Clark University

Date: Apr 20 2009
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
I chose Clark because it advertises itself as a school which offers the intimacy of a small school as well as the resources of a large university. This afternoon, I submitted my form of withdrawal (I am transferring in the Fall) because Clark has been so utterly disappointing.

In terms of academics, Clark is definitely nothing to write home about. Classes tend to be way larger than you would expect from such a small school. Professors are LESS than impressing, and their lectures are boring and unfocused. The best classes I took here were Drawing I (with Leslie Schomp, who is actually a Holy Cross professor) and Chinese, with a new professor (Jin Wenhua). Other than that, classes here are totally unfulfilling if you actually care about your education are want to LEARN something… I came here hoping to major in International Development and Social Change, supposedly one of Clark's stronger programs, and have been shocked at the consistent weakness of courses.

If you are interested in either music or art, look elsewhere. Clark's "orchestra" has five people in it and performs once a semester to an audience smaller than the ensemble itself. There is no support whatsoever for advanced musicians. The studio arts program is also pretty pathetic, considering the extreme difficulty in getting into one of the few art classes, as well as the lack of advanced art classes. There is not enough studio space; the sculpture room does not even have enough table space for each person in the 15 person class. Finally, there is only one dance class offered each semester with a cap of 15 students- this class is the only one for both undergrads and grad students.

Socially, Clark is a nightmare. Despite the fact that I have never had trouble making friends, at Clark I have consistently found the vast majority of students to be unfriendly. Students here mainly care about finding alcohol to drink on the weekends. There are clubs on campus, but kids don't care too much about them. Sports dominate the social scene, despite the fact that Clark isn't known as a sporty school- teammates only hang out with one another, and parties are held at various team "houses" (ie the "baseball house").

In addition, the Worcester area is a nightmare to live in, especially if you do not have a car. Clark provides only VERY minimal transportation options, so you are basically trapped on campus.

On the wing of my floor alone, I know of TEN students who are transferring in the fall. My advice? Save your time, energy and money and look elsewhere.