Trinity College Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Amara

Immature and stereotypical. Selfish. Not great people to have around if you're not just like them.

Tommy

I would change the student body, I have a hard time relating to this kids who think that "White and Snobby" is cool. I would compare it to the early 2000s, when white teens across America used to dress up ghetto. It's just a phase, but it is embarrassing that at a COLLEGE level school the student body embraces this lifestyle so strongly. It's funny, these kids are all from Prep schools and are completely homogeneous. They all feed into Camp TrinTrin from surrounding Prep Schools. They have absolutely NO exposure to the real world and think that the only way to have money is an obnoxious way. Being from Florida, and an affluent background myself, it is interesting how wealth up here means: WHITE, North Face, (obnoxious) Patagonia, J. Crew, and LL. Bean boots. Where I'm from, the kids drive the same ridiculous BMW's, but I would like to think of the kids where I'm from as, politically conscious, well-traveled, and down-to-earth kids. Nobody would say something like "who cares, just buy a new TrinityID if you lost yours, its only $50". People with money in the South do not try to exaggerate it, they don't flaunt it. They value it. They are grateful for it. (Maybe it is from the constant homeless begging for money on the streets, or the numerous homeless shelters that keep us in check. We see the divide between the rich and the poor, maybe it is something that these New England-Townies lack!) Where I am from a wealthy person might: -Have traveled to exotic places, Africa, India, China -Go skiing in Alta-Snowbird in Utah because the snow is great and it's a difficult mountain -Drive a BMW or Volvo because their parents can afford it, and they want the best in safety for their kids. -Do hours of community service or work a job, not out of necessity but because their parents want them to be cultured and know the value of a dollar. At Trinity, a 'wealthy' person might: -Have traveled exotic places, Paris, London, Atlantis in the Bahamas -Only go skiing at Vail, because it is the most expensive and travel there represents high status -Drive a Beamer because that's the car everyone gets when their 16. It's what we deserve. -Ask their parents for money, frequently While this difference may seem minute and not that much better, it is this difference that separates a quality-person from a spoiled person. One enjoys the benefits of having money in their lifestyle (while maintaining a good head on their shoulders). The other enjoys the benefits of having money as their lifestyle. (struggling with maintaining morality and substance). Some of the things that come out of these "Want-to-be-rich Prepsters mouths disgust me. Where I am from, no one will condemn you for wearing your own style clothing or hanging out with certain groups of people, but pursue you for the difference that you bring to the table. "Your hanging out with a lot of Pikes man, chill with that. People notice that and you won't get any bids." "Your dressed like a public school girl, you look skanky." "Unless your from a wealthy background, there's no chance you'll get a bid there... and they'll check your parents W2 forms" "You can tell she comes from public school, the way she wears those Uggs to class everyday and the same sweatshirt!" The fraternity system is basically the fuel to these trust fund babies. From day one it is clear that money - or your ability to flaunt your money - is the number one indicator of someone as a person. Which is funny, because money has actually no indication of how someone behaves. The fraternity system ranks as follows: 1. Saint Anthony's Hall 2. AD 3. Psi U 4. Pike (and all others that are literally looked down on as dirt) Every student wants to be at the top. They all want to pledge the Hall, which is a group of more or less: WHITE, collared-shirted, kids of millionaires. If one does not find acceptance in one of the higher frats, they will just continue down the totem poll until they find a spot of acceptance. It is pretty important being a member of a Fraternity, because if your not a member (or at least heavily affiliated) your not going to parties. The parties take place for the most part at the Frats and are extremely exclusive. Without affiliation, or a beautiful body to flaunt (in the case of the girls), your just not getting it. It doesn't matter that it can be 10 degrees out, and your just in a collared shirt (just to try to fit in, even though you despise the system) they still will leave you stranded at the door. The fraternity could be empty, and they just keep you out to play up the exclusivity and ultimately generate a longer line. (A common practice of AD). But the fight isn't hopeless, I would say if you wait for a good 45 minutes, or sneak your way in the door as someone is leaving you can almost always get in. But at this point, you've lost your buzz, your emotionally degraded, and the alcohol is just exaggerating your internal emotions of anger and self-resentment. If you do still have the ideal "state-of-mind" at the time of entry, (commonly from ecstasy, cocaine, or snorting Adderall) and you can get over the fact that the girls you came to the Frat and were left at the door to stand in the cold by, have been in for well over an hour, and have already been preyed on by fraternity brothers who truly believe in their superiority, you can attempt to get back into the grove and join the other 40 guys, violently pushing to get at the keg. The bartender at the keg will generally be an older brother, who does not feel as confident as they used to and is in need of some attention. They will taunt you with cups, and just continuously give them to girls. At this point, I normally get fed up. In my mind I say 'F@*# This' and decide to go home to a joint. Filled with self-resentment for being pushed around and loosing the girls, I smoke it and fall asleep. There are no groups at this school. The only groups I guess you could call "groups" are the whites and the blacks. No, this isn't 1920. No, there aren't any Jim Crow Laws in place. But yet, Trinity has the greatest divide out of any college between whites and blacks. We are completely a segregated student body, with the exception of some black students who strive to be white so hard, that they ultimately become white. There is tension between black people, and the sellout blacks who have embraced a white culture in which they are still inferior. (Like the "public school kids," they'll try to fake it, but will have trouble deceiving others without the same financial backgrounds. Regardless, they try to be as Preppy-White as possible) There is also tension between blacks and whites, and whites and blacks. There is no authenticity, no originality, no character. Any student who has a developed personality, style, culture, that is not the white, rich, prep, Trin-popular culture is going to feel like an outcast to the point of self-resentment and ultimately conforming to the vial elitist culture. Students dress to class as they would also dress to perhaps a wedding. The average student is: -Rocking a backwards cap, often with the logo of their

