College of Our Lady of the Elms

My overall opinion of College of Our Lady of the Elms is that there are areas where the college excels in and areas in which it could improve upon. When it comes to housing, the college could definitely improve. In the freshman dorms, the common areas are very nice and the rooms are standard, but the bathrooms are atrocious. There are about 5 stalls and 5 showers in each bathroom on all three floors, which is not nearly enough for 20+ people on the floor. Upon the first week of people being on campus, two out of five bathroom stalls were not working. It took a couple of weeks for the college to send people to fix this issue. The shower stalls themselves are the worst part of the bathroom in the freshman dorms. They are incredibly small and only have one hook in each of them and one storage space in the actual shower. Throughout the entire semester, multiple shower heads stopped working and mold started to grow on the roof of the shower. The showers also do not have an adequate draining system, so the floor gets very wet and slippery (which is dangerous). Another thing I hate about the freshman dorms, is the strict sign in procedure to let your friends or families into the dorm. It is tedious and ridiculous. Elms College is the only school that I know of that treats freshmen like children and makes them sign in people to enter the dorm. The freshman dorms also only have about 4 or 5 washers and dryers for the entire building. The other two upperclassmen dorms are way better in terms of bathroom compared to the freshman dorms. The buildings are older, but they are beautiful and keep the structural integrity of its foundations. The on campus dining hall/ food services for the college is atrocious. We use Aladdin Dining Company and they have not fulfilled their promises specified in their contract. For example, they were supposed to provide a “store” in the cafeteria basement equipped with snacks that was open 24-hours and never did. They don't have a wide variety of foods to choose from and are unwilling to accommodate the student body. The dining hall won't even make you a quesadilla if asked. Some of the staff are rude and are not willing to listen to requests. They also make you scan before entering in the dining hall before you can see what's available. Some of us do not have unlimited meals on their meal plan and if we go in and do not want to get anything, then that's wasted money on our cards. The dining hall is also poor with its maintenance, the soda machine in the dining hall is always broken and running out of its contents, sometimes not being replaced for days. And the seating areas are sometimes never cleaned, leaving salt or food remnants from the meal before on them. Overall, the dining hall/company has a lot to improve on if it wants to get its student rating back up. However, campus facilities, class size, campus services, and academics are the redeeming characteristics of Elms College. The class sizes are small and the professors take the time to help you. Especially in your major specific classes, with most of the professors actually having experience in that field. Elms College also has a lot of wonderful resources for academics, student success and planning, finance, and job opportunities. Elms hosts a lot of career fairs, in which businesses from the local community often attend. Elms also has the wonderful staff on the second floor of the library that can help you with a wide variety of things from student planning, tutoring, and time management. But these characteristics alone are not enough to put Elms College as a top school in my opinion. I think most of its problems are where the money is going. A lot of students pay an arm and a leg to go to Elms, so it's baffling that the money seems to be going nowhere and into places where it's not wanted. The students want the money to go to better food, residence hall renovations, and athletic facilities and athletics in general. I think that would put Elms above the rest is improving on all the things mentioned above and putting money into where its actually needed.

I'm very happy with my decision to choose College of Our Lady of the Elms. It has a small, homey-feel for a campus and everyone is very friendly and kind. I think it's a good college and it's private so there aren't many students in the classes, which is nice. It is a safe campus as well.

Elms is a perfect school for me not too big and not too small. The campus is just perfect for me. Students and faculty are very friendly. Great professors who are passionate about their work. I felt the warmth and acceptance of everybody on my orientation day. I must Elms College feels like home.

Most staff at the school means well, but it is time for an influx of youth in the professor department. Many of them are up there in age and frankly I worry what will happen to the biology and chemistry departments as people begin to retire. I have had some difficulty with staff communication, some but not all of the professors feel they don't need to answer emails or show up to office hours.

Elms College really stands behind their mission and the sisters of Saint Joseph's amado, "uniting neighbor with neighbor, and neighbor with God". With small class sizes and welcoming staff you always feel part of the Blazer family. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my last four years at another college!.

Elms College really stands behind their mission and the sisters of Saint Joseph's amado, "uniting neighbor with neighbor, and neighbor with God". With small class sizes and welcoming staff you always feel part of the Blazer family. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my last four years at another college!.

Elms College is truly great, the campus is so respectful and diverse. It's a great community and everyone is so nice. The teachers and professors truly care for everyone's well being. There is always fun and cheap activities going on. Teachers and other staff are always available if needed and I always feel safe here.

I am impressed with the professional staff and faculty at the Elms. I am an off-site student that attends a satelite program at the Holyoke community college health services building. I have used the facilities such as the tutoring center, library online, and attended a meeting about the construction of the new chapel. The faculty has always been warm and inviting. The tutoring center was extremely helpful in helping me pass my statistics class, and my tutor was available for extra sessions group or private.

Elms college is a safe environment filled with quality people. It is expensive, but you get what you pay for. This college has a very good reputation, caring professors, and has friendly students.

The school is great and the atmosphere is wonderful. You will meet a lot of great people although it is a small campus. You have the opportunity to get to know your professors and advisors. The dining hall food isn't the best, but hey that's college food for you. The dorm rooms are a perfect size, if you live in Rose Williams; the dorms are all the same size and come with a desk with a desk shelf, a bed which is able to change the height, a 3 drawer dresser which is deeper than others and a moveable closet. Rose Williams is usually for freshman. If you live in O'Leary; every room is different. The majority of the residents who live in this hall is upperclassmen. Since each room is different; they all come with a bed which is able to move in height and a desk and 3 drawer dresser. The dresser drawers are a little smaller than the ones in Rose Williams. The desk doesn't have a shelf on it but does have a few drawers just like the ones in Rose Williams. Depending on the room, you may have a walk in closet or a moveable closet like Rose Williams. The last dorm hall is Divine, which is an all girls dorm. Each room is the same in size but slightly larger than the rooms in Rose Williams. They have built in closets and come with a bed, desk and dresser just like the other two dorms. All three dorms have shared bathrooms on each floor and a room for an RA. There are no elevators in the dorms, just staircases. Rose Williams is 3 floors and has a small kitchen on each floor. O'Leary is 4 floors and has a kitchen in the basement and a fridge and microwave on each floor. Divine has a kitchen in the basement. In all three dorm halls you CANNOT have a microwave of your own or a tall fridge; it must meet the college requirements. You also CANNOT have a toaster or such products similar. You CAN have a Keurig, Christmas lights, tapestry, smaller fridge, book shelves, futon, bungey chairs, printer, etc. The gym is smaller but is usually never that crowded since every one has a different schedule or time they normally go. There's a turf field and softball field on campus and baseball field off campus. Parking is free to all residents and commuters, we just have specific parking lots. There is a track above the basketball and volley ball court and a swimming pool located next to the gym. We have open swim hours too. All classrooms are open to use as long as there isn't a class in it at that time and we also have the library which has great hours. The library is 4 floors, the basement having the theatre and computer lab, the first floor with computers and printers and group areas to work, the second floor with classrooms and it is a little less quieter with couches and desks and the third floor completely quiet with desks and classrooms to work in. The ARC, which is the tutor area is located on the second floor of the library and you can make appointments online or in person to be tutored. The dining hall is located in the same building as a few of our classrooms, the art gallery, the school store, and the mailroom. Each resident gets their own mail box when they arrive. There are many different activities throughout the year and are always posted on the bulletin boards every where on campus or emailed to your school email.