Allegheny College

The biggest complaint I have had is about the internet and computer services. Allegheny College seems to be a bit behind in that department but has slowly been improving over my years here.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2011

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: C-

Like any other school there are good faculty and bad faculty. The difficulty with good faculty is that they often go on sabbatical where they are not much use to you. There are some "strange" kids here, though they are generally nice. The school caters to the Pittsburgh region and it sucks to be from New England. There are few of us and the school is not easy to get to. It is either a really long drive IF you can find someone with a car that can get you anywhere near your home, or it is a two hour ride to Pittsburgh and a short flight home if the airport doesn't close on you due to weather. Because so many kids are from the Pittsburgh region they tend to bond many times disregarding "foreigners." The school also is not very helpful when it comes to internships or other connections in New England. The food sucks, though there a few good moderately priced restaurants. housing is alright but very limited. The school accepts too many kids each year and doesn't have nearly enough housing. Also it can be very difficult to get the classes you want especially as a freshman or sophomore. It's frustrating to know students in very poor academic standing get to choose classes before other kids in their class. While it is nice that the school gives them a chance to succeed/take easier professors it sucks that someone who is pre-med can't get the classes they need or end up taking three labs in one semester because their courses fill up.

1st Year Female -- Class 2010

Scholastic Success: B+, Surrounding City: D-

I don't recognize Allegheny! It has certainly come a long way since the 1980s, when it was a bastion of the Preppy "Make a Buck" attitude then prevalent. I am glad to see its edges soften. I have to admit that I did not pay much attention to my undergrad alma mater because President Sullivan was a loathsome boor. While I am generally pleased with the progress made by the college, it still has retained some of its old arrogance, which is somewhat aggravating. The college has suffered historically from periodic identity crises, wanting to be a small, liberal arts college while trying too hard to compete with large research universities. The near financial fiasco of the late 1990s has been reversed, I can only hope. Allegheny is not a research powerhouse, and it should never have tried to compete in that market.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000