<p>I am a junior checking out LAC's, and I want to check out Connecticut College this week. What should I be familiar with going in? My academic interests are philosophy, film, international studies, political science, and obviously general liberal arts.</p>
<p>Conn is on my D’s short list, and we visited it last spring. It seems to be academically very strong, and has programs in all your areas of interest. Our tour guide, a great guy, was double majoring in music and economics, and they seem to encourage that sort of multi-disciplinary approach. It’s a beautiful campus, a little isolated (i.e. can’t walk to town), preppy but not as preppy as Trinity (and no Greek presence on campus)… sort of preppy-hipster, I guess. Everyone lives on campus for four years, so there seems to be a very strong campus culture. </p>
<p>My D loved it, and was impressed with a professor she met, and really hit it off with her interviewer. We got the impression that it’s a school that is both fun and has a good intellectual culture, especially for those who seek it out. It seems to have a pretty strong party/drinking culture, but that’s so common at LACs. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s very expensive and gives no merit aid, just need-based aid.</p>
<p>Anything you wish you’d known before visiting? What do you think would help me get the most out of my visit?</p>
<p>She went for one of those all-day events and found it all helpful, so if you can attend one of those, that’s good. It included a tour, an info session and some workshops-- she attended one on writing the college essay that she thought was great. She also met with a theatre professor to find out about their minor and opportunities for non-majors. The only thing she didn’t do was sit in on a class, which she did at other schools. It might have been helpful, but wasn’t necessary.</p>
<p>We also poked around New London and got coffee at a cafe and just got a feel for the town. There’s not a whole lot there… and it’s important to know that. We spent the night in Mystic and checked out the tourist action there. </p>
<p>I would say talk to as many students and professors as you can. There’s an on-campus coffeehouse that seems to be quite the hub, and gets a lot of student performers-- if you visit in the evening, I would say to check that out-- you’ll get a sense for the student vibe.</p>
<p>Family friend felt “too small”, and if you aren’t career-oriented, may be limiting-other friends attend(but business majors) and love the personal touch</p>
<p>As someone interested in IR, you may want to check out the Knowlton Dining Hall during lunch. Someone can let you into the dorm–it’s the international studies dorm–and the dining hall has “language tables” where students practice during lunch.</p>
<p>Conn is one of the few LAC’s with a film studies major. My friends loved Professor Nina Martin (head of the department). If you e-mail her before your arrival maybe you could speak with her about your interests.</p>
<p>As a previous poster mentioned, Coffee Grounds might be a great place to talk to students. It’s a very open environment and draws a good crowed. It is located in the Katherine Blunt House and is accessed through an outside side door.</p>
<p>Lastly, you may also want to check out the office for CISLA–Conn has five interdisciplinary certificate centers and CISLA is the most popular and focuses and the liberal arts and international studies. ([Connecticut</a> College : CISLA Home](<a href=“http://cisla.conncoll.edu/]Connecticut”>http://cisla.conncoll.edu/))</p>
<p>Lastly, if you have time, I always recommend Bank Street in New London. The Bean and Leaf Coffee House on Washington Street is a very cool spot with some Conn students often working there. Muddy Waters on Bank Street is also a good hangout.</p>
<p>Enjoy.</p>
<p>P.S. in regards to Old Batsies comment: Conn has no business majors… so I’m not sure what his friends are referring to. It is also quite non-career/non-vocational oriented. A significant number of my friends already in PhD programs and engaged in more mission oriented post-college endeavors. I studied history and with over 15 professors in the history department, my studies were hardly limited. Sort of a strange comment from BatsieDoc. That being said, like any school under 2,000 students, it can feel quite small after a few years.</p>
<p>double lastly… spell check on your application…</p>