CKQ College Profiles: Connecticut College

Each quarter, The College Knowledge Quarterly will feature a different U.S. College or University for families to get to know a bit better. The aim is not to tell you about a school you know (or at least you think you know) well, but to introduce you to a school you may have not considered a viable candidate before. In this edition, we are pleased to feature a school that offers one of the top liberal arts educations in the nation, Connecticut College.

Connecticut College (U.S. News ranked #50 – National Liberal Arts Colleges), is a small, private school in picturesque eastern Connecticut (New London) serving approximately 1,900 undergraduate students in a large town in a suburban environment, equidistant from Providence and Hartford.

Now, don’t go confusing Connecticut College (Conn College) with the University of Connecticut (UCONN), they are not the same thing! Some of the hallmarks of Connecticut College include: small class sizes, interdisciplinary learning, a close-knit community, a serious honor code, and most interestingly, self-scheduled exams, which gives students an incredible amount of flexibility at the most difficult of times.

Conn College provides each of its students the opportunity to have a completely unique learning experience. Research opportunities are abundant, as there are only a handful of graduate students on campus, and learning both in class (usually in a discussion-based format) and outside of class is common and most professors are engaged and very accessible to their students. Career and internship opportunities are also strong suits of the college, giving students ample opportunities for growth beyond the school.

There is also a fairly new program called ‘Connections’, which provides students a chance to tailor their academic program around a problem they wish to solve. They are encouraged to ask ‘big’ questions and examine problems and solutions from many different angles. The program allows for a strong integration of the interdisciplinary model with the real world.

Greek life (fraternities and sororities) is pretty much non-existent at Conn College, so for those students looking for that outlet, you are looking in the wrong place! However, the school boasts 23 NCAA Division III athletic teams and the student body tends to be fairly active and supportive of many of the programs.

Conn College students are, generally-speaking, white, come from upper-middle-class families, bright, outgoing, and generally dressed for success. Students are active, both on campus and in the surrounding community and interaction with the faculty is common. You will find it hard to discover more than a handful of dissatisfied customers!

New London hasn’t earned the best relationship or critique from the school’s attendees, both in terms of town/gown issues as well as off-campus housing, so more times than not, students are active on campus when it comes to social activities. The good news is that the small nature of Conn College makes interpersonal relationships easy to make and familiar faces are everywhere. The weekends find a lot of parties and trips to either Boston or New York, both two hours away.

The reputation of professors at Connecticut College is also strong. While students report that a rare professor will be lackluster, the great majority are knowledgeable, open to students on or off campus, engaging, offer plenty of office hours, and are friendly to work with. The close-knit relationship with the faculty also seems to be prevalent with the administration as well. Workings between the student government and school administrators is practical and mutually beneficial.

As you would expect, a small, competitive, liberal arts college, which resides in a region known for academic excellence, would attract a lot of great students and admission is competitive. The admission rate last year was 35%. It’s also a pricey venture, at nearly $65,000 per year, but the average student can expect close to 100% of their demonstrated financial need to be met (and most of that money is in the form of grants and scholarships that do not need to be repaid).

The average admitted student boasts extremely strong grades and test scores (above a 4.0 GPA and a 30 on the ACT). According to the admission office, class rank, academic GPA, rigor of high school curriculum, and character/personal qualities are the most important admission factors, followed by application essay, recommendation(s), extracurricular activities, interview, racial/ethnic status, talent/ability, volunteer work, and work experience. Other factors include standardized test scores, alumni relations, first generation, geographic residence, level of interest, religious affiliation, and state residency.

According to the Collegeboard, the school offers a total of 41 majors, has a miniscule student-to-faculty ratio of 9-1, and operates on the semester system.

Connecticut College offers an Early Decision application; it is due by November 15th. A regular admission decision deadline is also available on January 1st.

For more information, please visit: https://www.conncoll.edu/