Anonymous
07/30/2019 18:47
Subject: Re:Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:I went to Colgate 10ish years ago. Like all schools, there are pros and cons. I've listed mine below, in the order in which they stick out in my mind. Overall, I'd recommend it, but it's not for everyone.
Pros:
-A really, really great education. Seriously. I went to a "top" law school, and I was one of the few people who was prepared, in terms of being able to write cogently, and engage with the assigned materials, and organize my work (others of course adapted, but mine was an easier transition, in my view). This of course depends on the courses you take, but you actually get a great education at Colgate, not just admission into the diploma club.
- The school is small, so you get a lot of attention. So I had my thesis advisor walk through every paragraph of my draft thesis to explain what worked, what didn't, and ways to fix it. It also means I had a real relationship with my professors. You can't hide, but you won't fall through the cracks.
- The school is small, so there are opportunities to participate that might be harder in a larger school. I joined the debate team on a whim, and they taught me debate then flew me around the world to be in tournaments. I had friends who walked onto D1 sports teams (most of the walk-ons I knew were onto the crew team, FWIW). Also, as a PP noted, lots of study abroad opportunities.
- the campus is really, stunningly beautiful
Cons:
- That is a cold winter.
- You are in a small village. This can be nice, in that people are really invested in the school. It can also be stifling, if you want to get some headspace. It can also limit going out activities.
- Not sure if this is really a con, but the school feels a bit like two or three schools within a (still small) school. There are a lot of privileged private school kids, who are somewhat homogeneous. But this is also a D1 school, so there is also a lot of economic and racial diversity, especially within the sports teams. Then you've got kids who fall into neither camp, who, if I had to generalize, would be nice, smart, go-get-'em types, who seemed to get really involved in non-sports, non-greek life on campus and then go on to do really interesting things (e.g., social issues, intramural, joining peace corps, enviro studies, etc.) I'm not saying you can only fall into one camp (most people probably fell into two, or even three).
-You want a car
What “top” law school was not full of people who could write?
Anonymous
07/30/2019 18:26
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Colgate isn't that great. It's to pepperminty. Crest is better.
Anonymous
07/30/2019 15:27
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote: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.
What is a "woo girl"?
Anonymous
07/30/2019 15:25
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Preppy. White. Isolated. Next?
Anonymous
07/30/2019 14:14
Subject: Re:Thoughts on Colgate?
I went to Colgate 10ish years ago. Like all schools, there are pros and cons. I've listed mine below, in the order in which they stick out in my mind. Overall, I'd recommend it, but it's not for everyone.
Pros:
-A really, really great education. Seriously. I went to a "top" law school, and I was one of the few people who was prepared, in terms of being able to write cogently, and engage with the assigned materials, and organize my work (others of course adapted, but mine was an easier transition, in my view). This of course depends on the courses you take, but you actually get a great education at Colgate, not just admission into the diploma club.
- The school is small, so you get a lot of attention. So I had my thesis advisor walk through every paragraph of my draft thesis to explain what worked, what didn't, and ways to fix it. It also means I had a real relationship with my professors. You can't hide, but you won't fall through the cracks.
- The school is small, so there are opportunities to participate that might be harder in a larger school. I joined the debate team on a whim, and they taught me debate then flew me around the world to be in tournaments. I had friends who walked onto D1 sports teams (most of the walk-ons I knew were onto the crew team, FWIW). Also, as a PP noted, lots of study abroad opportunities.
- the campus is really, stunningly beautiful
Cons:
- That is a cold winter.
- You are in a small village. This can be nice, in that people are really invested in the school. It can also be stifling, if you want to get some headspace. It can also limit going out activities.
- Not sure if this is really a con, but the school feels a bit like two or three schools within a (still small) school. There are a lot of privileged private school kids, who are somewhat homogeneous. But this is also a D1 school, so there is also a lot of economic and racial diversity, especially within the sports teams. Then you've got kids who fall into neither camp, who, if I had to generalize, would be nice, smart, go-get-'em types, who seemed to get really involved in non-sports, non-greek life on campus and then go on to do really interesting things (e.g., social issues, intramural, joining peace corps, enviro studies, etc.) I'm not saying you can only fall into one camp (most people probably fell into two, or even three).
-You want a car there.
- Expensive
Pros:
-A really, really great education. Seriously. I went to a "top" law school, and I was one of the few people who was prepared, in terms of being able to write cogently, and engage with the assigned materials, and organize my work (others of course adapted, but mine was an easier transition, in my view). This of course depends on the courses you take, but you actually get a great education at Colgate, not just admission into the diploma club.
- The school is small, so you get a lot of attention. So I had my thesis advisor walk through every paragraph of my draft thesis to explain what worked, what didn't, and ways to fix it. It also means I had a real relationship with my professors. You can't hide, but you won't fall through the cracks.