Emily

The student body at Trinity is possibly its weakest feature. The few driven, academically oriented students literally have to search to find each other in a sea of snobby and narcissistic prep-school graduates and their wannabe public school sidekicks.

Hannah

My classmates are smart and driven, but know how to party and need a little growing up to do.

Stephanie

preppy rich kids that are trying to figure out life on their own

lauren

They are conformist wealthy preppy students that seem to all dress the same and never socialize with nyone who is outside this norm.

Kathleen

My best friends.

Lincoln

In my classes brilliant, in some others they can be rather dumb.

Laura

My classmates were upper middle class, white and came from strong educational backgrounds.

Michelle

As described above, my classmates are encouraging and willing to offer help when needed.

Brad

A blend of political mindsets, ethnic backgrounds, and fields of study; but predominantly white. Depending on the class, may or may not be social, but again, a seminar class would lend itself more to sociality than a big lecture class would.

Haley

A preppy, rich girl who calls her mom every day to complain about her professors and who gets so drunk on "thirsty Thursdays" that she doesn't remember what she did.... but she lands an internship in investment banking due to her dad's contacts.

Michael

Bright, energetic, and friendly.

Rebecca

Preppy alcoholics mostly.

Mary

There is a divide on campus; there are a great deal of awesome students who are involved in the cultural houses, community service, arts, etc. and then there are those apathetic waste of space people that sleep through class and party the majority of their time.

hana

At first glance they may all seem to fit this super preppy mold, but it's really not true; there are many different types of students here and I find you can find a great group of friends no matter what, everyone is pretty nice. Trinity students are fun loving, hard working (most of them), social, sports loving, and generally good people, doesn't hurt that we are also really really good looking.

Ali

There is actually a pretty good mix of people at Trinity, at least in my opinion, but sometimes you have to put in a lot of effort to find a group of people that you can fit in with. As soon as the first few weeks of freshman year are over, groups begin to be set, and it takes a strong person to break out of their mold and create and maintain relationships with people outside of their social circle. Some people aren't interested in stretching themselves, but others are. As for groups of people, there is a strong liberal group, and a strong conservative group. There are plenty of kids who come from a wealthy or extremely wealthy background, but there is also a notable group of students who are on scholarship or who hold jobs on campus. Most students are from the Northeast, the East coast, and there are many from California. Groups interact to an extent. Sometimes I feel that at Trinity, you need to make it very obvious what you stand for, why people should pay attention to you, and what you have to offer in general. It's tough to be a shy person here, because although people are kind when you get to know them, very people would go out on a limb to include someone who is having trouble socially. You need to be aggressive and find an area, activity or group that you can thrive in and branch out from.

