rachmt17

To current students, what are your favorite an least favorite things about Colgate?

rachmt17

anyone who goes to W&L? anyone?

rachmt17

Wow, I'm so sorry. I meant Colgate!! Any ideas from anyone who goes to Colgate?

ticklemepink

I just graduated last year.

To be honest, the campus literature pretty much highlights everything that Colgate students LOVE about Colgate- the beauty of campus, a small community where students and profs actually work and cooperate with each other, strong academics, good times with friends, etc.

Some things that students don't like about Colgate: ruralness of Hamilton (if you're from the big city or lived in the suburbs all your life), too much drinking (for some), tough course registration process (because many, many classes are capped at 35), preppiness of the campus (although that's declining a bit), and for the girls, the lack of a relationship scene (it's basically a hook up school)

If you ever have a chance, check out Campus *******'s book on Colgate. It's fairly accurate!

lydia08

I liked the rural feel, while I was there - there's more than enough to do on campus that it was nice and peaceful. But that's more of a personal preference. If you absolutely MUST shop every day... probably not the best place. But it's not terrifyingly boring, like it might sound from the description of the locale, most of the time people are incredibly busy.

I never had much of a problem with class registration - from what I could tell, it's usually better than a lot of other schools (you don't have to run all over campus signing up, or sign up for 8 classes at the start, go to all of them, then figure out which to take, and for popular departments, majors get first choice), though it's certainly quite annoying when you're a first-year at the end of the registration list, of course.

In my experience, the dating scene can vary by your group - I can think of 5 long-term Colgate couples that I'm friends with off the top of my head (who are still dating a year or two after graduation!) plus two or three more still at Colgate, so it's certainly not impossible, but it might be hard to find. The "main" scene is definitely hook-ups, but if that's not for you, it's not a huge deal. Like with drinking, there doesn't seem to be much, if any, peer pressure. If you're not into hooking up or getting trashed, it's not a big deal.

My least favorite thing is that it's FAR from my hometown (Seattle). It's actually faster to get from Seattle to Japan than to Colgate's campus! It's worth it when you get there though.

ticklemepink

^^ The hook-up scene isn't a huge deal??? Then how were you supposed to find a decent guy who's willing to take a little time to have a girlfriend when so many are interested in their own lives and just hooking up at the Jug? Those who actually had relationships and lasted more than 3 months were serious and rare (very rare) gems. So for a girl who's interested in having a doting boyfriend, honestly, don't expect to find one. It may not be pressuring to have relationships or hook ups among general Colgate students but for someone who does want a relationship, it is a huge deal personally.

lydia08

*shrug* this was just my experience. in my group of friends there were many long term relationships and very little hooking up at all, so it definitely seems possible to me, though it's certainly not the norm campus-wide (it seems to be an activity that is not evenly distributed among students...). it really does depend a lot on your group of friends and what you're looking for, so for many people it may be very difficult, if not impossible, to find steady relationships (which is no reflection whatsoever on their "datability," just bad circumstances). in that case, you're very right that the hook-up culture is a big deal, in that it impacts you considerably. (what i meant when i said "not a big deal" was if you're not into hooking up, no one forces you to - you can choose to behave however you feel comfortable in those situations at the jug.)

the thing about colgate is that people's experiences can vary so widely that it's incredibly difficult to answer when someone asks what the "typical" colgate experience is. i've never been to the jug, in a greek house, or randomly hooked up with anyone (all "typical" colgate activities) and i dated (and am still dating) the same person since the fall of my first year. after thinking about it, i figured out that out of my friends/acquaintances from colgate (mostly '07s and '08s), there are 7 more long-term couples (two now married/engaged), plus 3 more couples i know that are still at colgate. so while it may be very hard to find, it's certainly there IF you end up around people you like that also looking for that sort of thing.