[skyofashes16]

Hey..I'm new to the forum, but I've been reading lots of entries over the past few months. I will be attending naturopathic medical school at the university of bridgeport in fall 09. I currently live on LI, and I am looking to get an apartment in CT. I know bridgeport isn't the best area, so I was thinking of getting an apartment somewhere close by that I could drive to \ take the metro north to within 30 minutes. Right now I commute to the Bronx from LI everyday, and I'm looking to avoid a long commute during med school. Does anyone know a good area where there might be other college kids? Also, how do you get from the train station to the university in the morning!?!!? i know there is a shuttle, but the first ride is at like 10. Is there a bus? Is it reliable??

Any input would be helpful!

Thanks!!

[JayCT]

You might talk to the housing office at UB for suggestions. UB is located in the South End along a large waterfront park (Seaside Park). There are many apartments in this area and I believe a number of them are rented by students. There are also a number of apartments now in downtown that are beautiful and the Black Rock section of Bridgeport is very nice as well. Jay

[reason180]

Originally Posted by skyofashes16

Also, how do you get from the train station to the university in the morning!?!!? i know there is a shuttle, but the first ride is at like 10. Is there a bus? Is it reliable??

If you are going to commute to UB via the train you will walk down the platform on the NYC bound side to the bus station. From there grab the route 1 bus to UB. It will be a 10 minute ride. A backup option would be to grab a taxi, they are usually on water street outside of the train station.

GBTA [Home Page — Welcome]

If you don't want to live in Bport check out Derby, Stratford, or Milford.

Bport isn't as bad as most people make it out to be. Many students from UB, Sacred Heart, and Fairfield U hang out at the bars in the Black Rock section of Bport. Take a drive down Fairfield Avenue in Black Rock on a Saturday night and drop by one these places to get a feel for the area:


snickering squirrel saloon
MySpace.com - Snickering Squirrel Saloon - 22 - Male - BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut - www.myspace.com/snickeringsquirrelsaloon

Ray Kelly's Pub
MySpace.com - RAY KELLY’S PUB - 2720 Fairfield Ave, Connecticut - Rock / Jam Band / Bluegrass - www.myspace.com/raykellyspub

acoustic cafe
Acoustic Cafe - good food, good music, good vibes

Another popular spot is Two Boots also on Fairfield ave by downtown. Lots of students from UB go to Club Azur on Wood Avenue on certain nights of the week.

[exceedinghope]

I almost never express my opinion in public or on the Internet, but when I saw this story about the University of Bridgeport on the web, I felt compelled, as a graduate of the University's MBA program in 1983, to respond to it and to the subsequent comments written about it. But, before I start, I must provide a disclaimer. Although, most see me as an educated person of average or above average intelligence, I am not an exceptionally good writer, and am most certainly capable of making spelling and even more egregious writing errors. I am completely aware that within the realm of debate, on and off the Internet, there exists a well worn debate strategy of attempting to disqualify an opposing person's augment by impeaching the person's speaking or writing ability that has nothing to do with the central point being made. My lack of writing excellence is not, and should not, be viewed as reason to disqualify the validity of my statements and opinions. As an impoverished child growing up on welfare in the inner city of some of the worst slums in America I dreamed. I dreamed of one day of escaping the inner city poverty, condemnation, and crippling low expectations that others of better circumstances of life were forcing on me. What I dared to dream, as a young child, was so much like that of the dreams of millions of other young idealist Americans that passionately believed in what the United States stood for. What I dared to dream was simply the American dream; of success through diligence, determination, integrity, and hard work. Throughout American history, this dream that was responsible, in large measure, for building America, was motivated out of desperation and a passion to succeed. This dream, I believe, is so basic to American existence that it is one of the most cherished and sacredly held values in America. Unfortunately, there are plenty of greedy, unscrupulous opportunistic individuals and organizations that attempt to exploit this sacred American dream by making false promises and selling false hopes, at exorbitantly high prices, to the poorest and most desperate of the American poor. Long before the faculty at the University of Bridgeport went out of strike, there were indications of questionable practices at the university. UB's willingness to exploit the hopes and dreams of young, vulnerable, and innocent people was reminiscent of the worst practices of many "for profit" proprietary schools that exploited the poorest of the poor in their quest for private profits. Back in the early 1980s, the University of Bridgeport engage in a high glitz ad campaign, taking out full page advertisements in the New York Times and other nationally know newspapers, comparing the education received at the University of Bridgeport to the quality of educational available at Ivy League Universities in the United States. It falsely exaggerated the earning power and career success of its graduates. Although, clearly hubris, false and misleading to the more knowledgeable, to the likes of this young person (at the time) and many like me, these very sophisticated and expensive advertisements were stunningly impressive. The photos and physical description of supposedly the school's campus were equally false and misleading at the time. By looking at the photos used in their advertisement, one was left with the impression that the school was located at a beautiful pristine beach front community that was completely surrounded by a lush forested park. Little, if anything, of the school's advertising and recruiting literature was remotely close to reality. While I was a student in the early 1980s at the University of Bridgeport, the incident of crime, including violent crime was intolerably high. I was personally attacked three times on, or near the campus by residents from the low income housing projects that surround the perimeter of the school. During my second year at the school, a man was found shot dead about three blocks from the university campus. It was simply not safe to walk on, or near the campus most of the day. The fear was omnipresent. Adding insult to injury, the career marketability and opportunities claimed to exist for graduates of the school by the university was in, large measure, false. The career planning and placement office at the school was a joke and pitiful. I remember frequently walking into the office and finding no staff at all in the office. After completing my first year at the university, reality about my career prospects began to set in. Things really began to get scary. I remember walking down town Bridgeport and a passerby asking me what university I was attending, and me telling him I was a UB student and his dreadful response. He told me that he had graduated from the University of Bridgeport more than a year earlier and was completely unable to find work. This was unfortunately to be an omen in regards to my own future career prospects as a MBA graduate of good academic standings from the University of Bridgeport. I, like many other graduates of UB have graduated to unemployment and perpetual under employment. I had spent years on my career search after graduating from the University of Bridgeport, sending out many hundreds of resumes to no avail. Only after about twenty years was I able to finally pay off my more than $45,000 student loan used to pay for my education at UB. I feel that, as a young innocent and vulnerable person, my American dream was deliberately violated and exploited for the revenue seeking needs of the University of Bridgeport. The school is nothing more than a highly questionable diploma mill.

