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College Prowler

Safety & Security

As far as security is concerned, there are different areas with different security levels. Towers and Northwest, the two primary living areas for freshmen, are locked 24 hours a day, and students have to use their UConn ID to get in. In some respects, this provides us with safety. However, students also prop the doors open, and this allows outsiders into the building. UConn is located in a very rural area where few people outside the UConn community often come. This reduces the opportunity for crime, but it does occur within the residence halls. Locking one’s door is almost always adequate. I have never personally lost anything, and I (poor role model as I am) left my door unlocked quite often.

Transportation

Public transportation is awesome here. The buses start running at 6:45 a.m., and they go until midnight. There are buses that go around to everywhere on campus, as well as an apartment shuttle which goes to many spots on campus, and then to the off-campus apartments. There is also a bus (free with UConn ID) that goes between UConn and Willimantic.

Weather

It's Colorado, so expect to see all the seasons, and don’t be surprised if they all come in one week, or even the same day. I have walked to a morning class before in Uggs, a snow parka, gloves, and a scarf. Then, at noon, I am racing home to change into a sundress and flip-flops. You just never know about the weather here, so come prepared for it all.

Academics

Freshman classes are huge. My lecture sizes ranged from 150–350 students. None of my classes, except English, were smaller than that. All of the TAs are from foreign countries. These TAs teach discussion classes for each of the lectures (it’s a once-a-week, small class with kids from your lecture, meant to clear up anything you didn’t understand in the big lecture), but not many speak English well. It’s hard to learn from them or ask them questions.

Athletics

In general, IM and sports are huge at UConn. If you haven’t heard, women’s basketball doesn’t get any bigger than at UConn. Our girls had four graduating seniors all go in the top six picks for the WNBA. Men’s basketball is huge here, too. If you come to UConn, you have to love basketball. IM is my passion; I’ve played every sport I could, and went all year round. There’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, football, softball, water polo, and tons more. It is so much fun, and there is so much interest that varying skill levels have been created so that you can play no matter what your level.

Campus Dining

There are a few special places on campus that you can use Dining Dollars at that have good food. There are restaurants that take money in the student center, too. Of course, you can always order pizza or subs, or you can get great food from some of the great places on the Hill. Try Illegal Pete’s—a famous place on the Hill.

Campus Housing

You definitely don’t want Towers. They slapped a pretty new face on the buildings, but the inside is still nasty. It’s dark and small and it smells. I swear, every floor has this weird smell. Hilltop, McMahon, and South are really nice, but as a freshman, you can pretty much count on having no chance of getting into any of those. I didn’t even have a chance this year.

Campus Strictness

Well, there has been quite the crackdown recently with drugs, but it really depends on the situation. I know someone who got arrested for marijuana, but they ended up getting community service and having to take a drug awareness class. Then again, other people have been all-out arrested and tossed in jail for the same thing. My word of advice is to just be very careful around campus police—they change their views constantly.

Computers

Bringing your own computer is not a must, but it is a key means of communication. Instant Messenger is one way that almost everyone keeps in contact. Computer labs are often open, but they are run by student workers who can be less than reliable. I like to write at 3 a.m., and the labs are not open that late, so it was a necessity for me to have my computer up here. I did have to go down for a few months, though, and I never had a problem finding a computer to use in the labs. Printing is free in the labs, so that is nice.

Diversity

There isn't too much diversion between races on this campus. I think we all hope it will get better, but it hasn't yet. I think there is a good ratio of girls and boys--pretty even. There are a lot of different views, though. You certainly will meet someone who will challenge you.

Drug Scene

I don’t really use drugs. Plenty of people smoke pot, but not so many that it’s ever bothered me. Unfortunately, we had a student who overdosed on heroin, but that’s more the exception than the rule. I’ve never been around any serious drug use.

Facilities

There’s a fieldhouse where you can go to swim, work out, play sports, or do whatever. They have a track field, hockey rink, football field, rugby field, polo field, and a few practice fields. Most of the computer labs are up to date and pretty nice. The newer classrooms are nice, with all sorts of computers and technology and the like. The Student Union has pretty much been demolished and rebuilt; the same goes for the bookstore. They have a good library here—it’s a nice place to study or hang out.

Greek Life

I personally don’t enjoy the Greek scene, but lots of people love participating in Greek life. I actually joined a sorority my freshman year, and lived in the house for the duration of my sophomore year. I will not deny that I made some lasting friendships, but I definitely prefer living on my own in a coed household. Luckily, the Greek system does not dominate the CU social scene. In addition, CU requires freshmen to live in the dorms, so people who go Greek are able to make friends outside their sorority or fraternity house.

Guys & Girls

The people here are conceited. Everybody thinks they are better than everybody else. There are decent amounts of hot girls, but most have bad personalities or play games. Personally, I think all the guys here are nerds; they both look and act that way. The guys seem ugly, but, then again, I really can’t judge them.

Local Atmosphere

UConn is out in the woods in northeast Connecticut. The next closest university is Eastern Connecticut State University (which is really small), about 15 minutes away in Willimantic. The town surrounding UConn, Mansfield, is mostly rural and residential. It’s a nice town, though. About 10 minutes from campus is a mall, and the city of Willimantic has more bars and stores and is a little more urban. The area around UConn is very relaxing, yet, if you want to do some big shopping or have a large selection of restaurants, Manchester and Hartford are only about 20 minutes away.

Nightlife

The parties on campus are wicked fun, if you know the right people and the places to go. The bars on campus are pretty strict about being 21, unless the location has been rented out for an event. House parties can definitely be found every weekend, so a younger student's best bet would be to try and make connections, so you can set yourself up for future invites. The best places to party, if you're under 21, are Celeron or Carriage House Apartments, or any of the named houses on Hunting Lodge Road.

Off-Campus Dining

There are a lot of takeout places for pizza, wings, calzones, grinders, or Chinese. You would need to have a car to get to any real restaurants, Margaritas and a few other places are off campus, but you can get food delivered at about any time. Sgt. Pepperoni and DP Dough are a few of the more popular places.

Off-Campus Housing

Housing off campus can be very convenient, depending on where you live. For example, Carriage House, Hunting Lodge, and Celeron have an apartment shuttle that picks you up and will bring you to different stops on campus. However, if you go too far off campus, it can be inconvenient. I would suggest living on campus for both your freshman and sophomore years because you meet a lot of people, and it’s a great experience.

Overall Experience

I love UConn, so far. There have been times when I kind of wish I transferred to somewhere else, but UConn is the perfect choice for me when I think about it. It’s big enough that there are huge options present, but it’s definitely not a city school.

Parking

Parking is downright horrible. You can never find a spot anywhere close to your dorm. My friend had to pay to get into a commuter lot he had a pass for (that he paid for at the beginning of the year), because there was a basketball game on campus that night. What’s wrong with this picture? He had to pay twice for the same spot!