably also depends on the experience of your regional admissons counselor too and how swamped they are at this point. I read somewhere that the more inexperienced the rep, the more files they read and the less likely they would be to have time for additional mailings maybe???dunno really just guessing.</p>

<p>Missypie so what four did your S retain and Fendrock where is "elsewhere?" would love to hear your updates.</p>

62

<p>Yes, historymom, I was pondering the holiday card thing also -- we are in Massachusetts and Trinity keeps a very low profile to say the least -- maybe it is a matter of different mailing lists?</p>

<p>D has decided on University of South Carolina. She visited the campus and loved it.</p>

63

<p>Hello everyone I am a student at Trinity right now. I hope I can answer some of the questions or doubts you may have.</p>

<p>About Greek life, it is there if you need it but if you don't need it. It is not an overwhelming presence on campus. I personally like going to frat parties, but I know plenty of people that would rather watch a movie at the dorm. HUMA 1600 is really tough and those kids are always doing essays and constantly reading. From what I've gathered, most have disliked it or at least were hoping it was going to be somehow different. Historymom, HUMA kids are in Winn 3rd. Yes, it is one of the nicest dorms for first years. However, they change where everyone lives every year. HUMA might be in Calvert one year and McClean the other year. For first year dorms there are some smaller dorms like Herndon that while small have really nice and new items. The sink is new, the cabinets are new, everything is new. Winn, while bigger, has older stuff. So you have a trade off. </p>

<p>About receiving mail from admissions, I know it feels great receiving mail since I once was in that position. However, it doesn't really matter in the end. Maybe the mail lost it, or they ran out of cards. What matters is the actual living in the university. When your kids are in Trinity, or any college for that matter, you won't think about a silly card they sent you for Christmas but how their life is at Trinity or any other college. Yes, it is nice to receive mail but there is so much more to it than that. </p>

<p>Ignatius you should say something about the comments. Maybe I can say something about it.</p>

<p>I really like Trinity, the professors as mentioned above are really available. Most even attempt to know your name, EVEN if you never go to the professor's office hours. Attendance is mandatory for most classes, and professor will either lower your grade or make you leave the class if you miss around 3 classes. I really like that they bring speakers to Trinity. There are countless events you can go to. There is so much you can do, but you can't really do everything due to personal commitments and homework. </p>

<p>Maybe some of you have read College P.R.0.W.L.3.R. and all I have to say about that is that it is somewhat outdated. There are study lounges with computers where you can study all night. </p>

<p>A thing I don't like too much about Trinity is that sometimes I feel it is too small. You can kind of recognize some of the people you've never met before. You are not anonymous.</p>

<p>Any questions just say something and I'll try answering them.</p>

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<p>oh by the way Historymom, you always want to receive big and fat mails from the admissions office. If they are small they are probably waitlists or rejections.</p>

65

<p>These are some of the reasons I've heard that people don't like: </p>

<ul>
<li>aramark: prices are high, although I like their food. It can get specially boring at the end of the semester. Aramark is the only food provider. </li>
<li>since it is a small school, not all classes can be offered in both fall and spring semesters, which makes things complicated</li>
<li>insulation within the trinity campus. does anyone have friends at incarnate word for instance?</li>
<li>GPA at trinity does not = GPA at other schools, making it harder to compete for med, law, pharm school, etc.
-Cats. I am personally indifferent, but you get a range of people that love them and feed them and others that hate them.
-There are going to be some nonsmoking dorms next year. Smokers always have the option not to room there though.</li>
</ul>

66

<p>thanks pinnacle! I have a few questions: Does Trinity have many cliques? How about the quality of the food?</p>

<p>And do they release EA decisions via snail mail only? If that's the case, do you know when the mails reached international students last year?</p>

67

<p>pinnacle,</p>

<p>Let me clarify. All the buildings, including dorms, are smoke free buildings at TU. Students/others may smoke outside, but there is no smoking allowed in any buildings on campus. </p>

<p>The Cat Alliance is a school recognized program that cares for abandoned cats, all of whom are spayed/neutered and placed in homes when possible. The Alliance members have a set schedule for who feeds the cats and when.</p>

<p>I'm glad that you enjoy Trinity. D is missing it after being home only a week.</p>

68

<p>Dorms are not smoke free. Yes, you cannot smoke inside the actual dorm. You can smoke outside your dorm, whether it is in your private balcony or the public balconies/walkways. Next year people won't be able to smoke even on the balconies of two dorms (I believe Thomas and another one). But yeah no smoking inside any buildings.</p>

<p>Yeah the alliance is the official thing but people in my hall also feed them. It is pretty cool in my opinion, you kind of have an unofficial mascot. There is one cat that always goes to a neighbor's door at night looking for food. I personally don't feed them but I like to see them around. </p>

<p>Batdoi: I am not sure about cliques. People tend to group with people who share similar interests. If you are in choir and swimming you might hang out with some people from choir sometimes and swimming other times. It isn't an exclusive thing.</p>

