Trinity College

Introduction

Education in its truest form is about possibilities – and turning possibilities into reality. Everything about college, from campus activities to dorm life, is about learning, discovering, and exploring who you are and who you will become. Learning only begins with the classroom; it doesn’t end there. That’s the belief on which Trinity College has been run since its founding more than a century ago.

With a deep commitment to education, Trinity College seeks students who will become tomorrow’s leaders and innovators, citizens dedicated to helping humankind and who hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. To prepare students for the challenges of life after graduation, the small liberal arts college focuses its curriculum and activities around its 10 Learning Goals.

The Learning Goals provide a strong educational, professional, and personal foundation for students as they prepare for their careers and will help students:

  • Learn to think critically
  • Sharpen their analytical and research skills
  • Achieve fluency in a language besides English
  • Become artistically and scientifically literate
  • Hone their quantitative skills
  • Discover how to work effectively both individually and with others
  • Develop effective written and oral communication skills

In addition to a rich classroom experience based around the Learning Goals, students at Trinity College are surrounded by the vast cultural goldmine that is New England. Located in the heart of Connecticut in Hartford, Trinity College provides students a gateway to New England and beyond.

Dotted along the coast of southern Connecticut an hour south of Hartford, the eclectic towns from Mystic and New Haven to Milford and Greenwich provide plenty of quaint shops, bustling shopping malls, beaches, and trains direct to New York City. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are only a few hours away by car, giving students ample opportunity to explore their surroundings during their free time.

Hartford itself has a rich cultural tradition and is famous for Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s homes, which are ironically next door to each other and are a popular tourist attraction. Hartford is also home to The Wadsworth Athenaeum, one of the premier art museums in the country, The Charter Oak Cultural Center, and The Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk.

The city holds the distinction of being one of the few major cities in the United States without any professional sports teams, but Trinity College and other major universities, including The University of Connecticut, offer plenty of sports excitement. New Englanders also call Boston’s teams – The Patriots of the NFL, The Celtics of the NBA, The Red Sox of MLB, and The Bruins of the NHL – their own.

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Information Summary

Ranks 3rd in Connecticut and 58th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about) 96.7
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance $74,160
Admission Success rate N/A
ACT / SAT 75%ile scores 32 / 1460
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty 10 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time) 91% / N/A
Enrollment Total (all students) 2,235

Academics

Trinity College, Connecticut’s second college, is deeply rooted in New England culture, dating back to its founding in 1823. Originally Washington College, the school, which would become Trinity College only 22 years later, was founded by Reverend Thomas Brownwell, a bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Despite its religious origins, Trinity College is run on the beliefs of religious freedom, toleration, and diversity and has been named one of the best liberal arts colleges in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. With a student population under 2,500 and a 10 to one student ratio in the classroom, Trinity College offers a more personal educational experience. The college itself is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

All freshmen at Trinity College are required to participate in The First Year Program, which helps new students better prepare for their academic careers. Students attend mandatory seminars that teach them the writing, research, and analytic skills necessary to succeed in college. Upperclassmen serve as mentors to incoming students to help make the transition to college life smoother.

Incoming students to Trinity College can choose from one of 38 majors – ranging from American studies and music to neuroscience and public policy and law – or they can create their own major. Many students either double major or opt for an interdisciplinary major, such as marine studies and writing, rhetoric, and media arts.

In addition to traditional classroom learning, students at Trinity College are encouraged to participate in research with professors. The university, as of 2011, is participating in a five-year study with Yale University and Central Connecticut State University to determine the affect of binge drinking in college students (Hartford Courant).

Students are also encouraged to complete at least one internship during their time at the college, and study abroad is an important component for many students at the school with 70 percent of all students studying abroad or on another campus in the United States before graduation.

The school has partnered with universities in Rome, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, New York City, Paris, Trinidad, and Vienna to offer semester and yearlong study abroad experiences. Students can also choose from one of 90 other study abroad options overseen by The Office of International Programs on campus.

Trinity College holds the distinction of being one of the first colleges to offer a Human Rights Program, which was established in 1998. The program is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of human rights issues through classes, lectures, films, internships, and visits with renowned human rights experts. Students can choose to major or to minor in human rights.

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Trinity College

Admissions

Admission to Trinity College is fierce with an estimated 575 applicants – out of approximately 5,000 applicants – gaining acceptance each academic year. Trinity College wants students who stand out from the crowd, and the admissions committee looks carefully at a number of factors when considering whether a candidate is a good fit for the school.

Students are evaluated on traditional criteria, including applicable test scores such as the SAT, three letters of recommendation, and high school achievements and grades. The admissions’ committee also considers an applicant’s character and personal qualities.

Trinity College embraces students who embody leadership skills, compassion, and honesty and who show potential to move beyond themselves to help others within the community. Successful candidates illustrate their leadership skills through helping others and by adhering to a high standard of ethics.

Several deadlines for admission to Trinity College are available to applicants. The Common Application requires the applicant to submit the application by the first of the year.

Trinity College also offers the early decision deadline for students who have decided the college is their first choice. Only students who will attend if they gain acceptance are eligible for the early decision deadline, which offers two options. The first option does not allow students to apply to other schools, and application materials are due in mid-November. The second option allows students to apply to other schools on the provision that they will attend Trinity College if accepted. Applications are due by the first of the year.

Financial Aid

With a prestigious education also comes a high price tag which is offset to a degree by the $30 million that Trinity College doles out to financial aid annually. Almost half of all students at Trinity College demonstrate and receive aid based on financial need.

