Alma College

Alma gave a great impression. I visited several times before I officially got accepted, and it sounded like a college dream come true. But once I got there, it felt like nothing but trouble.

There were huge issues within my department between some professors and higher-ups of the school that resulted in lack of classes and professors, and almost made it impossible for me to graduate with my intended major. They slacked for a whole year, not hiring professors needed for juniors and seniors to graduate on time. I had to work very hard to make my degree happen, and I bugged the shit out of certain department chairs because I never felt like my situation was considered a priority of any kind. Even the remaining professors in my department treated me as a non-priority because I wasn't focusing in their specialty. I frequently felt like I was talking to a brick wall. I had to substitute classes and plan my course work perfectly so that I could still graduate, and apparently I was the only one who gave a shit about whether or not I graduated from my department.

On top of that, there were issues with signing up for mixed gender housing several years, where I had to talk to 6 different people just to find the one person I really needed to talk to in order to fix the problem. Basically, if there was ever a problem, I felt like I had to be prepared to talk to half of the department before I saw a result. That's not how that should be.

I also started to get sick off of the cafeteria food, and found that I couldn't opt out of paying for it without providing proof that it made me sick, which I couldn't really do. I don't have food allergies. That was basically the only way to get out of paying for meal plans. I had to take medication for 6 months to fix the damage that was done to my gut.

I feel like I paid for 4 years of pain. You have to pay for everything, you can't opt out of anything. You HAVE to live on campus all 4 years, which was not made very clear to me as a freshman. I wish I would have transferred. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't think my credits would transfer (because it's a liberal arts school). Having now graduated, I realize that it was stupid to stay. I got nothing out of it. I don't feel job ready, my professors did very little prepare me, and I wasn't considered a priority. For a school who claims to have more personal student-professor relationships/contact, this is bullshit. This should have never happened if that was really the case.Save yourself the trouble and money. Go somewhere else, literally anywhere else. This school clearly does not have their shit together. And it's not just the arts department. I know other people with similar stories from other departments. I don't know how anyone has any praise or pride for this school.

4th Year Female -- Class 1921

Perceived Campus Safety: A, Education Quality: C-

The three years that I have spent on this college campus were the most challenging years of my life. I am a person of color and though I am labeled as a senior I refuse to finish my last year here. There are various problems with the school and how they treat students of color, L.G.B.T.Q+, disability, and low financial status. Where do I even begin! For students with disabilities involving mobility issues, there is only one mobility scooter on the whole campus of which you can use until 5 pm,there are only about 7 automatic door buttons that actually work on the whole campus, and even though they have dorm rooms for people with disabilities there are only one per floor and no elevators to reach the other two rooms. For students of the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community there are far more close-minded students and faculty then there are open-minded ones. Between students tearing the signs off of the "inclusive" bathrooms, to teachers bullying you because they don't want to acknowledge you by your preferred name. For students of color, I'm not saying that you are automatically going to be discriminated against, but you are going to have to work a lot harder to get through this experience. You'll have to watch how you carry yourself around others because there are many people around here that will quickly label you as a threat. Many will be quick to confirm stereotypes based on your actions and many of the staff will judge you for it. It is best for you to network throughout the school so you can obtain a somewhat comfortable experience. Finally, if you cannot afford the tuition I highly recommend you stay away from this school. To them, there is such thing as too many scholarships despite how many they say you are qualified for they will only allow a few. They force you to take expensive spring terms (that can't be covered by financial aid). And asking the business office for help is practically impossible they will highly recommend you apply for a loan despite what you tell them. All the school wants is your money they throw random charges and if you are offered a refund they find ways to charge you more to keep your money. (charged me a $67 spring fee WTF is a spring fee I wasn't even on campus). They don't even use the money to fix up the school, with all the mold, cracked walls and ceilings, not up to code themed housing, multiple insect infestations, and their very low maintenance response times. I could go on and on but that's not even the half of it, on a good note you will make a lot of friends and it is possible to have a social life on campus they try to provide trips and things to do but, honestly you will need a car to have fun elsewhere.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2018

Extracurricular Activities: A+, Education Quality: F