Keene State College

Housing is unacceptable. Housing available for less than half of the student body. Upperclassmen often not given housing, and Keene doesn't have enough apartments for the upperclassmen. Try to get Holloway your freshman year - Randall and Monadnock are horrible. Forced triples, quads, etc. are common. They often cram 5 or 6 in a common room. Randall and Monadnock are falling apart.

On the other hand, if you are one of the lucky few upperclassmen who get Pondside II or Tisdale, Bushnell, etc…you'll love it. Owl's nest is good, Butler is excellent.

Internet services and IT is a joke. As a CS Minor I can say that many of the issues stem from a low quality network and a poorly designed wireless network. Network is often overloaded and periodically crashes.

Parking situation isn't great, but most campuses have some parking problem. Don't bring a car freshman year - you really don't need it.

Expect some glitches in the system. It's not perfect, but you can get through it.

Good News:

The school is fairly small (6,000 Students), but has a great environment. The faculty and staff are nice. Most are helpful. Unlike larger schools, the staff at Keene are listening to the student body constantly trying to improve things. Class sizes are fairly small. Your professor knows you by name - not seat. The professors want you to succeed unlike some larger campuses where they are indifferent.

Keene is a good area - 30 minutes from Manchester or Concord NH, 15 minutes from Brattleboro VT and half an hour from MA. Keene itself is a nice mix of small city convenience and open country environment.

Keene has plenty of outdoor recreation. If you like skiing, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, hunting, fishing, whitewater kayaking, camping…or anything along those lines you'll love Keene. As a Durham resident I can say that Keene is preferable (as far as the location) to UNH.

Not a lot of sports, but plenty of clubs. Again - if you like outdoor recreation…you're in for a treat. Ski & Snowboard Club, Environmental Outing Club, Campus Ecology, etc. It's good for a small school.