Tristan

it has to be improved more, or people need to know what is going on around campus. there should be a plan to promote more diversity, not just announce it

Piper

Trinity had race relation issues last year, but the administration has done a lot to alleviate that. The most recent class has the highest percentage of minorities. A lot of my friends are minorities who never feel out of place. There are a lot of preppy people at Trinity and that is part of its reputation, but there is also a growing number of students who don't subscribe to that and most people are fine with them.

Erin

The student body is not all that diverse at Trinity. There has been a lot of tension between different groups for a long time. Trinity is also one of the least accepting campus in many ways. Trinity is a school where students find is necessary to flaunt their designed fashion to class (or their attempted designer fashion). There is a definite feel of money in the air. The student body is really something you have to experience to have an idea about it.

Jordan

Most Trinity students are from the New York and Boston areas. Most come from upper middle class families with many from private and boarding schools although the atmosphere is changing a bit. For example, the classes of 2009 and 2008 get very dressed up for classes and I've noticed that less of the 2010 and 2011 classes aren't as into their week-day threads.

Kate

It is disheartening to think that any student would fele out of place at Trinity. However, the reality of college, as in life, is that not every college is the perfect fit. I am the stereotype - blonde hair, blue eyes, preppy little girl. However, it bothers me when people feel racially, religiously, etc. on the outside because I have never treated anyone differently based on these things. You are the only one that can make yourself feel inferior.

Clifton

A lot of white kids and a small minority population that's slowly growing where generally they all know each other.

Kendall

Trinity get's a lot of negative press about our race relations, however compared to other NESCAC schools we are pretty darn diverse. The most noticeable thing about the Trinity student body is that everyone is beautiful. Honestly, it is stunning returning back to Trinity after visiting another college, just how beautiful and thin everyone is.

Sarah

While diversity in terms of race is important, Trinity should be taking a closer look at socioeconomic and regional diversity. They are never going to attract new types of students until they break the stereotype of being a school for privileged white kids. Trinity wants racial diversity but they won't get it until they get other types of diversity. The first weekend of freshman orientation there is a speaker who tries to tell the class as a whole some of the statistics about the class, as well as leading students through all sorts of exercises that try to break stereotypes, yada yada. The one thing I still remember was when the woman asked people to stand up for one of these categories: your family always had more than enough, enough, or not enough. more than half of the room stood up for more than enough. you can take that as a bunch of americans acknowledging that almost anyone that lives in this country has more than enough, or you can take that as everyone immediately interpreting those categories as upper, middle, and lower class. there have been some major issues in the last few years involving homophobia and sexism on campus. the trinity tripod, the student newspaper, frequently makes jokes out of sexual assaults and other gender issues on campus. there is a lot of backlash against the only alternative group on campus, The Fred, which was put together several years ago as a way for students unhappy with the party/greek life centered social scene. it is not intended to be anti-alcohol, and is not, but it provides more alternative types of events, where those who are uncomfortable with drinking and excessive partying can feel safe and comfortable. in general, extracurriculars outside of sports are not very strong, with the exception of the greek system. but most clubs and other societies don't have strong followings. any attempts at political activism are largely ignored. if you want a place where it takes less than a year to have recycling bins installed on campus, i suggest somewhere where people give a shit. my guess would be if you average it all out, political leanings are straight down the center.

