Thoughts on Colgate?
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Anonymous
| Any input is appreciated. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Very preppy & isolated. Loyal alums. |
Anonymous
| We preferred Hamilton, which is similarly located. Colgate seems to have more of a drinking culture. |
Anonymous
Who is “we?” |
Anonymous
| I went to Colgate and transferred after my sophomore year. It is VERY isolated and small. The town is essentially non-existent and there is nothing else close by. Also, the terrible winters just make it a pretty depressing place imo. Most people take at least a semester abroad and I know many who studied abroad for all of their junior year to escape the small town and terrible weather. |
Anonymous
| It has some highly ranked academic departments from the looks of it. |
Anonymous
|
DC Alumnus here. Colgate is a fantastic school, but just like any school, it has strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are academics, specifically the sciences and the ability for students to do meaningful research; the study abroad program, which is rich and almost universally taken advantage of; the tightness of the student body, and subsequently the alumni; D1 athletics and the Outdoor Ed program; and probably most importantly these days, career outcomes. Weaknesses are rural / isolation (which has its advantages, namely the ability to really focus on why you're there, fondly referred to as the "Colgate bubble"), weather (if you don't like winter--it actually is great for skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts, and a still-too-dominant Greek life (again, unless you like that stuff).
On the career outcome front, I went there twenty years ago, and have recruited 50+ Alums into consulting. They almost always thrive and go on to top companies in executive roles. There is something about Colgate students that makes them ideally suited for top-level business jobs, which shows in median earnings data; in 2014 Colgate was 14th in mid-career median earnings, tied with Yale. RE: the drinking culture that one poster mentioned, this used to be a thing, but is just average now. The University bought all of the houses from the Greek orgs several years ago, and the partying that characterized the 90s is a fraction of what it was. My advice on thriving at Colgate (or anywhere) is to find your "people"--whether that the Maroon-News, a team, a singing group, an art community, or whatever--and fling yourself in with reckless abandon. These tight communities are the ties that bind alumni years later. |
Anonymous
|
One thing I noted about Colgate when we were looking for DD#1 is that 46% of students come from private schools.
https://www.colgate.edu/admission-financial-aid/first-year-class-profile It was a stat that surprised me and turned of my daughter. I have since noticed that almost no other school reports this figure so I dont know if this is typical of top SLACs (Yes I know Colgate is D1 and technically a University but they had literally 11 grad students in the most recent year so I put them w/ undergraduate-focused colleges). |
Anonymous
Notre Dame and Washington & Lee also report their private school students enrolling. The percentages are similar. |
Anonymous
That’s a bummer. I’d rather DC go to a school with more down to earth kids, not the overly entitled rich kids. |
Anonymous
I wonder if its true of all of them, they just dont publish. Notre Dame, with its religious mission, makes a bit more sense. |
Anonymous
| We toured Colgate and it just seemed so bland in every way possible.....nothing seemed particularly remarkable. The students seemed a bit lax bro and woo girl and the location didn't help. But we also toured Hamilton on that trip and thought it really liked the campus and the overall vibe so being in the middle of nowhere isn't necessarily disqualifying. |
Anonymous
Then I would avoid most of the top LACs... |
Anonymous
| Not every private school kid is entitled or rich. |
Anonymous
The ones that land at Colgate definitely are. |