<p>For the most part, food is really good. It just gets boring eating the same things all semester. Not all food stations are open whenever Mabee or Coates is open. Overall the food is really good, the prices are high though. If you get the light meal plan you are supposed to eat around 12$ per day and you start with 1500$ I believe. An average meal at Mabee or Coates is probably 5$. That means you can only really eat two times a day. So you have to know how to manage your eating habits because otherwise you'll run out of the meal plan money early in the semester. Good thing though is that there are always people that have way too much meal plan at the end of the semester, especially girls, so strangers might offer to buy your food. I wouldn't say this system is BAD, you just have to know what to eat.</p>

<p>You'll probably get an email first and then snail mail will follow.</p>

69

<p>Hey Pinnacle,</p>

<p>You said that "GPA at trinity does not = GPA at other schools, making it harder to compete for med, law, pharm school, etc.".</p>

<p>What exactly do you mean by that? How different is the grading system? I'm applying to Trinity for '09 but I'm planning on going to med school after and the GPA thing is kind of scaring me... I'm not too familiar with GPA to begin with because I'm from Canada haha.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

70

<p>To be honest I copied some of the comments from a Trinity forum on why people were displeased. So I thought that if anyone had questions I might help somewhat.</p>

<p>I believe that GPA at trinity is somewhat lower than what you would get at other schools simply because it is harder than other schools. A 3.5 at Trinity is not the same as a 3.5 at UTSA for example. So while med school admission officers know that there is variance between a school's GPA, Trinity's reputation isn't as good in the northeast as if you were applying to a med school in the south. So the northeast school might not know about Trinity's caliber, and thus take a gpa as somewhat lower. Trinity is a really well recognized school in Texas, but to be honest it doesn't carry the Harvard name. I think it is pretty much the case with any LAC. Most people don't know Williams, yet it is the best LAC at least according to U.S. News. </p>

<p>That apart grading at Trinity is typical of any other school. We are based on semesters so you take a class per semester and the final at the end of the semester. You get your GPA at the end of the semester etc. </p>

<p>I know I've been saying a few bad comments about Trinity. I just wanted to point out why some people might not like some things about Trinity. I personally really love it, I am proud to be a Trinity Tiger, and I am missing it even though it is vacation time.</p>

71

<p>I see what you're saying. Thanks a lot for your post.
But ya trinity still sounds like a nice place</p>

72

<p>Are you seriously looking at Trinity U ?</p>

73

<p>Kinda, well its 3rd or 4th on my list (out of 4)</p>

<p>My first two choices are Brown and Johns Hopkins, and then 3rd/4th is Trinity/WUSTL. It depends a lot on money because my parents cant pay too much, so that will have a big influence on where I go (I might have to end up staying in Canada too...it's too early to tell lol).</p>

<p>I'm not even sure if I'll get into any of the American ones, but Trinity is the one I'm feeling most confident about.</p>

<p>Oh, and I'm applying as a permanent resident, not an international.</p>

74

<p>do not let your children come to trinity. i'm currently a sophomore at tu and the school truly is not a good place to be. i came here on a wonderful scholarship and that's why i'm not transferring. primarily, trinity is not reflective of the college experience. it's boring (that's why half the campus is gone every weekend), the administration suffocates students with its totalitarian policies, and there aren't really any resources for students here (the library closes at 6 or midnight on most nights - it closed at 10 one night during finals this year!). i have some great friends here but there truly aren't any "perks" to attending trinity.</p>

<p>sports are more or less a joke (i'm an athlete here also), the campus is empty, organizations aren't well-funded, the university has absolutely NO name recognition (especially for how difficult the classes are) and it's just pretty miserable. save your money and send your kids to a cheaper school that's academically equal with more resources and, ultimately, more fun. most state schools fit this bill: the university of texas comes to mind. good luck in your searches!</p>

75

<p>Wow! Are you sure you shouldn't transfer? It seems like you took the money instead of going for fit. Could you please let us know what you mean when you say the sports are a joke? Trinity is very competetive in most sports, and is currently in 12th place in the Director's Cup standings after fall sports. Last year it finished in 13th place of all DIII schools, of which I believe there are ~400. Yes, sports are not attended as in DI, but DIII isn't about that. As DIII schools go, however, TU's events are often well attended. </p>

<p>When you say the campus empties out, are you sure? My D doesn't seem to feel that way at all. Two of her suitemates live within 2hrs. of the campus and they never go home. Many seniors, and all grad students live off campus, so it should seem emptier on weekends.</p>

<p>It shouldn't have been a surprise that classes are difficult. </p>

<p>If you don't transfer, I hope you come to have a more positive outlook, becuse college shouldn't be as you describe it.</p>

76

<p>right413, what team are you on, if you dont mind me asking?</p>

<p>im wondering if you're on the tennis or soccer team. but ive heard trinity has a great tennis program</p>

