I'm a hair bit biased as I am a Union alumnus. A few things you have to look forward to at Union College:
- Knowing 1/2 your graduating class by name and recognizing the other 1/2.
- Several naked Nott runs.
- Painting the "Idol."
- Spending absurd numbers of hours in the library writing your thesis and studying for classes.
- Making fun of the Minerva houses.
- Imbibing in several beers at the fraternity houses.
- Knowing your Professors on a personal level
- Horrifying digestive issues from West dining.
- Avoiding contact with Schenect-"doids."
- Hibernating for the entire winter term to avoid the terribly cold weather.
Most of the programs at Union are quite challenging from an academic standpoint. The Professors that teach at Union are all highly-qualified. I can think of only maybe one Professor that was not very good in my four years at Union.
The students at Union know how to work hard and play hard. Now that SATs are optional, I'm not sure about the caliber of students that are applying to Union any longer, but the number of applicants has shot up.
Union's campus is pristine. Quite picturesque during the summer, but brutally cold in the winter. There was a two week period while I was there my freshman year where the temperatures were sub -20 with the windchill.
Because of it's small size, it's easy to get involved on clubs. Union always has campus activities going on.
My biggest gripe is regarding the Greek system. Union is the "Mother" of fraternities. The first collegiate Fraternity ever- was founded at Union College back in the early 1800s. For over a hundred years, Union was close to 100% Greek. However, instead of embracing this unique bit of history, Union has begun a campaign against fraternities.
Starting in the late 1950s, Union began forcing fraternities to live on campus. About 10 years ago, they started seizing the land that the fraternity houses lived on and forcing those fraternities to move into college owned housing (dorms). Unfortunately, these dorms are ill-equipped to handle a fraternity or sorority's needs and they have not been well-kept.
Rather than despising the Greek system, Union should embrace it. A full-on overhaul of the Union Greek system is necessary and I'm not just talking about the housing. They need to hire someone who came from a school with a large Greek system, implement policy changes, and hold members of Greek organizations accountable. read more