Help Wanted

[g0ldenr0ad]

Please sell me (or don't, please be brutally honest) on the following schools:

• Cedar Crest College, Penn.
• Chatham College, Penn.
• St. Joseph College, Conn.
• Meredith College, NC
• Simmons College, MA

Comments

[beginning]

First, just as a nitpicky thing, we don't settle for community colleges. They are not leper colonies, and are completely what you make of them.

Aside from that:

Saint Joseph is going through a rough patch right now as far as publicity is concerned, but it's a fine institution and one of the few small women's colleges that has been experiencing a huge increase in applications and public interest. It is a traditional Catholic school - no men on campus past a certain hour (I think 10?), large devout population, lots of religious course offerings - but is also very accepting and open to all students. Being local and having a lot of friends transfer there, I can tell you it's not at all a place where confident non-Catholics feel uncomfortable.

It's in a great location. It's in a section of West Hartford that's pretty well clustered with the former Hartford College for Women campus, which is now an extension part of the University of Hartford, and the UConn Law School (amazing library; be sure to visit it), and several prep schools and other institutions.

It's in West Hartford, which is known for being the most non-snobby rich town in Connecticut. West Hartford Center will provide you with a great college feel - lots of trendy spots, boutiques, record shops, coffee shops infinitely better than Starbucks, etc. You're also near the West End of Hartford, which is upscale and has lots of great pubs, restaurants, and cultural offerings. It is very, very safe.

Saint Joseph is part of the Hartford Consortium, so you'll be able to take courses at Trinity, UConn, UHa, Capital Community, RPI-Hartford, Central Connecticut State, and several other institutions, including seminaries.

It's very welcoming of transfers, and the student body has a lot of diversity in terms of cultures, ages, backgrounds, etc. Saint Joseph women were quite "sought after" by Trinity men for decades, and there's still a bit of a connection between the colleges, but not so much anymore. Saint Joseph women today are known more for being serious academics and especially people considering careers that will help others, and not so much as repressed Catholic schoolgirls to turn bad on weekends.

I'm not sure what else you want to know, but feel free to ask questions. I'm not a student, but as I said, a bunch of friends have either transferred there or started as first-years, and I know the campus and the immediate area really well.

[beginning]

Oh, and reading back, I figured you'd be interested in knowing this:

1) According to a recent poll, Hartford has the 7th largest queer population in the country (by percentage of population)

2) West Hartford is the most Jewish municipality in the country, not including places like Kiryas Joel and such (again, percentage of population)

The Jewish population will be more evident. I believe there are 9 or 10 synagogues within West Hartford, and then dozens in surrounding towns. My town's Jewish population is mostly Conservative, but I think West Hartford is majority Reform, with very large Conservative and Orthodox minorities. The Jewish Ledger is an important local publication, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford is very active and a great resource for the local population (http://www.jewishhartford.org/). You'd had a hard time finding a more welcoming place if you're really into your faith and heritage.

[g0ldenr0ad]

Thank you so much for the info :)

[burnbabyburn]

what are the other top ones for largest queer pop?

[beginning]

I had to look that up! :)

1. San Francisco - Oakland - Fremont (8.2% of region's population; 154.% of largest city's)
2. Seattle - Tacoma - Bellevue (6.5 / 12.9)
3. Boston - Cambridge - Quincy (6.2. / 12.3)
4. Portland - Vancouver - Beaverton (6.1 / 8.8)
5. Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater (5.9 / 6.1)
6. Austin - Round Rock (5.9 / 4.8)
7. Denver - Aurora (5.8 / 8.2)
8. Minneapolis - St. Paul - Bloomington (5.7 / 12.5)
9. Orlando - Kissimmee (5.7 / 7.7)
10. Hartford - West Hartford - East Hartford (5.6 / 6.8)

http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/SameSexCouplesandGLBpopACS.pdf
http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/People/htfd_courant_110506.asp

[burnbabyburn]

i keep hearing how gay oakland is but i've lived here for a while and i'm not seeing it.

[beginning]

Well, it's just counting San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont as one metropolitan area, so I don't think it's saying that it's the same percentage in each locality.

It's kinda like...just to go back to an earlier example, Greater Hartford has a huge Jewish population. But it's higher in some towns (like West Hartford) and less in others (like East Hartford). They're still part of the same metro area, though, so it all gets lumped together and averaged out.