Trinity (CT) vs Conn College vs Union vs Bard (and others). Grateful for options!

Compare College Acceptances
1

I have received offers within budget from several schools. I was accepted to Pitt with a good amount of aid, American with minimal aid, and Rutgers with $0 aid. I sent in an appeal to American and Rutgers schools. American denied the appeal. Rutgers is still pending, but I hear they rarely grant them. Pitt was generous and added to the package direct admission to their grad program for public policy, but it is just too far.

My mother/family can cover 25-30K maximum per year.

Net price per year at each college, after applying merit scholarships and financial aid grants.

Clark University: 30k per year (merit + FA)

Bard College: 28k per year (FA)

Muhlenberg College: 25k per year (merit + FA)

Union College: 25k per year (merit + FA)

Trinity College (CT): 23K (merit + FA)

Connecticut College: 23K (merit + FA)

Major/division admitted to at each college, if applicable to the college. Also, any special programs like honors programs or combined degree programs (e.g. BA/BS->MD).

All admitted for political science/government.

Desired major and post graduation goals (including if pre-med, pre-law, etc.).
Desired major is political science/government. Unsure of post-grad goals, but possibly something in political communication, policy analyst, etc. Grad school is likely.

International or domestic student (and state of residency if domestic).
Domestic Student from NYC

Student preferences beyond the above (including weather, class sizes, campus culture, college demographics, fraternities/sororities, distance from home, etc.).

I am trans so need a school that is LGBTQIA+ friendly. Ideally, it should be close enough to home (NYC) that I could come home for the weekend or a short break easily. I do not want a heavy party school, and prefer less emphasis on Greek life. I would like to be close to a city or a walkable town with shopping.

So in summary, I want a mix of strong academics with engaged students from all over, trans-friendly, happy students, and not too far from home.

Why did you apply to each college you are considering?
Union: Strong academics, easy commute home, I like the trimester system, friendly/pretty campus

Trinity: See above only minus the trimester part.

Conn: Visited and loved the campus, easy Amtrak to NYC. I think New London is nice.

Bard: Visited and liked campus fine, but it felt isolated. Easy commute home. Family vacationed in areas for years co comfort level. Love how LGBTQIA+ friendly and artsy it is.

Muhlenberg: Visited and liked the vibe, friendly, great dorms and food, easy distance to NYC and family in Philly

Clark: Very LGBTQIA+ friendly, Worcester is a trans sanctuary city, distance to Boston and Providence where friends will be going to school but still not far from NYC.

4 Likes
2

Congratulations on these fantastic acceptances!

I can’t give advice on all of them, but my S26, who’s also interested in LACs and also hoping to major in something adjacent to poli sci/government, just finished a college tour in which he saw Conn College and Bard. He had seen Conn when my D23 was looking at schools, so this was a revisit, but it’s different when he’s much further along in the process and focusing on his own priorities (the first time, he was tagging along as an 8th grader!). He’s not LGBTQ but is looking for a similarly accepting and open environment and similarly wants to avoid the frat/party scene.

He really, really wanted to like Bard, but it didn’t quite hit for him. He didn’t love the spread-out campus (it felt disconnected – but he really likes a compact campus, so your preferences may vary) and he felt like the school seemed lacking in resources that other schools he saw on the same trip had in abundance. He also felt like the Bard student body wouldn’t be very regionally diverse (we’re from Colorado), and he thought he might not fit in. That might not matter as much to you, since you’re from the area that’s most represented on campus. It’s still on the list – we’ll see if he applies.

He LOVES Conn College. He liked it a lot when we saw it a few years ago, and he likes it even more now. The vibe is friendly and accepting, no frat scene, not a big party scene. He also really likes New London. Things he loves about Conn College: the career advising right from the start, the incentives for internships and the like, the pathways curriculum, and the opportunities for non-majors to be involved in music (he plays trumpet). He loves the arboretum. He also likes the fact that there’s just one dining hall, because he feels like it promotes community when all students share the same facility (he noticed this because my daughter is at Bates, which also has one dining hall for exactly this reason, and he likes how it contributes to campus culture). It’s not at the top of his list, but he’s excited to apply and would be very happy to attend.