Katie

I would say that any student who is not upper class, straight, and white would feel somewhat out of place at Trinity. I don't know how common this is at other colleges, but people tend to segregate themselves largely by race, or at least students of color vs. white students. There were some instances about a year ago of a few black students having racial slurs written on their doors, as well as a strange incident where a white student went in black face to a Halloween party impersonating/mocking a black person. After this incident, some students of color (mostly black and hispanic) organized an event at the dining hall where they purposely sat at tables of all white students to try to break the pattern. Basically, (and this is coming from a white student!) the white students could be more friendly towards people of color. Only the athletic teams seem to be more integrated. Trinity is a Division III school, but we stilll take sports fairly seriously. Half of the student body participates in competitive sports, and people often make friends based on their sport. Don't believe the admission office when they say that students come from all over the state, generally they come from New England and the Mid-Atlantic area. There are a decent number from California, but coming from CA I still often felt a little out of place. Politically I'd say most students are democratic / central, but I would stilll say there are still more conservatives / more vocal conservatives than most colleges. It probably feels like there are more conservatives than there really are. Most female students are very into dressing in expensive clothing of hte jcrew /seven jeans variety to class. I have some wonderful friends at Trinity, and I am not speaking for the entire student body, but I would say the majority is more close minded, less friendly, and more homogenous than the average student body.

Mary

everyone is so nice.

Gene

Students are racist, sure, but misogyny and homophobia win the day. Beyond that, the general preppy-ness of the student body contributes to a sense of elitism, which really may be Trinity's fundamental problem: these are stupid rich kids. They feel entitled to everything and strive for nothing.

Monique

The basis of on-campus racism lies in exclusion. Since we have such a small community, it is easy for students to feel left out. While it may seem that minority students do not have the same venues in terms of social life, co-curricular activities and access to forums for campus-wide expression, these venues seek leadership. You can create any forum for expression as long as you are motivated. Getting involved is key.

Courtney

While Trinity has primarily white students, there is definitely a sense of diversity on campus. The various ethnic houses allow students of all races and ethnicities to feel at home. There are various religious houses, as well as an LGBT community. A lot of the students like to "dress up" for class, but many are comfortable and show up dressed down. Because of the diversity, I believe there is a place for everyone at Trinity.

Laura

I don't know enough about this becauses the traditinal students relly get to know each other, IDP are often too busy within thier own lives.

Harper

majority are white new england prep school kids... people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds stick together campus seems to be very segregated in terms of social groups. students are generally apathetic, not as much left, right, or center. four tables of students: 1. pastel / lily pulitzer wearing preppy kids (boys and girls) with the same longchamp bag. 2. large people - football/basketball players 3. black kids 4. general weird kids that don't fit into the top three categories

Rory

Trinity has a pretty diverse community; racially, religiously and socio-economic status wise as well. Although Trinity is sort of known as a rich school which is pretty true, it's really not that big of a deal. Trinity is one of THE best colleges in terms of need-blind financial aid, I basically have my entire tuition covered by it.

Crissy

Dress code: Lilly, polo, vinyards vines, brooks brothers, those are mostly the wardrobe. Burberry or Barbur jackets. North face or patagonia fleeces. Some times nice (usually Brooks Brothers or Ralph Lauren) wool/cashmere jackets. Or course juicy, vince, paper, citizens, and others make their appearances, jeans, anything deigner goes. Shoes are Jack rogers, raindows, tods and guggi loafers, the usual brands make their rounds for formal events, girls in their choos, manolos, and louboutin, tory burch, not to say these shoes don't make appearances for more casual effents. Long champ and Herves and the book bags, Vera duffles are a common sight. ---- most students come from money Most are open to LGBT, but that doesn't mean they want to see that sort of behavior. Students are politically aware and I would day that there are more registered members of the GOP at Trin than at other schools, but I wont say its the majority, just more than the norm. Students spend a decent amount of time talking about what they'll earn one day, and how they'll earn it.

Sasha

Some sectors of the student body are surprisingly conservative for a college campus.

Caroline

While it is generally thought that the Trinity campus is not accepting of minorities (such as homosexuals), I have not, in my personal experience, encountered such descrimination. I have heard of people being rude to my gay friends and belittled them but this certainly is not the predominant opinion on campus.