Financial aid, in the form of grants, issued to students through Trinity College is limited to eight semesters. If a student does not graduate within eight semesters, he or she must file paperwork seeking additional assistance.

In addition to scholarships offered by Trinity College and outside sources, individual departments often nominate outstanding students for scholarships. For example, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships assist standout students in engineering, math, and natural sciences. Each year, Trinity students are nominated by their respective departments for the prestigious financial awards.

All students seeking financial aid are required to fill out the FAFSA form, which they can complete online, and must complete their financial aid applications, including Trinity’s own application, by mid-April annually.

To offset costs not covered by scholarships and grants, students can also participate in the Federal Work Study Program on campus or apply for federal students loans, including the Perkins Loan, the Direct PLUS Loan, and the Stafford Loan.

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 3367th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in Connecticut.

Students

Residence Halls

Largely a residential college – the school boasts that most students live on campus – Trinity College provides an idyllic backdrop for learning. Residential students live in one of 26 residential halls in one of four campus neighborhoods: Crescent Street, Summit Street, The Long Walk, and Vernon Street.

Residences are as varied as the students themselves and feature single, double, triple, and quad rooms. Students at Anadama, in the Crescent Street neighborhood, enjoy double and triple rooms, all equipped with a kitchen while triples have a bedroom separate from the living area.

Vernon Street’s High Rise offers quad suites in an eight story building. Each suite features four bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a common living area. The building, unlike some of the residencies, has its own parking lot, and students can use the stairs or an elevator to get to their rooms.

All residences on campus provide students with internet access and television lounges and the traditional comforts of home, including laundry facilities, cable and phone outlets, kitchens, and furniture.

Returning students participate in a housing lottery, which is based on the previous year’s housing and their class status, each year to determine where they will live for the next academic year.

Campus Events and Organizations

Students have plenty of cultural and recreational activities on campus, in addition to having Hartford and the whole of New England in their backyard. The Austin Arts Center, located on campus, features an art gallery and two theaters. Every January, the curtain rises on “January Musicals,” student productions of Broadway’s hottest musicals, debuted over three weekends in a row.

The college is also home to Cinestudio, a popular movie theater both on and off campus that attracts movie buffs. Cinestudio was named to Connecticut Magazine’s The Best of Connecticut list in 2010 for being one of the top ten diversions in the city.

Trinity College celebrates its diverse student population with its 12 community and cultural houses, among them the Asian-American Student Association, the Queer Resource Center, and the Interfaith House, which students are encouraged to visit and experience. The Treehouse, for example, brings environmentally-conscious students together to work toward environmental responsibility and sustainability.

Students can also join one of the many student-led and run organizations, although unlike many universities, there isn’t a strong presence of fraternities and sororities. In fact, Alpha Chi Row (Crow) is currently the lone fraternity at Trinity College. Still, students have plenty of opportunity for meeting new people and getting involved in the campus community.

Trinity College Media

Students are kept up-to-date with the latest campus news through several student-run media outlets, including The Trinity Tripod, the student newspaper which first went to press in 1904. WRTC-FM radio is the campus radio station – officially Hartford’s first “non-commercial” station – that can be heard throughout the city while TrinTV, once the campus’ thriving television station, today struggles to rebuild itself after its founders have graduated and moved on.

Trinity College encourages students to participate in student media, and the college also features dozens of other eclectic organizations ranging from political groups such as Feminists United and The Student Government Association (SGA) to cultural groups including Activists for Southeast Asia and the Caribbean Students’ Association (CSA).

Student Enrollment Demographics

Student Graduation Demographics

Athletics

Sports play a pivotal role in everyday life at Trinity College with more than half of all students playing for one of Trinity’s official teams or participating in intramural athletic activities (club sports).

Trinity College athletics have a long and storied history dating back to the Civil War. The Bantams rowing team was founded in 1856 and the basketball team first hit the hardwood at Trinity College in 1896. Today, the Bantams compete in Division III of the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

The teams of Trinity College enjoyed one of their finest and most winning seasons in 2010 with the men’s squash team bringing home the national championship title, its 13th straight title; the men Bantams golf team captured the ECAC Championship, and the ECAC National Title went to the Bantams men’s rowing team.

The women Bantams also enjoyed their own success in 2010, claiming the Varsity Eight National Title in rowing.

Men

  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Football
  • Cross country
  • Ice hockey
  • Golf
  • Rowing
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Squash
  • Track and field
  • Tennis
  • Swimming and diving
  • Wrestling

Women

  • Basketball
  • Cross country
  • Field hockey
  • Lacrosse
  • Ice hockey
  • Rowing
  • Soccer
  • Squash
  • Track and Field
  • Softball
  • Swimming and diving
  • Volleyball
  • Tennis

In addition to the college’s official teams, Trinity College offers students the opportunity to play for one of the school’s club sports, including the equestrian team, men’s club hockey, lacrosse, rugby, running, sailing, karate, skeet and trap, and men’s soccer. Students interested in playing a club sport not yet offered are encouraged to complete the process of starting a new club sport.

Bibliography

  • “Best of Connecicut 2010.” Connecticut Magazine Sept. 2010. Print.
  • Trinity College. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.trincoll.edu/Pages/default.aspx>.
  • “Trinity College | Best College | US News.” US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and More. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/trinity-college-1414>.
  • Weir, Williams. “Study Looks At College Kids, Binge Drinking.” Hartford Courant. 3 Apr. 2011. Print. 25 Apr. 2011.

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