Academics
“[It’s all] about getting a top-notch education in small classes with professors who know you and being able to also have a good time outside of class” at Trinity College, a small and prestigious liberal arts school located in Connecticut’s state capital. A “great political science department” exploits TC’s location “about two blocks away from the state capital, which is great for internships.” Other social sciences, including economics and history, earn students’ praises, as do offerings in engineering and education. Strength across the liberal arts bolsters the school’s Humanities Gateway Program, in which students undertake a fixed curriculum of interdisciplinary study to survey the entirety of European cultures from the classical age to the present. In all disciplines, “small classes, very involved professors, and a very conscious student body” combine to provide “an excellent liberal arts education that will provide [students] with the skills to be thoughtful, independent adults.” Professors “are always available to talk and offer help to students. They often invite students out to lunch.” Likewise, administrators are easy to access. Students also appreciate that “the career services office is amazing” here.
Student Body
The stereotype about Trinity undergrads is that “most…are from the tristate area and appear to have just stepped off a yacht or out of a country club,” and students confirm that while “there are a lot of students who are not” in this crowd, the preppy contingent is “the main group” and “socially dominant” here. “There are definitely some very preppy girls and boys—blond hair, sunglasses, Chanel flats, a polo,” one student concedes before adding that “sometimes people identify these students as typical Trinity students; however, there are many students who are not like that at all.” All students tend to be “well-rounded” and “very passionate,” “intelligent but also social,” with “good verbal skills.” They “care deeply about their work and really like to have fun when they can,” and while many gravitate to the Greek community for their fun, “there are [also] communities here for those who do not enjoy the frat scene, for people who are passionate about music and acting, and [for] those who want to spend their weekends giving back to the community.”
Campus Life
“The fraternity scene is the draw for the majority of campus” at Trinity College, where “on a typical weekend night, people go out to dinner, go back to their room and nap, get ready for the evening, and go meet up with a friend or two where they chill out and then go to someone’s room for pregaming.... Then when it’s about 1:00 a.m., they go out and do some frat hopping. It’s great for people who like their life to be predictable.” The frats are hardly the only option, though; in fact, “there are a ton of underappreciated options on or near campus. Hartford has amazing restaurants, there are movie theaters and bowling alleys nearby, the Cinestudio is a ninety-second walk from the main dining hall.” There is also a Health and Wellness Residence Hall. “Plus, plenty of student groups hold events” in such places as “the arts and cultural houses.” Trinity’s theater and dance department offer regular performances. Hometown Hartford “may be [an economically] depressed city, but it is still a city, and it affords benefits that tiny college towns just can’t match.”