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[quote=Anonymous]Colgate is a bit more highly rated by USNWR and others (eg WSJ), and by its alums.

Colgate has just under 3000 undergrads.    Bates has fewer than 1800.   That's actually a fairly significant difference.  E.g., Colgate offers 56 majors, Bates offers 36; Colgate has over 350 academic staff; Bates has less than 200.   Colgate's endowment is almost three times as large as Bates'.

Colgate is in a charming small town in the middle of pretty but isolated countryside.    Bates is in a small industrial (or post-industrial) city that's the second largest in Maine.   From each you can get to a larger city in just under an hour's drive, although Portland ME beats Syracuse NY hands down (although their population is about the same).

Colgate has, like many rural schools, a lively greek scene (five frats, three sororities, students join sophomore year - just under half of Soph, Jr and Sr students belong).    Bates has none.   Here on DCUM we're all supposed to say "ew, gross" about fraternities, but some students enjoy them.  At any rate, more than half of Colgate's student body doesn't belong.

Colgate in particular seems to trigger some weird negative stereotyping among some DCUM commenters  (as if Colgate is along among colleges in having students who like to party and plan for successful careers...).   Obviously the school wouldn't have the strong reputation it does if it were as unpleasant as some anonymous DCUMers make it out to be.   There's probably some truth to the notion that relative to other comparable schools, the Colgate student body has a visible quantity of pre-finance, jock-ey, frat bros, but that hardly speaks for all 3000 students (55% of whom are female btw).   And at any rate, whose to say that's not a better college experience for some than a campus dominated by sedentary social justice warriors racking up student debt getting comp lit degrees with no career prospects?.  If you wanted to flip that on its side, you could say that Colgate is prominent enough to warrant silly stereotyping on DCUM whereas Bates really doesn't have a high enough profile to warrant stereotyping outside Maine (where its reputation is that it's for crunchy, progressive, weed-smoking, well-off kids).

At any rate, the schools are pretty different, so setting stereotyping aside, the objective data should give your kid a good feel for which would be a better fit.  Good luck!

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