- The school is small, so there are opportunities to participate that might be harder in a larger school. I joined the debate team on a whim, and they taught me debate then flew me around the world to be in tournaments. I had friends who walked onto D1 sports teams (most of the walk-ons I knew were onto the crew team, FWIW). Also, as a PP noted, lots of study abroad opportunities.
- the campus is really, stunningly beautiful
Cons:
- That is a cold winter.
- You are in a small village. This can be nice, in that people are really invested in the school. It can also be stifling, if you want to get some headspace. It can also limit going out activities.
- Not sure if this is really a con, but the school feels a bit like two or three schools within a (still small) school. There are a lot of privileged private school kids, who are somewhat homogeneous. But this is also a D1 school, so there is also a lot of economic and racial diversity, especially within the sports teams. Then you've got kids who fall into neither camp, who, if I had to generalize, would be nice, smart, go-get-'em types, who seemed to get really involved in non-sports, non-greek life on campus and then go on to do really interesting things (e.g., social issues, intramural, joining peace corps, enviro studies, etc.) I'm not saying you can only fall into one camp (most people probably fell into two, or even three).
-You want a car there.
- Expensive
Anonymous
07/11/2019 01:00
Subject: Re:Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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).
Notre Dame and Washington & Lee also report their private school students enrolling. The percentages are similar.
That’s a bummer. I’d rather DC go to a school with more down to earth kids, not the overly entitled rich kids.
Every year our private sent kids to Colgate.
A lot of the kids were from middle class & above, grounded & not spoilt.
Only problem the kids were like competitive on steroids.
The joy of learning was overshadowed by many trying to outdo each other to have the best resume for college.
Anonymous
07/09/2019 11:38
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
In terms of people calling to "bro-y" and "privileged", I think that is pretty true... I mean the statistics speak for themselves, over 65% White, 23% come from the top 1%. But, there are still people who do not define that way who make the most of it.. I read an induck interview with a south asian girl who isn't into greek life etc. and she said the people of color community is small in number but strong and she likes to go to camp colgate and do outdoorsy stuff.. So there may just be something for everybody there
Anonymous
07/09/2019 11:30
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
My two cents for what it is worth. My DD attends Colgate. It is a wonderful school with a great student/teacher ratio. She has had challenging classes with available professors. She went to a competitive prep school and report her classes in college are challenging (this is not what I hear at other schools). She has developed mentor type relationships with her professors. Without graduate students undergrads get to do all the internships, research and jobs. The student body is intelligent, driven and diverse. There are plenty of clubs, community service opportunities and organizations to keep students engaged outside the classroom. Call the school, talk with the administration. They are accessible and helpful. I can't say a bad word about it...other then price!
Anonymous
06/18/2019 13:30
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not every private school kid is entitled or rich.
The ones that land at Colgate definitely are.
Agreed. I went to Colgate for freshmen year and transferred to Boston University due to it being too small for me, isolated and full of Ivy League rejects who are obsessed with their GPA's and then just drink in their dorm rooms on the weekends while mixing their pills prescribed by their expensive therapists.
Anonymous
06/16/2019 11:42
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
You can call them bros, but i call them HOTTTT!!!
Anonymous
06/16/2019 11:29
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
I know someone who got good merit aid there. And really likes it.
Anonymous
06/14/2019 15:08
Subject: Re:Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:Colgate is need aware
Agressively, so.
Anonymous
06/14/2019 13:02
Subject: Re:Thoughts on Colgate?
Colgate is need aware
Anonymous
06/14/2019 10:39
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not every private school kid is entitled or rich.
The ones that land at Colgate definitely are.
Looking forward to you not supporting that at all. The moon is made of cheese.
Not the PP, but Colgate is unusually high in terms of drawing from wealthy families compared to other private liberal arts colleges (their connections may be a large part of why they succeed in business/finance etc. which depend on connections).
From the NYTimes Upshot analysis:
22.6% of Colgate families come from the wealthiest 1% (i.e. earning more than 630K/yr) and nearly 3% of those are in the .1% and only 13.6% come from the 60% or under family income bracket (65k or lower). This puts them at number 7 in the country of all colleges and universities in terms of its tilt towards very high income families. The median family income is 270200 (since it's median it's not inflated like an average would be by a few high numbers). As for outcomes, less than 1% of Colgate grads came from a poor family but became a rich adult.
This doesn't mean the school is full of entitled kids, but it is disproportionately compared to other national liberal arts colleges full of rich kids. And there's not a ton of social mobility for you from the school if you enter lower middle class/poor as there is at other schools.
Anonymous
06/14/2019 09:44
Subject: Thoughts on Colgate?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not every private school kid is entitled or rich.
The ones that land at Colgate definitely are.
Looking forward to you not supporting that at all. The moon is made of cheese.