Albion College

Date: Aug 27 2008
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
If you are considering applying, I would definitely think again, for multiple reasons. I recently disenrolled and am taking classes at a Community College so I can transfer to a larger university in January. My overall experience with Albion was extremely, extremely disappointing. Here are a few reasons why…

SCHEDULING:

While it is true that the professors at the school are truly amazing and perhaps the best part (or one of the few good parts) of the college, registration and scheduling is a huge ordeal and often times has terrible outcomes for students. As it is a small school, class space is severely limited. There are a few registration sessions, and if you are not in the first, good luck. Many students are stuck taking classes that they have no interest in simply as fillers because their required classes for their major were full or unavailable. The school assures you that this is ok until you reach your junior and senior years, at which time they start to get on you about not fulfilling your requirements. At this point, it is often too late. Switching classes or getting into one that you want is nearly impossible, and they aren't very friendly about it either…

CAMPUS/PEOPLE:

The campus is tiny. Most students are aware of this going into it. But once you are actually living there and taking classes, you realize how terrible it can be. Many students think that they will like a small town atmosphere and the security of a tiny campus, but the reality is that the campus has no security whatsoever because the surrounding "town" if it could even be called that, is extremely seedy.

SOCIAL LIFE:

This goes along with the campus. As there is literally NOTHING to do on campus unless you go Greek (which not everyone wants to do nor should have to), play a sport (not everyone does), or join at least 2983123 clubs and organizations (who has time for that with such difficult course work), students are often horribly bored. There is no place to go in town, as the town consists of one main street with a few hardware stores, Subway/Hungry Howie type eateries, and many empty crumbling buildings. To have fun, one must drive to Ann Arbor, Jackson (which is not much better…) or Marshall, and honestly, who wants to do that every time they are bored? If you DON'T want to do this, you can go to one of the few frat houses on campus and party pretty much any night you want to, especially Wednesday. Drinking is a reality at any college, but a problem at Albion. True, the administration has addressed the issues and taken some measures to reduce the problem, but its not enough. If you're not a big partier, you're going to be bored to death. And even if you ARE, campus safety is so vigilant at the frat houses that drinking for underage students can be difficult if not impossible, so what little relief that may have provided from the monotonous life on campus is taken away. Fines are unreasonable for underage drinking: an empty in a dorm room is $500 for beer and $750 for hard liquor, and that's just for the first time…

It is true that the campus has many many clubs and activities for students to become involved in, but its not the typical college experience…sometimes students should be able to just go into town and have many options for fun, and not be trapped on campus in clubs and things of that nature.

Also, there are fraternity houses but not sorority houses, so female students cannot live in this type of housing. Since there are not a lot of options for housing, most students live in the dorms all four years, and never have the chance to be independent in their own house or apartment. The social life here is horrendous. Making connections is difficult as the students can be very closeminded. The reality is, the campus is full of rich white students who seem to be very apathetic and lack interest in the outside world. One feels very disconnected from reality and all outside connections while at Albion.

THE TOWN:

The town is not impressive. In fact, it's downright scary. The "townies" as they are called despise the college and it's students, so they aren't very friendly, if you get what I mean. The town is horribly dangerous, and as the townies are mixed in with the campus, they are always around and break-ins/thefts are common. Bikes get stolen frequently, cars are broken in to often, nothing is safe there. In addition, a common complaint of the entire student body is the phone reception, or lack thereof. There are tiny ares where a student can get a bar or two, but definitely not in the dorms. Students must walk to certain parts of campus to receive a signal, and even then calls are difficult and don't last long. In such a dangerous area, this can become a serious problem. Also, keeping in touch with outside friends and family becomes extremely difficult and frustrating. It gets old having to walk to a certain dumpster in the middle of campus at night in December all alone in a dangerous place…

Overall, this may seem like small things. But they add up quickly to create a very dissatisfying experience. For 35k a year, you do not get your money's worth. Now it seems clear why Albion gives away so much money in scholarships…without that money, students wouldn't have great reasons to attend. It is true that Albion has an outstanding academic reputation and unbelievably qualified professors, but these things can be found at other colleges and universities that also have more options for social activities, a safer environment, more things to do on campus, and more open minded and diverse people. Why waste your money?

I was so excited to start there. But much of it is a disguise…when taking a tour at the school, the people seem nice, the buildings seem nicer, and they take steps to ensure that it seems like a great fit for your child. In reality, once your kid gets there and begins to realize that other schools may have been a better fit, you wish you would have explored more options. Many upperclassmen will tell freshman,

Oh, don't worry, your first 1.5-2 years here will be horrible! But it will get better! We promise! Everyone hates it! It gets better!

Why should your child spend two years being miserable before beginning to enjoy their college experience? They shouldn't. I can still get sick to my stomach thinking of my freshman experience, and my overall experience with the school

If you are looking for a boring, monotonous campus with zero social life, narrow-minded people, lots of opportunities to drink, and great academics (when you get the classes you need) Albion may be for you. But if you want something more, look around before settling…