Connecticut College Top Questions

1. Totally untrue! Although it is expensive to go to school here we have a very diverse student body and have varying financial backgrounds. We don't all shop at JCrew and designer stores! 2. Yes! That is one of the most important things about this campus to me! We did very well at Recyclemania this year and have a progressive student body that takes issues regarding the environment very seriously. We pride ourselves on our beautiful arboretum and college. 3. Most students do not go out and party every night. Although we have lots of activities that keep students here on the weekends I would not say that we have a serious drinking problem. As a student that rarely drank last year I never felt pressured or uncomfortable with the party scene on campus. However, I would say that increased authority is needed in dorms as a resource to sudents but that is something that is already being put in place for next year.

They do shed a little light on the majority of kids here but the negative connotations that go along with those stereotypes are not true of everyone.

Yes and no-- There is a definitely a presence of spoiled rich kids on our campus, but the majority are not. Conn really looks for individuals whose interests spread lie across the board and as a result the student body contains a lot of unique, ambitious and friendly students.

not necessarily!

for some people but not most

for the most part... yes

To some degree, yes, unfortunately. Most people here are middle or upper middle class and some are quite wealthy. However, there is also a sizeable amount of people that come from normal working class families and get financial aid. Also, not everyone is super preppy...

Conn College is a party school and for the most part the students are pretty wealthy and preppy, but most aren't stuck-up.

To an extent, I've seen my fair share of popped collars and salmon/mint colored pants on guys. Pastels aren't gender specific here. As far as politics go, I consider myself liberal and I haven't really heard much from the conservative demographic here.

For the most part no. Although these things seem to be true at face value, there are a lot of different kinds of students here, but sometimes you really have to spend some time at the school to really see that.

yes

In some ways, but there is a bit of diversity.

Some are, but there are more people that don't fit the stereotypes than those that do

Some students are preppy, and most are rich, but for the most part they are all smart and kind people.

Somewhat. Perhaps it is because of associations with "Connecticut" but Conn College is not as preppy as comparable schools. While students tend to be wealthy, New Englanders from private schools there is a large contingency of off-beat, artsy kids at Conn that balance the preppier types. Therefore, there really is no Conn "type", there is a nice balance of preps, nerds, gamers, athletes, and most who do not fall into any one catagory.

Not at all. Demographically lots of the student body would be considered WASPS, but they are largely engaged, intelligent and kind. The ones who aren't are easily identified and avoided.

I disagree with this stereotype whole heartedly. While the school is beautiful it is in no way a country club nor is the general population white, rich and snobby, on the contrary we are mostly liberal open minded intellectual young men and women who are willing to hear and listen to all sorts of ideas and opinions and who do so much in the way of social change both within our immediate community and the greater society

No

yes

Not at all, I've met many people from all over the place with an array of different backgrounds.

We do drink a lot. Probably more than the stereotype suggests. There are all kinds of people at conn.... not just preppy kids.

Yes fairly accurate

I bet not!

And while this may be true for a number of people, not everyone here fits that category. I know I'm certainly not driving my Land Rover around campus and wearing expensive designer clothes everyday! As a matter of fact, none of my friends are either. I think that this stereotype is similar for a lot of the NESCAC schools, but when you really start to talk to people, you realize that people at Conn come from all kinds of backgrounds.

definitely a lot of prep schoolers

I mean out of any state Massachusetts definitely is the most represented state on campus. At the same time though there are many students from other parts of the Northeast as well as some from the West, Midwest and South. Not to mention internationals, I think we have a relatively high percentage of international students for our size.

I would say that these stereotypes are accurate for the majority of students; however, that does not mean that everyone is preppy or from the upper-class. Many students dress in a preppy style, and hail from New England.

only with some people, most don't fit the physical and demographic stereotype as for the stereotype that our school is the safety school, that is true for about 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students

I think any private liberal arts college is going to have kids who fit this stereotype, but I personally have found a group of friends that is completely opposite from the stereotypes!

No, they're not. See previous answer.

Yes, very accurate for the most part

more or less.

The preppy sailor stereotype is not very accurate for the majority of the school. There are definitely some people who dress like this, and they aren't the most well liked among everyone else. They think they are though, rather necessarily. We do have a sailing team, after all - Division I, all other sports we have are Division III, that's a favorite line of tour guides. Well guess what? There's only one Division in Sailing. The bubble stereotype is rather accurate, because Conn is after all on a hill overlooking the city of New London that does not do its name justice. There are changes underway in the city and in linking the two, but as of now, our bubble hasn't really been broken. The third stereotype is quite accurate, I believe. Many women here are absolutely beautiful. I feel bad for them sometimes, because the guys here don't level up to them, but that's life I suppose.

While there are quite a few students from wealthy families at the college, most students are very friendly, especially once you get to know them. This isn't to say that everyone's that way; we do have our share of "snobs," like most any college.

Kind of. There are obviously quite a few people who fit them, otherwise they wouldn't exist. But I would say that for maybe 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students, this is the case.

I think this stereotype has some serious weight. There is little diversity on campus, and most people come from very wealthy families.

yes

Yes and no. While we do have a white majority on campus, we have a decent number of international and minority students. Most people on campus are definitely not rich either. Again, there are some people who have a lot of money but I also know a lot of people on financial aid, work study, or both. In general, people do like to drink and smoke pot a lot but again you can find people who do neither. I think that Conn College is very separated from New London but to the best of my knowledge, students are working to change that and get a better relationship with New London.

I think there definitely a lot of preppyness (which comes with the wealth that people have), but it is not as if everyone wheres a polo everyday. There are people of all different style varieties: you see what you want to see.

sure there are some, but there's actually a pretty decent amount of diversity when you stop to look around

There is definitely a large concentration of brats on this campus, but there are exceptions. We do indeed live in a bubble (judging by the fact that few people even know what this school is). Students are smart though, and although some may be Ivy League rejects, even more rejected the Ivy League entirely.

it's a pretty preppy campus with a lot of wealth which tends to bring in some snobby people, but for the most part i've found most people to be pretty laid back. there are a lot of people who come across as very self-interested though and usually these people tend to be on the wealthier side. i'd say that there is a lot of marijuana smoked on average. granted, some of this perception will be affected by who i choose to assosciate with, but the people i've met who never smoke pot are few and far between.

somewhat

Yes, but there are still tons of interesting people who break the stereotypes.

yes. ish.

The truths: -Conn students drink a lot, but it's basically limited to Thursday and Saturday. It's not at all rare to hear ambulances those days though, especially at the beginning of the year. -Conn students are generally either trendy past the point of identity, or anti-trend to an equal but opposite extreme. -With the occasional innocuous exception, Conn students are all rich white kids or imported minorities. -Most Conn students do seem to live on a steady diet of brinksmanship and bullshit (full disclosure: that's me too).

YWS

Somewhat- Diversity is large though.

not totally

All stereotypes have some sort of truth to them, so, no, Conn isn't as good of a school as Williams, or Amherst, or Harvard, but it is a lot better than many private and public schools all over the country. And, yes, many Conn kids are preppy, but we also have a lot of artsy kids and jocks and kids who focus mostly on partying or mostly on academics. However, I think that it is safe to say that we have a lot of normal kids here, too.