Anonymous wrote:Same as PP! Colby was very impressive when we visited. Did not expect to like it as much as we did. Seemed great, although long winters!

DC is a sophomore at Colby. New facilities (athletic and arts) aside, they must be doing something right. He loves it SO much.

He has so many friends and really close relationships with his advisors (double major so two of them) and his professors couldn't be more accessible. I personally wouldn't want to live someplace so cold and remote. But I asked recently what he loves most about Colby and he said winter.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

Could you briefly describe these different vibes?

I've seen several times groupings of similar college vibes (if you like X, then you would probably like Y), that include: Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, on the one hand; Brown, Bates, Vassar, Wesleyan, on the other. I think Amherst has maybe moved from the first category to the second in very recent years. Middlebury historically has been in the first category, but might be straddling the two now. But to be clear, there are probably more similarities among all of these colleges than differences.

I agree with these groupings. DC chose Colby over the other NESCACs in part because he was just tired of the constant preaching at his liberal private college. He actually is liberal and wants to be a public defense lawyer, but didn't want to be in the middle of more culture wars at college. Colby is of course of a liberal bent, but it's background noise compared to Bates, Wesleyan, etc.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

Could you briefly describe these different vibes?

I have a kid who visited and was accepted to both and ended up at Bowdoin and we definitely noticed a different vibe between Bates and Colby. Bates was a little more crunchy and had a more urban setting. Colby seemed to be more remote and more sporty. My kid liked Colby a lot but I remember also being impressed by Bates' senior thesis. I thought it was particularly good for students planning to go to grad school.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

Could you briefly describe these different vibes?

I've seen several times groupings of similar college vibes (if you like X, then you would probably like Y), that include: Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, on the one hand; Brown, Bates, Vassar, Wesleyan, on the other. I think Amherst has maybe moved from the first category to the second in very recent years. Middlebury historically has been in the first category, but might be straddling the two now. But to be clear, there are probably more similarities among all of these colleges than differences.

My kid applied to two in the first category and three in the second!

Same as PP! Colby was very impressive when we visited. Did not expect to like it as much as we did. Seemed great, although long winters!

I toured Colby recently. Here’s what I understand are the latest biggest developments at Colby (last 2-3 years):

1) a new athletic facility that has an Olympic-sized pool. Reportedly the envy of DIII and on par with a competitive DI athletic facility. The squash courts and ice hockey rink look amazing.
2) a brand new performing arts center (just opened this fall) that has modular performance spaces and is state-of-the-art technologically and acoustically.
3) an island campus (I think technically there are two islands) where art, science and indigenous history programming is offered.
4) Davis Center for AI, which is reportedly the first LAC cross-disciplinary AI institute.
5) a revitalized downtown Waterville. Colby partnered with public and private to redevelop downtown Waterville. There are regular shuttles that go back and forth. Colby has a dorm there for students who are planning to help the local community.

I liked the campus layout and the fall foliage was really nice. I was very impressed.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

Could you briefly describe these different vibes?

I've seen several times groupings of similar college vibes (if you like X, then you would probably like Y), that include: Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, on the one hand; Brown, Bates, Vassar, Wesleyan, on the other. I think Amherst has maybe moved from the first category to the second in very recent years. Middlebury historically has been in the first category, but might be straddling the two now. But to be clear, there are probably more similarities among all of these colleges than differences.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

I’m the “not a Colby or Bates parent” poster. DC was accepted to both, and I agree they have different vibes (my DC preferred Bates, fwiw). But the usnwr rank has nothing to do with vibe. Bates and Colby are academically indistinguishable, imo, which was the point I made regarding the recently released usnwr rankings.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

Could you briefly describe these different vibes?

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Again with the "woke" BS. I hear Liberty University is nice; maybe you should look there.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Current DC at Colby (who also was accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.). There is definitely a different vibe at the two schools! They're both great, but a student would likely have a preference of one over the other.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Current DC at Bates. Definitely not more woke than other area schools. Stop relying on DCUM for your information.

Anonymous wrote:I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent

Many parents do not want their kids to go to Bates because it is more woke.

Colby chased the rankings by pushing down its acceptance rate, ensuring a high number of classes under 20 students, that kind of thing. Then US News dropped those criteria from the rankings. It’s still the same very good college it was when it ranked among the top ten SLACs.

I like Colby. But I do think Colby is ranked where it “should” be now - did anyone ever think Bates and Colby were any different academically? I respect Bates more for not having chased rankings and its long standing commitment to test optional which does lower its “average” stats but adds many other positives to its student body.

Colby is one of the few colleges I think is now reaping what it sowed (with its own zealous chasing of usnwr rank over the past 10ish years).

- not a Colby or Bates parent