Clark University
Reviews

Excellent Effort

Clark Dining Services really tries to please everyone. They make a ton of things themselves, and buy local produce whenever possible. They have to please a wide array of palates, so sometimes the food is bland, but there's no shortage of healthy food choices and some pretty flavorful stuff. If you want to eat pizza and french fries everyday, you can, but if you enjoy eating healthy, there's plenty available. The cafeteria and bistro staff will become memorable members of the Clark community - Tony and his pizzas, Tammy and her sandwiches (be sure to order your ingredients in the correct order or get the stinkeye), the food service workers are great. They make every employee in the cafeteria rotate food prep and front line, so there's much more care for the food than at other places.

Nice

Everyone hee is so friendly. You can't walk a few steps without being greeted by a friendly, smilying face.

Parking

We have a garage thats never full. Only thing is we have to pay

Drug Usage Is Pretty Common but There Is No Peer Pressure.

I think around 70% of the students here smoke marijuana and the majority of them drink as well but if you are opposed to doing so, there is no pressure or negative stigma.

Fairly Easy Process

I got a great financial aid package from my school, which is why I'm able to attend a private university. I didn't have to submit my information more than once, which indicates that the financial aid office is organized and running pretty smoothly.

Moderate Drug and Alcohol Scene

Substance abuse is something that can be found at any school by someone who is seeking it out, in my opinion. Most of the partying happens in off-campus apartments, and it's more drinking than hard drugs from what I understand. During freshman orientation one of the Deans made a point to educate everyone on reasonable limits for men and women when drinking in hopes that we could better avoid any serious health implications. There are definitely students that have access to alcohol or drugs regularly, but it's not a dominant scene at Clark; if you want to nobody judges you, but if you don't you're not surrounded by it.

It's a Clark Thing

It's rare to find a school that lives up to the hype of being accepting and a place to call home but clark does. With so many international students and people from different backgrounds you end up being surrounded by people from all over the world who are passionate about everything from music to the environment to politics. If I can say one thing about Clark it is that it is genuine and I have had the best time of my life there and made the greatest friends.

Clark.

For the most part, Clark is much like any other school. You'll leave with good friends, a good education, a good experience (for the most part). But what sets Clark apart from any other school? How friendly people are. For the most part, you don't find people who just hate each other for no reason. Clark is a welcoming environment. Faculty is welcoming, the dean of students welcomes students to their offices, even the people who work in the cafe toss a smile your way, knowing you always stop by to have a slice of pizza. The best thing about Clark is the first perfect day of spring, when the entire school is outside on the green, laughing, singing, and playing Frisbee. That first perfect day when we all share the beautiful weather and create what is known as the Clark Community.

Psychology

The psychology department is pretty close-knit. I know most of the professors even if I did not have them in class. The intro classes are boring but once you get into the upper level classes and specific topics of psychology, they are really interesting and most of the time, students are really engaged in class. The research courses in the psychology department allow you to take the fundamentals learned in the many intro classes and put your skills to real research and research processes. I find research to be very rewarding and interesting; in many cases I find myself learning more in research than in any of the into classes. Many of the professors are helpful in helping with life decisions such as whether or not to continue onto graduate school, or what to concentrate on. I have an amazing advisor-Professor Vollhardt. She has been there every step of the way in my application to graduate schools.

Breakast at the Professors

Clark University is an absolutely amazing school. Everyone is so friendly and always smiling. You can have a conversation with just about anyone you bump into. There are also numerous events that go on daily throughout campus. One is never without anything to do. My favorite part of Clark has to be the professors. At the end of the semester, one of my professors invited the class over her house down the street and made us all breakfast. We talked about her class for hours and it was just an enjoyable experience. Not many professors would do that for their students.

Psychology Is a Big Major

Most people at Clark are really into social sciences and psychology, but we still have great programs for the sciences and arts, as well as many others. All of our professors have been out in the field of work, and almost all of them have worked with graduate and undergraduate students in research and writing published papers. So far, I feel very lucky to be able to have a professor who knows exactly what they are doing and how to succeed at their careers.

Challenging Convention

The Clark students are very active in the Worcester community, through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, employment, etc. The administration stresses the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the people in the city, because it benefits everyone involved.

Clark is also big on challenging convention, so many things are done in unique or slightly abstract ways. A Fifth-Year Free program is available to those who work hard as an undergraduate student.

