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Old 09-11-2007, 03:44 PM
 
943 posts, read 4,249,186 times
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Anyone that has attended Britain Connecticut please comment on it. Second question, what is New Britain Connecticut like? Is it a college town? What are your prospects for New Britain in the future? Thank to anyone that responds.
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Old 09-11-2007, 04:20 PM
 
Location: Tolland County- Northeastern CT
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CCSU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in CT-founded in 1849. Central Connecticut State University
The school offers various degrees and programs in Education, liberal arts, business, technology and more. It offers a BA, BS, BSN ,BFA, MA, MS, and MBA.

The campus is in a very nice urban/suburban setting in the north end of the city of New Britain. The campus is very attractive, and has seen much new construction in recent years. The college has a very supportive environment.

New Britain is a post industrial city population about 75,000. It is the home Of Stanley Tools. The town went through a period of decline like many other towns and cities in Connecticut in the late 20th century- but is making a comeback. The town has a large Polish Population, as well as Latino, French Canadian, Armenian, and Russian.

The New Britain museum of American Art is one of the best art museums in the nation. New Britain Museum of American Art
CCSU is a fine school, with a great faculty. I received an excellent education from the school.

Last edited by skytrekker; 09-11-2007 at 04:32 PM..
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Old 09-11-2007, 05:20 PM
 
Location: Ithaca NY
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It's a fine school, a lot of people I know have taken classes or gotten degrees there. Its education department is probably the strongest and best-known.

The neighborhood directly around campus is pretty good (I've lived within shouting distance of the campus, and have family members that still do). That area is mostly postwar-suburban type housing, with a few blocks of older, larger houses. Other areas of New Britain are in worse shape--as skytrekker mentions, New Britain is working on recovering from a fairly serious slump, but the overall character of the city is solidly working/lower middle class.

I would not call it a college town. CCSU is more of a local school; as such, most people who attend school there commute from home (at least, all the people I can think of did so). That really dilutes any sort of "college town" effect. Hope that helps!
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Old 09-11-2007, 06:43 PM
 
Location: Cheshire, Conn.
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I earned my B.S. in Accounting there. I took day and evening classes. It is a typical Connecticut state school in that most of the students commuted, even the day students. The parking garages were always full.
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Old 09-11-2007, 07:20 PM
sun
 
Location: Central Connecticut
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New Britain is a very densely populated city, with many apartment buildings including 2, 3 & 6 familiy units, and a wide mix of single family houses from affordable to stately & historic with some scattered new construction.
It has the largest high school in the state, the New Britain Rock Cats AA minor league baseball team, with many parks and recreational activities, including free summer concerts. It also has a very nice medium size hospital, and a new state court house.
The city offers good highway access to both I-84 and I-91 via Route 9.
New Britain has more than it's fair share of poverty & social problems, but they pale in comparison to the larger cities like Hartford. However, the schools and funding them need some improvement.
There's not a lot of open land for growth of the tax base, but taxes and services have remained stable. There's more older & affordable living units here than in most CT towns. Costs are lower, but property taxes are somewhat higher.
A new federally funded commuter rail/bus line to Hartford is slated to be built over the next several years.
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Old 09-12-2007, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Central Connecticut
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As others have stated, CCSU has a very good reputation and an especially strong education program. There has been a lot of construction on the campus over the past few years with new parking and new buildings added, as well as older buildings renovated. It is a very vibrant campus. The campus is not in downtown New Britain, and therefore there are limited things within walking distance. Stanley Quarter Park, one of the biggest parks in the city, is across the street. There are a couple of little food places (deli, pizza, etc.) and I think a convenience store within walking distance. Mostly the area around the campus is residential.

New Britain wouldn't be considered a college town. In part that is because the college is not downtown, and the students pretty much stay on or near campus. It is very much a working class city, with many charming older family-friendly neighborhoods, and also many tough areas of apartments. There are pockets where gang violence is an issue, but the violence is pretty much is isolated.

I have lived in New Britain for nine years, and have not experienced a single crime incident, nor have there been any problems in the neighborhood where I live. I am in a historic district near Walnut Hill Park, another lovely city park. The park is safe, even at night.

Besides the aforementioned art museum and baseball team, there are two very active community theater groups, and a newly established performing arts center in an old churhc building - Trinity on Main.

The city was down on its luck for a while, with its downtown chopped in half by Rte. 72/9 and many of its buildings vacant. But there has been a real rejuvenation in the past few years and the downtown vacancy rate is very small now. Many of the older buildings have been renovated and new tenants have moved in. There is a lot of excitement and a feeling that the city has turned a corner. It is hoped that the new busway will increase activity in the downtown area. Prospects for the future of the city are good, I believe.

Finally, as Sun mentioned, New Britain has very easy highway access. It is very convenient to get to the shopping malls, downtown Hartford, the airport... pretty much anywhere in the state due to the central location.
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Old 09-12-2007, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Durham, NC
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I attended CCSU for a few years. I can't really add anything more to what has already been well-stated.
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Old 09-12-2007, 10:28 AM
 
154 posts, read 705,740 times
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are you from out-of-state? if so, i can't really say i advise you to come here. yeah, CCSU is a great school, the professors are knowledgable & helpful for the most part, the technology is up-to-date, there's plenty of parking, etc. BUT pretty much everyone that goes here is a commuter from connecticut. they all seem to know each other from high school, which is pretty annoying for someone out-of-state (like me). it's really hard to break in here, you have to put in a huge effort, because most kids here are already stuck in their ruts with their high school friends and that's basically it.

i have nothing bad to say about the school itself though! just if you're out-of-state, it's not worth it.

i'm hoping to transfer after this semester.
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Old 09-12-2007, 12:54 PM
 
943 posts, read 4,249,186 times
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I am from out of state, but I would be attending the Grad School. I am assuming the Grad School is different from the undergrad atmosphere, but if not it wouldn't bother me. Thanks to everyone that contributed to the thread!
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