Durham, N.H.: I visited the University of New Hampshire in September for the day. UNH is a school of about 10,000 students in the small town of Durham. The campus is centered around a clock tower whose bells toll every hour. The buildings on campus are basically brick but some are painted white. The campus has a "New-Englandy" look to it with a lot of wooded areas and trees. It looks like it would be very beautiful during the different seasons. Everyone seemed to be comfortable with each other and gave me the impression that they enjoyed going to school there.

The town of Durham is very small, with about 8,000 people. It has many restaurants and student-oriented shops. Because the town is so small, they share UNH's six floor library and health clinic. Everything seemed to be within easy walking distance from the school. You're not allowed to have a car until you're an upperclassman, but that didn't seem like a problem because of the closeness of the campus. Bus transportation is available to all the surrounding areas including Boston. Most students seemed to get around on bicycles.

The dorms are divided into three different areas. Some are older-looking while others are quite modern. The newer dorms have phones in each room while the older ones have two phones per hall. You are allowed to have a small refrigerator and a hot pot in your room. Every dorm is equipped with a lounge, a cooking area, and a laundry room. There is about one shower for every seven students. The dorms are separated into either all girls, coed by floor, or coed by room. There are fraternity and sorority housing on the outskirts of the campus. Most underclassmen live on campus while most upperclassmen live in apartments off campus. If you chose to live in a dorm, you may request which room, in what area, and with whom you want to room. You can chose from single, double, triple, or quadruple rooms.

The classrooms seemed nice especially the lecture halls, which were very comfortable. There seemed to bemany athletic facilities including tennis courts, a pool, a skating rink, and numerous fields. Although I didn't see the eating areas, I did hear they were quite good. There was a deli and plenty of vending machines. The campus even has its own ice cream parlor with homemade ice cream fresh from the college's own dairy barn.

The tour I took pretty much covered the whole campus. The guide was very informative and tried to answer all the questions the best that he could.

I really liked this college and I would like to attend it next year. It offers courses in almost every field and it is very easy to change majors if you chose to. For people wanting to go to a typical New England college, I highly suggest the University of New Hampshire.




Reviewed in 1990