Casey

Just about everyone can find their niche at Trinity. A lot of students dress up to class, but some do not. Different types of students don't interact on a regular basis, but if you seek out people that aren't like you, you can certainly find them. There are many different groups and organizations at Trinity and just about every student is involved in something. A lot of students are very wealthy and about half of the students came from private schools. Politically, the campus is split right down the middle. People go to Trinity for an excellent education and so people do tend to focus on making sure their education will get them good jobs in the future or enrolled in a good graduate program.

Virginia

Most students are Trinity are from New England, however even though I am from California, I had no problem fitting in with the preppy East Coasters. As I mentioned earlier, most students are Caucasian and wealthy, and this is evident in the clothes they wear and cars they drive. People care a lot about their appearance here. The students at Trinity really enjoy going out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and the upperclassmen tend to go out during the week as well. I would say individuals that do not enjoy drinking or drug use would feel uncomfortable here because that is what a majority of the students do on the weekends. Although there are many social options provided for weekend fun, the majority of it is based upon going to the three popular frats. What surprised me about Trinity's campus was how conservative the students were. However, I've found most people to be pretty open-minded.

Brooke

While Trinity is comprised mostly of white kids, there are a fair amount of international students, especially because the squash teams draw from many different countries. In terms of diversity, there's more than I thought there was going to be. And, while it's pretty segregated, I haven't witnessed any firsthand racism...maybe that's a naive or ignorant observation though, because it might occur. Actually, it seems like a lot of white kids are intimidated by other groups of people and the sororities in particular seem really exclusive and unfriendly.

maggie

Most students come from New England but there is also a substantial population from California and even Minnesota. Trinity can be a bit intimidating to students who are not aware of or used to upper-class north eastern culture. However, I think that a good majority of students are welcoming and accepting and, if student participate in school functions and get out and about on campus, most people can find someone or some group of people that they can relate to or share interests with.

alyce

i think that it is evident that a majority of the campus comes from wealthy backgrounds and that a lot of students went to small private schools before they attended a small, private college. however, while there is a large amount of students in this position, there is also a huge population of students who did not come from private schools, etc. i think that trinity students are relatively politcally aware but probabaly not as much as on other campuses. on average, i would say that trinity students (males and females) get dressed up for class-everyone tends to look good when they go to class.

Ashley

i know that racial diversity has been a big topic for debate, and i wouldn't know where to begin to make people feel more comfortable about the issue.

Danielle

There are a diverse group of student on campus coming from a variety of backgrounds, however, they do not often mix outside of class. Trinity can sometimes be a stratified and segmented community, yet its small size does not allow students to completely isolate themselves from one another.

Britney

Overall, the student body here is not very accepting of peoples' differences. i know a number of gay people on this campus that have been a target of offensive remarks and actions. most of the people i am friends with are republican but there are a good number of very liberal people on campus.

amanda

student body is diverse compared to other small liberal arts school

Stephanie

Most students get dressed for class- not a sloppy student body, which goes along with the generally good-looking stereotype. Groups often don't mix. Mostly a higher socio-economic background. Students are generally knowledgeable about worldly and national issues.

Shelby

in general, the kids are happy and content at trinity. there is not much diversity here, yet this does not seem to be a huge concern for a majority of the students.

Chandler

There is no diversity.

Emily

Trinity is a fairly homogeneous student body and it has been said that minority students sometimes feel out of place. The main type of student found at Trinity is a white, preppy, upper class student who is found at one of the many fraternity parties offered on the weekends. Most students dress up to go to class, which is something that is often criticized by other students at Trinity who do not fit into this preppy category. Different groups of students typically do not interact much. At the dining hall, the tables are extremely segregated mostly based on race and socio-economic status.

Sarah

The student body is pretty segregated. Students involved in Greek life tend to stick together, as do athletes, multicultural groups, and then smaller social groups. The divides within the student body are a main complaint of the Trinity social environment, and much of the blame is put on the presence of fraternities and sororities on campus (although I do not believe this is the only factor, it does play a role because I know of many students who feel uncomfortable approaching fraternity houses on a weekend night). In general, most students are wealthy, which is not surprising given Trinity's tuitition, and lots of students seem to have a goal of having personal wealth after their college years. Thus, students work hard and many have internships or campus jobs that will help them reach this goal.