BuzzLiteBeer

During my visit to Colgate I didn't get the vibe of an overly athletic school (but it was on a weekend morning..the campus was almost empty).

But after discussing this with my friends, almost all who recognize the name "Colgate" said that it was a jock school and that non-athletes are the minority and treated as outcasts. To what extent is this true? I have no athletic ability what-so-ever (I'm an arts person...music all the way!).

help me please

i too visited on an off day. I dont think there are outcasts in college like you think of in HS. I myself am more of the music kid (much like yourself) and i hope its not like you painted it out in your description, cuz im kinda have to go there now after getting accepted ED (heh)

N.E.MomOf3

My son's a senior there, and he's not a jock--and has never felt like an outcast of any kind. He has, however, enjoyed the athletic scene as a member of the pep band, but the athletes most definitely don't dominate the campus. And actually, his experience has been to notice a few athletes in his classes who are pretty good students. I'm sure that members of the teams become good friends and hang around together, but there's no way that they control the atmosphere of the campus in a negative way. Colgate is Division I and is recognized for having the occasional strong team in one sport or another, but it's not the primary focus at all.

Colgate admissions builds classes that include all kinds of kids with a full range of talents, and out of a class of over 700 you are sure to find plenty of friends and activities that will interest you--just go looking for them. There's lots and lots going on on that campus. My son has made music his primary EC activity--for all four years he has participated in several ensembles, in addition to pep band. He has had a wonderful experience there. (He's a philosophy major.)

But even if you aren't a jock, you'll quickly get into good physical shape climbing up and down that hill every day!

PKYanks211

One of my biggest worries coming into Colgate as a freshman this year was that Colgate was a jock school. I had just graduated from one and was worried about being in the same environment in college. However, I was wrong. Here's why...

1. Colgate's sports teams, on the whole, are bad. Student support for the teams reflects the quality of the play on the field. Hence, the athletes on campus don't turn into Greek gods with inflated egos. Athletes here are respected, but not admired.

2. I'm a Maroon-News sports reporter. Very few athletes I've come across would fit the dumb jock stereotype, and none are jerks. Most are intelligent kids that fit in with the rest of the crowd and hang out with non-athletes. Very down to earth Colgate kids in my opinion, and that's because CU is an academic institution, not an athletic institution that parades as a four year university like the University of Miami.

3. We have a fit campus. Having a fit campus does not mean we are a jock school. We're fit because the hill forces everyone to lose weight and the Huntington Gymnasium is an amazing weight and exercise facility.

BuzzLiteBeer, with all due respect to your friends, I can't emphasize this enough: They are dead wrong. Non-athletes are in no way, shape, or form outcasts at this school. They are just like everybody else. If you don't play sports, than yes, you're in the minority because most kids here do play, whether they are on a team or play IM's, but they aren't treated differently because of that fact.

BuzzLiteBeer

Thnx for clearing up the misconception...I'm definitely going to finalize my app and send it in.

ConLax11

On Colgate, Hamilton, and a few other LACs boards topics such a "Is ____ Preppy" or "Colgate= Jock School" almost as if people have a negative view of athletes and/or preps. This probably from never actual meeting real athletes or preps, so therefore due to ignorance they act in a discriminatory manner towards them. Imagine if I asked if they're were too many minorites at some of these schools. The P.C. police would jump all over me. I really see little difference between posting the latter (proposed question) and the real questions asked of some of these boards.

tikitom

Clemson is a Jock School!

GateNY09

I want to second what ConLax said...I am continually frustrated when I hear peopleassuming that the attitudes of a school's population are a certain way because of the stereotypical dress of the students. Wearing polos and pastels is not indicative of someone's attitudes; the decision to dress a certain way and have a certain attitude are not mutually exclusive. I have plenty of friends at Colgate - myself included - who are very preppy, but I would be challenged to find any of them who act within the confines of the stereotype attached to their dress.

ticklemepink

Believe me, you'll find plenty of people in the music/theater... they put on quite a number of shows and performances throughout the semester.

I second PRYanks211.

momfromme

I used to live in the area and, at that time, there was a major emphasis on participating in athletics. This is most certainly different from watching athletics or venerating athletes, but in any case, someone who was not interested in sports and athletics was an oddball on campus. At the time, fraternities and sororities dominated the social science, which was also highly oriented toward drinking large quantities of alcohol.

That said, following a horrific car accident involving alcohol (I believe four young women were killed when the inebriated driver -- himself not seriously injuried -- drove into one of the large trees lining the road up to campus), the administration took serious steps to make changes in the role of Greeks and drinking in the campus culture.