Hartwick College

Date: Oct 24 2011
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
I looked at Hartwick when I was in high school. The tour guide had described this school as a loving, supportive environment where the students were friendly, the faculty were accessible and helpful, and the overall community was supportive. When I went to a college fair, I was told by the representative that we would have the chance to go above and beyond what is expected of us in the classroom, that we would be "connecting the classroom" to the world and putting our knowledge to practice instead of completing endless busy work. Everything about this school sounded perfect: it sounded like it had everything I was looking for: a nice community, helpful professors, a strong performing arts department, and friendly, creative, kind-hearted, open-minded students. The town of Oneonta was described to me as a "fun college town," with a "thriving social life" and "lots of collaboration with SUNY Oneonta." All of this information from the admissions office made Hartwick my first choice school, so I was very excited when I was admitted and offered a generous scholarship. When I arrived, however, I was very dismayed to find that none of this information was correct.

First of all, the students were anything but friendly. Instead of being the welcoming, nurturing, open-minded environment which admissions had described, Hartwick's community was very, very cliquey. Most of the social life revolves around sports or greek life. Hartwick is great if you are interested in either of those things, but I was not, so it was very challenging for me to find my place. Hartwick was described to me as an artsy school, not a sports school. I was told that sports were not a big part of the social life, and that greek life was small and that there were "only three sororities and three fraternities." One thing I didn't realize is that for a school as small as Hartwick, three sororities and three fraternities is a lot of greek life, and there are a lot of academic fraternities as well. I was looking for a school with a very limited amount of greek life (if any) and a very small emphasis on sports, so I was very upset when I saw that the information admissions had given me on Hartwick's social life was not true. There are a large amount of students that do not participate in sports or greek life, but most of the students have "in" with a certain sports team or a sorority. Hartwick is probably a very fun school if you are on a sports team. If you're interested in greek life and join one of the sororities or fraternities, you will have a great time. But if this type of culture doesn't interest you, you might want to look into a different school.

I was also very alarmed at how mean some of the students at this school really were. During my time at Hartwick, I was bullied, harassed, and humiliated. I had people talking about me behind my back, calling me stupid, labeling me as a slut and a c**t (this word is used very frequently at Hartwick). I felt very alone, scared, and unwelcome. Never in my entire life had I received this kind of treatment until I came to Hartwick. I was to the point where I stopped attending my classes because I felt so depleted and uncomfortable in this environment. Many of the students were horribly judgmental and racist. I had heard the "N" word pretty frequently, and other derrogatory slurs and commentary as well. Many students are overly concerned with "popularity," and are very apathetic to academic and social issues.

I also did not feel supported at this school. I ended up having a large amount of absences during one semester due to illness, and even with a doctor's note I received no expression of concern from any professors or staff. Instead, I received anger, and was humiliated in front of an entire class by one of my professors. Some professors at this school are great, but some have big egos and are very immature, and many staff members are extremely apathetic. My roommate and I were having some problems, and the Residential Director in the dorm showed no interest in helping either one of us. When I was being bullied, I had talked about it with a couple of staff members, and instead of showing concern, they simply brushed me off and told me that the treatment I was receiving was just "personal opinion." I was very frustrated and angry with the staff at Hartwick. Bullying is serious. It causes many students of all ages to stay home from school and even switch schools, and it can do horrible damage to a person's self esteem and mental well being. Even after leaving Hartwick, I am still recovering psychologically and emotionally from the treatment I received. This was clearly not the "friendly, loving, supportive" environment that was described to me by admissions.

Academically, Hartwick was very disappointing. Many of the students are simply there just to get a degree and move on with their lives, so that is the type of student the school caters toward. I was excited to start college and have the opportunity to put my knowledge to practice, question what I was being told, and develop a new way of thinking. But all I received was endless busy work for homework, reading quizzes, and no opportunity to question. There was no opportunity for us to use our knowledge or think deeply. The attitude from most of my professors was "go to class, do the reading, answer reading questions, and come to class tomorrow to take a reading quiz." What is there to gain in a practice like that, besides just doing your homework? I found many of my classes to be very dull, and I felt as though I was not growing or gaining anything from my studies, which was very frustrating. This type of learning approach may work for some people, but if you are interested in discussion based classes where you can think critically, creatively, and outside the box, then Hartwick is not the place for you. You're not really going to be "connecting the classroom to the world." Some departments are very good. The nursing department is phenomenal, the anthropology department is fantastic, and all of the science programs are wonderful. Arts and humanities, on the other hand, is not so great. It seems as though Hartwick is more of a science school than an arts school. This is fine, but I wish they had advertised it in that way to me on the tour since I had no interest in being a science major.

Also, the town of Oneonta is not a "thriving college town." Most of Oneonta is actually in a terrible state financially, and the amount of alcoholism and heroine abuse is very high. There are some very nice coffee shops and restuarants, but most places are closed by 6PM except for the bars, Walmart, and one or two pizza places. That being said, there is not really much to do except party, drink, and do drugs. Many Hartwick students party hard, simply because there is not much else to do in this town. The party scene was fun sometimes, but it gets old after a while, and the only other thing there is to do besides partying is sit in your dorm room and watch movies (which is also boring). The area which Oneonta is located is very pretty, and the view from campus is beautiful, but the weather is terrible. Most of the days are cloudy, cold, and rainy, and the winters are freezing. There are very few sunny days, and many people become sick physically and/or mentally as a result. Living in Oneonta is a very hard adjustment if you are used to being in a city or suburban area. Also, there is no "collaboration" between Hartwick and SUNY. Many SUNY students do not like Hartwick students, and refer to the school as "Hartwick High School." I was very angry that admissions was not honest with me about the culture of Oneonta.

In terms of being admitted to Hartwick: Everybody is admitted, regardless of academic ability. Even a Down Syndrome student was admitted into the school, so you don't have to worry about not getting into college if you apply here. Also, almost everybody receives a scholarship. The scholarships do make Hartwick more affordable for students that might otherwise not be able to afford college, but just because you receive a scholarship, it doesn't automatically mean that you're going to be one of Hartwick's top students, or that they really want you to attend their school. That's what I thought when I first received my scholarship. I had felt so honored and grateful, but I was very disappointed when I realized that everyone else received a scholarship too, if not multiple scholarships. The retention rate is very low. 50% of students transfer after their freshman year, and another 25-50% transfer after their sophomore year. Most of the classmates you had as a freshman are going to be gone by the end of your senior year.

I am not writing this review to bring Hartwick down. Hartwick is a great school but it is not a fit for everyone. Many students attend this school thinking they will be in a supportive environment with kind, open-minded students, and instead those students end up being bullied, mistreated, and unsupported. I am now attending a large University, and I feel much more supported by the students and staff here than I ever felt at Hartwick. If you're looking for a supportive school, it's not size that matters, but culture. It is important to question the things that the admissions office of any school tries to sell to you, and be sure to have a good understanding of the culture of the school. Read the reviews on this website. Click on the reviews and find out if the students writing the reviews value similar things in a school to you. Most importantly, make your own judgment of where to attend college, and trust your intuition because your intuition will never let you down.