<p>Hi. Conn student here. Your chances for getting in are the same at both colleges. When I applied to college, Conn was harder to get into by less than 1%, but last year Trinity was harder to get into by less than 1%… so it is a tossup with both at around 34%. Generally Trinity is considered more conservative and Conn is more liberal. In fact, Trinity is often thought of as the most conservative of the New England liberal arts colleges, however, from what I know, Trinity has a fair share of liberals as well. Academically they are very comparable, both have alumni who attend top graduate schools, including top law schools. Considering the comparable admissions and academics, what your decision should come down is student life.</p>
<p>I will write briefly about why I chose Conn over Trinity, and leave Trinity students to share their preferences for Trinity.</p>
<p>Location:
One reason I chose Conn is location. Trinity wisely promotes their Hartford location as positive, but in reality, it is Trinity’s biggest shortcoming. Hartford has the second highest poverty rate in the United States and the college is located in the most dangerous neighborhood of one of the most dangerous cities (Hartford) in America. This made me feel caged-in as it is not very safe to leave Trinity’s small, 100 acre, campus. Conn, in contrast, has more of a town feel. Conn’s campus is 750 acres on the Thames River complete with woods and great views. Downtown New London is nothing glamorous, but its safe and has decent restaurants, galleries, coffee ships, etc. I found Conn’s setting very peaceful and beautiful, yet in close proximity to cities and to great costal towns.</p>
<p>Students:
Like every school Trinity and Conn have a wide variety of students, but for the usefulness of this review I will speak in generalizations. The few times I visited friends at Trinity I found that, generally, their student body was notably: athletic, preppy, and conservative. All New England liberal arts colleges are predominantly wealthy and all tend to be preppy (“preppy” is a conservative American style and mindset). However, Trinity is notoriously so, and the fraternity, binge drinking, and homogeneity left much to be desired. Conn has a much larger contingency of “art oriented” students in addition to the aforementioned athletic “type.” I appreciated Conn’s variation in students types, and the quality and inclusiveness of students I encountered played a major role in selling me on Conn.</p>
<p>Both schools have social scenes that revolve around drinking. I liked Conn’s system of Thursday and Saturday partying while have Friday be a “chill-out night” of concerts, college events, and low-key hangouts with friends.</p>
<p>Downsides to Conn as opposed to Trinity:
Trinity has a larger endowment and therefore more money ($400 million as opposed to Conn’s $230 million). Trinity also is generally better known which feels good when people ask the question “where do you go to college” and they generally recognize Trinity, although, as I said earlier, both send people to great grad schools, Trinity sends many students to business schools, and Conn sends a very large number to PhD programs so those who need to know about both colleges for your sake, know about both colleges.</p>
<p>I do hope my review was helpful. Ultimately, my experience at Conn College has been, and will continue to be top-notch and engaging. I recommend the college to anyone–including you. I am sure Trinity students will chime in with their feelings. I truly feel that both colleges are great–they simply have very different atmospheres. I highly recommend touring if possible.</p>
