Clarkson campus and surrounding area

janlake · 03-11-2008, 03:03 PM

My son was just accepted to Clarkson in computer engineering. We have not yet visited the campus. Is there a current student/parent out there who can tell me about the campus and surrounding area? Are there things to do within walking distance? Like shopping, movies, restaurants, coffee shops etc? How do you find the academics? More challenging than you anticipated, less? What do you think of their engineering program? Thanks for the info.

Puddy · 03-13-2008, 12:10 PM

My son was also accepted to Clarkson. The school has a GREAT engineering dept. but the school is located in the middle of ..well in the middle of no where. There is very little for the kids to do there and they still do not have a student union bulding for the kids.

Here is link to the live web cam.

Axis 2120 Network Camera 2.43

They also have a forum called .. The Daily Jolt .. where kids post things.

Clarkson Forum

My son still isn't sure if he is going there or not mainly do to the fact there is NOTHING for the kids to do on the weekends.

Good luck

janlake · 03-13-2008, 12:57 PM

Puddy --
I see my s really needs to visit the campus. Your links and info were helpful - thanks and good luck to you too. I saw a helpful review of a student's recent campus visit to Clarkson under the CC "College Visits" site. You might want to read it -

happytobeaparent · 03-19-2008, 10:54 PM

Student union building - what do you call Cheel? It sure looks like the student union to me. The hockey arena also happens to be in Cheel but it's what I would call a student union.

As for things to do - no, there is not a lot to do. If your son likes to ski, there's a ski club. He can ski at Whiteface every weekend once, and there are weekend trips to Vermont a couple times. The Whiteface pass is an excellent deal (something like $260 for the season for Whiteface and Gore). If he likes hockey, there are lots of games to watch.

Engineers have clubs that can keep them busy - as well as the ever present workload. Freshmen engineers take physics, chemistry and calculus both semesters along with other courses. That means a cycle of tests 3 times for chem and physics and 4 times for calc. I am amazed at the amount of work. Students really need to be motivated.