Saint Michael's College

I went in with a positive attitude and my spirits were quickly demolished. To put it bluntly, there isn't a thing to do on campus. "Parties" if you will are nothing but gatherings at social houses for the most part. They are lame and pathetic. And let's not forget that upperclassmen have the power here. So you might not even get in. And if you do, you might be asked to leave for no reason during the 'party'.

There is honestly nothing for underclassmen to do here on the weekend. You end up sneaking booze and drinking in your dorms or heading to the bars in Burlington if you have a good fake. That's pathetic. And you don't know any better when you are 18 or 19 by as someone in their early thirties, let me just tell you how sad that really is.

I grew up in the suburbs of Boston but Colchester is a different level of cold. I hated my winters at SMC. Hated them. Honestly, if you don't ski or snowboard or don't love the cold winters then don't go to school in Vermont. I'm begging you. Go somewhere with normal winters, like Boston and the like.

The student body is about as bland and lame as it gets. 95% of the students, maybe 98%, are white and from the Northeast. It reminds me more of a posh private school versus a friendly college. Honestly, my high school class was much more diverse and more interesting. I had plenty of friends at SMC but can't say I found any of them especially engaging.

I also remember that Martin Luther King Jr. day was not recognized. This always bothered me. We had to go to class on this day when I always had it off growing up.

Academically, SMC is not especially challenging. I ended up here because I goofed off too much in high school and when it was time to apply to school I wanted something "good" out of state. I made a huge mistake picking SMC. A lot of busy work. I enjoyed my English classes because that was something creative. Can't honestly say I remember a single professor that I liked a great deal.

Living on campus completely and utterly sucks. The rooms are typical underclassmen affair. The food is a nightmare. The cafeteria makes you feel like you are in high school.

The best thing I ever did was move to the Woolen Mill, a private apartment building, during my junior year. This temporarily breathed new life into my college experience. But even then it was short lived. Still stuck at a crappy college with crappy people.

Don't go to SMC UNLESS you are going to be playing a sport that you love. Said sport will provide you tons of friends. But honestly, UVM outclasses SMC in every way. It's about a billion times more fun, close proximity to Burlington, stronger education, frat parties, students are way cooler, just a REAL college experience instead of some weak ass Winooski BS. I can't stress enough how much I hated SMC. Even the few guys I graduated with concede it's about as mediocre of an experience as you can get. I'm also annoyed by how many people I met post-college who gave me blank stares when I said I graduated from SMC. It will provide you virtually no advantage as you enter the work force.

Just so we are clear, I'm a very outgoing and positive person in real life. My experience at SMC was a disaster because I honestly think any person who wants a good experience and isn't some generic white kid or some ski/snowboard freak will hate it here. Be warned.