Five New England Colleges by Mary

Over the last four days I have driven back and forth across New England looking at five different colleges. By visiting each college my family and I got a feel for their students and their campuses. We took tours of each campus, went to information sessions, and interviews. Visiting the campuses really helped us to learn first hand about each college. In this article I will attempt to share some of what we learned.

First we went to Williams College. Although it is very hard to get into and very expensive, almost everyone is in agreement that at Williams you get the most for your money. With a one of a kind freshman entry system, soundproof booths to play instruments, and personal carrels with computers in the library for the entire semester and state of the art everything. Williams is a very old traditional school that owns original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. The campus is beautiful, historic, and almost isolated, creating a very close and supportive community.

Bennigton College was our second stop. Bennigton is a much more laid back school. Although it has beautiful views and a wonderful rural location, its architecture is far from beautiful. It clearly does not place great importance in the appearance or maintenance of its buildings. Bennigton has decent dorms and a wonderful arts program. Bennigton has a defiantly green, free spirit society. I do confess that due to severe boredom I did not entirely pay attention on the tour.

Connecticut College is where we stopped next. Located in a beautiful spot along the Long Island Sound, directly across the street for the Cost Guard Academy, Connecticut College, or Conn as it is commonly known, has nice buildings and a traditional teaching system. It has the best dorms I have seen and contains a very involved community. Conn students highly value fitness. Many people say Conn is a school for rich, beautiful, incredibly fit kids; this is not entirely true. Yes, there may have been many pretty faces but it is not a requirement and many students are receiving financial aid.

Our fourth stop was Hampshire College. Its campus is descent but its teaching methods are far from traditional. The bulk of your first year is spent learning how to learn so that so can succeed in life. Hampshire gives evaluations out instead of grades. Hampshire students feel these written reports are more valuable and meaningful, although the criticism is often painful. If you wish to take a class that is not provided on campus you can take it at any of the surrounding schools. Once again it is a laid back school that does not completely pride its self on appearance. Hampshire does have a small problem with drugs, but this is easily avoided by requesting substance free housing. They pride themselves on their philosophy on acceptance of all lifestyles and beliefs.

Lastly was Trinity College. Trinity is an old beautiful campus. It offers a traditional education system with added perks such as a freshman seminar system designed to help in the transition from high school to college. They are very proud of their junior year abroad program as well as their offerings in arts and performance. It also has strong historic ties; on their lawn are cannons placed to honor their students lost during the civil war. Trinity is located in downtown Hartford and has made a serious commitment to service to their community, including running a Boys and Girls Club on campus. Campus security is extremely good with a BlueLight system and a 24 hour escort service.

These five schools are all within a 3 hour drive of each other. They are all small liberal arts colleges that are well respected, but they are all very different. The only way to find out if they are right for you is to visit.
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