Clarke University

Date: May 24 2005
Major: Communications (This Major's Salary over time)
Clarke is a school with some very real positives and some very real negatives. On the plus side, it's a gorgeous campus (very small, takes about 7 minutes at most to walk from end-to-end). The faculty-to-student ratio, at least in the communication department, is very reasonable, and there's a great deal of student-teacher interaction. Classes are taught by the professors themselves, not TAs, which means you get more value for your money. A vast majority of the professors are quite competent, though there are a few exceptions here and there. Academically, Clarke is really a very good college.

The negatives with this school are in its social atmosphere and with the administration. Socially, Clarke is very much like a high school, which is probably a result of its size (1200 students or so, only half of whom live on-campus). There are a lot of cliques, and it's a status-oriented social system. The school does a very poor job of arranging activities and the like: occasionally, perhaps once a month, there might be a small event like a bowling night. But in comparison, another college across town has comedians and live music regularly. The administration isn't necessarily bad, per se, but some officials have a tendency to lean toward unprofessional behavior.

But all of this can be worked around to some extent or another. Clarke's not a perfect school, but no college is. If you're looking for a small school (particularly if you're interested in psychology, business, music, theatre or communication), I would recommend you explore the college. Schedule a visit, and spend a night—that says more about the college than any review on a Web site.