77

<p>I don't think most Trinity students leave on the weekend. 35% of the students are not from Texas so just from that there is a large portion that don't leave every weekend. Texas is the size of four states so 65% of the population won't leave for the weekend. Yes, it is true some people go to Houston or Dallas for the weekend but I think overall it is a minority. Maybe 80% stay for the weekend in a regular week. The administration has to find the balance between keeping students happy and laws. Are you expecting the administration just to stand still if they know people are smoking weed ? Yeah I think the library should be open more time. It open from 8:00am to 12:00am Sunday-Thursday. I think it opens at 8:00am and closes around 6:00pm on the weekends. You can still go to a study lounge that is open 24/7 though. As previously mentioned it is a Division III school, do not expect crowds to attend an event as if it was a UT game.</p>

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<p>I think this past season the best team was the soccer team that was #1 in the nation pretty much all season until it lost to Amherst in the playoffs.</p>

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<p>of course, i'm generalizing to say that more than half of trinity's student population leaves during the weekend, but basically, the campus is entirely dead after friday. it's pretty sad to say, but most other campuses (at least ones that typify the "college experience," in my opinion) don't have a large portion of their students leave because they anticipate a good deal of fun each weekend. trinity has virtually NO fun to offer, just to be honest.</p>

<p>to answer your question 100canadian, i DO play on the soccer team, and while our team is very good on the D-III level, i regret not taking my chances and trying to place myself on a D-I team where my efforts could be legitimately awarded with meaningful titles and a feeling of accomplishment. what i mean by saying that trinity's sports are a joke...there is absolutely NO feeling of school spirit. i am not exaggerating at all, i promise you: some students actually root AGAINST trinity because they despise the athletic system we have subscribed to. for example, gonzaga is in the same "academic category" trinity is in, yet they have a legitimate D-I program with an excellent basketball team. there is no such sense of pride at trinity and to be honest, probably 30-40 people show up at men's basketball games (and that's being generous by including the other team's crowd). </p>

<p>a LOT of students transfer and a LOT of students leave for austin, dallas, or houston on any given weekend. there simply is not much to do on campus, and san antonio is really not a great college town, especially not the area where trinity is located near downtown. UTSA is honestly a better locale to be in for the "college experience," since parties are more common and the rules aren't as stringent. i don't mean to be a buzzkill by any means, but i have been here for a year and a half. this school is truly no fun, and the burden one takes through how difficult the classes are is simply NOT worth it. the +/- system is nonsense, and trinity has absolutely NO bearing to impose this system since it possesses NO influence. trinity has VERY little influence academically, and its name does not resonate even within the state of Texas. even in economic hubs such as dallas, houston, or austin, people will ask: "trinity?! Oh, is that a religious school?" trinity is not academically prominent...and again, that is being generous.</p>

<p>this is my very humble opinion, and undoubtedly i have an agenda in keeping kids from experiencing the same inept college life that i have, but i promise you, there is a better collegiate lifestyle for your children. i don't mean to offend anyone, but from the bottom of my heart, i am a trinity student, and this is my honest feeling: take it for what it is worth. to address pinnacle, the administration should first understand that trinity is a COLLEGE CAMPUS. sure, smoking weed is against the law, but has anyone ever considered why? most campuses nationwide would refer this "transgression" to a higher jurisdiction if at all, either arresting an offender or giving him/her a slap on the wrist. being a part of the current collegiate generation, it is completely counterintuitive for college security forces to think that NO ONE will smoke weed, NO ONE will consume alcohol, NO ONE will experiment sexually, etc. anyone looking to send their children to a place where none of these "terrible happenings" will occur is delusional. this is the 21st century, and anyone who agrees that marijuana should be illegal or alcohol should not be available to citizens under the age of 21 should SERIOUSLY evaluate our societal situation. </p>

<p>in essence, trinity bills itself as a universally accepted "home-run" liberal arts university that will get you the best job possible. THAT IS NOT TRUE. it is a false "hidden Ivy League" school that demands an irrational sum of money for what it provides.</p>

<p>i have gone on far enough, but to validate my point, i would love more students to come to trinity. we have far too few students, and more kids would be extremely advantageous to actually improve the school and its quality of life. but, as a student of trinity who has experienced the school's "best" and "worst," no one should legitimately consider the school. it is simply NOT WORTH IT. that is my honest say, and you can take it or leave it, but if you have not attended the school (as I have), then you should really consider why you are pressing the university on your son or daughter.</p>

<p>other schools to consider:
rice university
university of texas
southern methodist university
university of houston
texas christian university
tulane university</p>

<p>good luck: DO NOT GO TO TRINITY. it is a waste of money and time.</p>

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<p>I'm a parent and not a student so I can't refute your impressions - they are, after all, yours. But I will take exception to the reputation part: I live in the Houston area and I hear rave reviews almost everywhere I turn from other adults in terms of the quality of the school. People seem very familiar with the school and its reputation. I haven't met many students or recent grads, but the ones I have encountered have been enthusiastic. I'm sorry things haven't worked out for you the way you hoped/expected. I hope you'll find things picking up for you.</p>