Clark also is in the heart of the second largest city in New England, so there are a variety of opportunites to explore - art museums, concerts, vietnamese restaurants, etc.

Clark tends also to sponser heaps of activities in the forms of dances, galas, international food nights, comedian shows, guest speakers, etc in order to help the many out-of-staters/international students feel less homesick, to keep us entertained and busy, and also to open our minds and eyes to new things.

Cheaper, but Not Without Its Issues.

Owing to the social climate of the city of Worcester, no off campus housing comes without the general issue of safety. There are quasi frequent safety issues, but the Worcester city Police does respond quickly to students around the campus area. There are a great number of apartments available within one to four blocks away from campus, or less. The cost of most all the apartments are far less than the cost of living on campus. However, most of the homes are older so it would benefit any student looking off campus to search carefully for the more competent landlords.

Stop by BABA Sushi

This place is amazing. it is perfect for a date or a one-on-one dinner with a friend to talk. The scenery is nice and excort takes you pretty close. They have both sushi, dumplings, and amazing food and drinks.

Worcester Is Cheap

Compared with prices in Boston or even Providence, Worcester is inexpensive.

Architecture

The campus is a mixture of late 1890s Romanesque and Modern. The Academic Commons and the Goddard are nice. The nicest buildings are the Lasry Bioscience Center and Jonas Clark Hall. The campus is hilly and the buildings are densely packed.

Reasonably Safe/ Improving

Clark is trying to improve the safety of the neighborhood. However it is still somewhat unsafe off campus. There are frequent "timely warnings" about potential threats. The UP and student EMS are always on campus. Like everywhere, you have to be aware of your surroundings.

Merit Aid

The school is pretty generous as compared to many other schools with merit aid.

Bachleors/Master's Programs

Clark has good programs in the hard sciences and these are capped off by the 5th year BA/Master's Programs. The Master's is free and provides excellent opportunities for research and experience.

Sciences at Clark

Clark's offerings in the natural sciences are surprisingly good for a small school. Clark has 5th year (Accelerated Bachelors/Master's programs) in Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Environmental Science. All of these programs are free if the student receives at least a 3.00 in their undergraduate major. Clark students can easily do research in preparation for graduate programs given the small size of the University.

Good for freshmen

Housing at Clark is pretty good for freshmen. Wright and Bullock were just remodeled, and have extremely nice common rooms which students really do use. Bathrooms were just remodeled, and are very nice which makes a huge difference - big sinks, good water temperature and pressure. Each floor has a nice 60" TV with which you can connect your laptop to watch movies and just hang out. There are quiet study rooms on each floor, and some multimedia rooms with presentation systems. Sanford has much more visually pleasing rooms, but tend to be a little warmer as you can't regulate your radiator like you can in Wright and Bullock. Wright and Bullock are like prison cells, with dorm after dorm after dorm next to each other in a straight hall so you always know who's home and who is doing what. Sanford rooms are a little more set back so you aren't all crammed together, and the different shaped rooms really do make them more pleasant. Facilities in Sanford aren't as nice, though - they are simply older.

Drug Useage at Clark

As far as Clark goes on drug policies, it's pretty average. Of course it is stated that there is to be no drug usage or underage drinking, but they are fairly lenient here. Most nights of the week you can find people smoking marijuana, using psychedelics, or prescription meds, but I've never come across anyone doing hard street drugs. Alcohol is also prevalent on weekends and at parties, but pretty much averages with the usage at other schools. Cops are frequently on the look out but they are also pretty lenient, they'll usually let you off with a warning if you're respectful to them.

If you're not into drugs or alcohol, don't worry. There is very little pressure to do them here, and plenty of people don't.

New Improvements

The dorms are okay, but have recently been revamped and made even better. A year ago a new state of the art dorm for upperclassmen was built and is a really nice apartment style building made up of suites. This year some of the freshman dorms are also being remodeled to improve dorm life.

Nice Facilities; Study Spaces and Course Choices Could Be Expanded

The classes offered are interesting and challenging, however they can be too small or not enough of the same class is offered and this is sometimes frustrating as it's not always possible to enroll in a course of greater interest to you. The study options are quite nice, however it would be nicer if there were more cafes or cafe study places on campus.

Clark Is the Best!

I think Clark is quite possibly the very best school of all time. If it is the right place for you, there is no way you won't have the time of your life. I love the liberal, accepting, and academically challenging environment. I also love spending my days doing school work on our beautiful green with my very best friends. It is hard to imagine my life without this school.