FWIW, he looked into Union but is not applying because it seems like it has more of a Greek scene. He might look more into Trinity (but did not have time to schedule a visit on this trip). I hope that helps!

6 Likes
3

See user’s earlier thread as reference

4

Congrats on great choices within your budget! I’d say Conn Coll meets your preferences – no greek life, friendly student body, good career development support, and it’s readily accessible on Amtrak to NYC. My kid went through athletic recruiting there and met with faculty in studio arts which he wanted to continue in, and came away really loving the school. (But money didn’t work for us, so we had to look elsewhere).

7 Likes
5

I think these are all solid options academically but culturally less sure about Trinity being a great fit, especially on the trans-friendly front. If you have visited and felt comfortable there, please disregard.

7 Likes
6

Congratulations :tada:
In terms of your priorities, I’d say 1)ConnColl and 2) Muhlenberg.

Union and Trinity are excellent but big on Greek life so, since you have the 2^ that match your wishes almost perfectly, I’d cross them out. :grinning_face:

7 Likes
7

Congratulations on all of your affordable acceptances, @CatTheKid!!!

I have never visited, but from what I’ve heard, I’d have concerns about this with Bard.

As others have mentioned, Union does have a reputation for having more Greek life. I just looked up the statistics on this aggregator (updated November 2024 and based on 23-24 Common Data Sets) and this is what pulled up:

  • Bard: None
  • Clark: None
  • Conn College: None
  • Muhlenberg: 19% fraternity, 25% sorority
  • Trinity: 20% fraternity, 16% sorority
  • Union: 21% fraternity, 24% sorority

I feel as though Union’s number was closer to 40% a couple of years ago, so it would be interesting to see why it’s had such a relatively precipitous drop. Either that, or I’m misremembering :wink:

Anyway, I’m not sure how helpful this was, but I’m very excited for you and looking forward to seeing where you decide to go!

3 Likes
8

IIRC Union was very proud of being the birthplace of US college fraternities, and they lived it up, which led to excess and problems (including hazing&other criminal activity), which led to major curtailing.

I heard Muhlenberg has a reputation for nerdy Greeks, like, D&D and theater kids have their frat… I’m not sure how true that is but it’s definitely worth exploring to know one way or the other whether it’s true! I think that 2 of the fraternities are Jewish fraternities.

4 Likes
9

Well…the Trinity basketball team just won the NCAA Division 3 National Championship!

7 Likes
10

I agree with others that Conn College is the best match.

With your interest in political science/government, I’d work with their Study Away Office to see if you can participate in one of the many Washington Semester Programs for credit. The combination of an internship and seminars in the nation’s capital is a great way to get to understand the inner working of government.

5 Likes
11

I heard that the school invested a lot of energy into building the Minerva houses and diversity recruitment over the last several years to lessen the influence and impact of Greek life. I believe that explains the drop.

4 Likes
12

True. I visited and liked the campus and love the nearby towns, but you definitely need a ride to get anywhere. I know Conn isn’t walkable to town either, but they give monthly Uber or Lyft bucks to everyone so it seemed like less of a big deal.

3 Likes
13

Congrats on your amazing choices!

I went to Connecticut College MANY years ago, but all of my kids toured Conn, and I echo a lot of the sentiments above. While the main campus does not have a lot that is very close to campus, there is a residence hall in downtown New London which can be reached by public transportation. They were built long after I graduated, but here is a link to information about them.

And, please feel free to PM if you have any questions about the school

2 Likes
14

Congrats!! Is it possible to revisit your top couple of schools? (My gut says Conn College, Muhlenberg, Clark, and Bard could be good fits.)Those accepted student days helped my S to solidify his top choice.

2 Likes
15

Worcester being a sanctuary city would make me lean towards Clark for you. The value of safety cannot be understated. It’s a great school, and you can definitely thrive there.

2 Likes
16

Thank you all for your help. After visiting Trinity and revisiting Bard and Conn, I’ve decided to become a Conn College Camel! Everything about my visit there felt comfortable and the right fit for me.

14 Likes
17

Fantastic!! Have a wonderful experience!

1 Like