Maybe time has changed things, or the people who decided to make reviews are only those who are disgruntled, who knows? Considering my experience and the dedication of the alumnae, I can't imagine Chatham has lost its luster. Chatham is not a cheap school. If your concern is affordability, don't bother. And again, I can't speak to the present or anyone else's experience, but I was full financial aid and 100% financed through many forms of payment, from academic scholarships to work/study jobs . The academics were rigorous and informative well past graduation - I continue to use the skills and knowledge from my undergraduate degree to this day, more than 30 years after graduating. In 2015, despite the protests of alumnae and then-current students, Chatham ended a 146 year tradition and broke with the school identity by opening the doors to its undergraduate program to male students for the first time ever (more correctly, male students were permitted to take individual courses at Chatham for a long time, but never permitted to matriculate, and were only permitted to live in certain dorms). Before that, with the alumnae resoundingly voting for the undergraduate program to remain single-sex, only the graduate and professional programs were officially co-ed. But no matter what, Chatham continues to have small student to teacher class sizes, where your professor really gets to know you, and can challenge you specifically to your strengths and weaknesses. My profs still remembered me 4 years after I graduated, when I applied for graduate school, and those who are still able continue to recall me and the work I did for them 30+ years later.
That's all part of the Chatham experience. It's not for everyone, it appeals to a minority of people, and that's okay. It, or any school for that matter, doesn't have to pander to all. It is what it is, and for those of us for whom Chatham was/is appealing, it has a great deal of learning and networking to provide for a sound future and lifelong affiliations. Students live in old mansions converted into dorms, and take a great deal of pride in keeping their secluded campus beautiful and safe. Chatham is also now one of the "greenest" campuses in the U.S. with the addition of Eden Hall. I'm proud to be a Chatham alumna, it has opened doors I could never have dreamed as I chose it, and my education stays with me to this day. And none of this is taking into account what fun I had going to school in Pittsburgh, and the friendships I made along the way. My experience couldn't have been better.