[skyofashes16]

exceedinghope,

I definitely respect your opinions, and I have had my own doubts about the university. As a soon-to-be graduate from the Honors Program at Fordham, I am very interested in high quality education. However, an MBA is a lot different from an N.D. There are only five Naturopathic medical schools in North America, and Bridgeport is a good one. Also, it is the only one on the east coast. I would not attend UBridgeport for any other graduate program except the N.D. or D.C. program, that is for sure. Thanks for your advice, though. Hopefully I'll be somewhat safe at this school.

[Silli]

Give Bridgeport another look, the UB section and Black Rock (especially Black Rock) are very popular with students.

[namitrathapa]

hi...........

I m from nepal and i have got an offer for MSEE in university of bridgeport for fall 09. I am new to this place and need help with what sort of climate i am suppose to faced and please advise me about the accomodaiton and the transport system like how far is it from BOSTON and NEW YORK and how to get to and from these palces

[YankeesGiantsRangersNYK]

Originally Posted by namitrathapa

hi...........

I m from nepal and i have got an offer for MSEE in university of bridgeport for fall 09. I am new to this place and need help with what sort of climate i am suppose to faced and please advise me about the accomodaiton and the transport system like how far is it from BOSTON and NEW YORK and how to get to and from these palces

50 minutes or so to NYC

3 hours to **** city (AKA Boston).

[ytlh]

50 minutes or so to NYC

Just a note for namitrathapa-the 50 minutes or so to NYC does not usually get you to the center of New York. New York City is big and congested, so travel within the city itself can take a fair amount of time. Getting to the outskirts of NYC is not the same as getting to the downtown parts that you might typically hear more about in other countries. (The timing also depends on how you are going). If you don't have a car, and want to travel regularly, the MetroNorth is a commuter rail line; you can look at schedules here: MTA Metro-North. Amtrak also runs a line, but this is more expensive: Amtrak. Amtrak is also a way to get to Boston.

There are bus lines that also run these routes and are usually less expensive but I'm not so familiar with them, so someone else could probably give better advice on which companies to look at. You can get a general idea at: Greyhound Home.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by ytlh

Just a note for namitrathapa-the 50 minutes or so to NYC does not usually get you to the center of New York. New York City is big and congested, so travel within the city itself can take a fair amount of time.

True. For those that aren't familiar, New York City is the five boroughs though many folks consider NYC = Manhattan.

Often, the times given to get from Connecticut to New York City is the time it takes to get to the Bronx (northernmost, only mainland borough). It would take longer to get to Staten Island, Brooklyn, or Queens.