oldfort

Two years ago we were at Tufts on April 20th for the admitted student day. As the tour group went by their library green roof top, there were a large group of students (maybe faculty too) celebrating the special day. Are we all going to conclude it is something large group of students do everyday? No. Next Fri is going to be Cornell's Slope day to celebrate last day of school. Will there be some inappropriate behavior? Probably. It is no different than every college in the US.

As much as I loved my experience at Colgate, LAC is not a place for diversity in general. It is a pro to some people and con to others. Each LAC has it's own "personality." Oberlin is very different than Colgate. It doesn't make one better than another, it is a matter of fit. If diversity is important to you, then you should be looking at large research universities.

lydia08

HonestDescendent, I understand you had a bad experience visiting campus, but both Ticklemepink and I actually attended Colgate and are speaking from our experiences. It's unfortunate that you ran into that particular group, but it's far more common to see students yell "come to Colgate!" at passing tours. It's also the end of the semester when students have projects, papers, exams, etc. due the next week and SPW is a way to blow off steam and frustration - it's a lot of stress this time of year. It can be hard to remember why you voluntarily paid money to be at a school when you're up at 4 am finishing a huge term paper, and that's what Colgate kids will be doing this coming week.

I personally never liked SPW and never participated, but loved my time at Colgate. It's 3/4 days out of 8 months when students are on campus - it is FAR from normal. It's like visiting Times Square in NYC on New Year's Eve and deciding not to visit NYC ever again because it's always too crowded.

ticklemepink

Agreed. I'm okay with SPW since Colgate IS a difficult school academically and it's 3-4 days where the administration and campus safety lax their rules for partying. It's a time-honored Colgate tradition. I do know several students who actually escape SPW- some to avoid all the drunk and others just were up in their necks with work due too soon.

There are other schools that have more out-of-control student bodies, especially at larger universities, especially with big-time sports. So I think Colgate is actually tame in comparison.

You may be paying for education, but you need to stop thinking like an adult every now and then and try to see the school from a teenager's perspective. It's all about independence and making own decisions and opportunities to make stupid mistakes of your life.

Give the kids at Colgate and other places a break this weekend and next week. There WAS a reason why Colgate scheduled their prospective visits in the first two weeks of April.

morrismm

I get the impression, HonestDescendent, that this is your first kid going to college. Obviously, I may be wrong. But a few things you said struck me.

You said "there are a lot of cliques and a limited number of social activities." That is just not true! There are sports clubs, dance groups, a cappella groups, CUTV, theater groups, etc., etc.

You also said "Living in an isolated village setting with an apparent scarcity of activities seems to be a significant problem including boredom and alcohol consumption." What???
Alcohol consumption is a factor on every college campus except strict religious schools. An MIT student died from alcohol poisoning a few years ago. My nephew, a NYU grad, talks about the excessive drinking. Boston and NYC schools! Kinda debunks the isolated village theory.

I do not understand why people think you have to be in a city to get a great college experience. The colleges themselves provide the experiences and opportunities. In the last year at Colgate you could have seen the Dalai Lama or Colin Powell and Tony Blair is coming. My S was in an a cappella group at Colgate. They sang at the Boston Red Sox, US Open Tennis, NY Giants, Washinton Redskins, LA Lakers games. They sang the Stars Spangled Banner at the opening. They also sang at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizonia and did numerous other concerts for alumni events, at hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Too bad he had such isolated village experiences. Have you, or anyone you know, sung in front of 73,000 people??

BTW, I work at a college (not Colgate). Some of the kids find it humorous to yell things to the "obvious" visiting student tour groups. Some shouts are positive and some not so much.

lydia08

I also don't get the complaints about colleges in the middle of nowhere. Cities will always be there. Getting to spend 4 years in a beautiful rural setting with tons of opportunities especially for you and 2800 of your peers while you get a fantastic education and amazing experiences will not. I was never bored. I grew up in a pretty suburban area, went to Colgate for 4 years, and now live in New York City, and I miss Colgate SO much. Gorgeous nature with real trees and plants instead of concrete and garbage bags... sparkling white snow instead of grey slush... peace and quiet instead of car alarms and honking and sirens 24 hours of the day... polite people... everything within walking distance instead of 30+ minutes by crowded train.... people worry that they'll be bored or feel isolated and I never did. We even call it the "Colgate bubble."

I've been back to visit twice and I wish I had more time there. There will always be Broadway shows, the Met and MOMA aren't going anywhere... but I can't ever go back to Colgate...

/emo

mytra_ob_Crazier

wow great discussion.. keep it coming.. .(

ticklemepink

OH right! The SNOW! I'm a big runner and running in the winter with the snow on the ground was one of my favorite moments at Colgate. Here in Ann Arbor, I have to run out of the town about 2-5 miles just to see unspoiled snow.

Lydia08 is absolutely right about the city- cities will always be there. Rural areas not so. Colgate encourages a lot of the students to be aware of development through community service and its study trips. Rural areas are no means isolated. There are vibrant communities within them. You get who you get and you put up with them. Colgate students and faculty treat each other on a very congenial level and develop personal relationships. Everyone treats each other like family. That's one effect of being in the Colgate Bubble.

If you think there are "cliques", only very few exist and they're self-selected from freshman year. Many other groups you saw were mostly formed by student organizations, Greek life, apartment/townhouse community, etc. Colgate' size and community atmosphere makes it so easy for students to float from one group to another. There aren't many groups that have similar roster lists with the exception to Delta Uplison and the football team. Everyone met so many different people that it's really a wonder how you can meet at least 100-200 new people in your first semester. Furthermore, the Student Government Association's Budget Allocation Committee (where groups ask for money) and as well as the administration STRONGLY encourage students to collaborate and host joint events and they have been extremely successful. So a lot of lines are being broken and crossed over. Same goes for faculty and students- they work together on projects as peers. And we love it- we get results!

I, too, wonder if this is your first child as well. My parents were a little surprised by all the campuses we visited (I'm the oldest) but when they did the second college tour with the younger sib, nothing really surprised them.

bucco

Great discussion!! Tickle and Lydia, you raise some wonderful points about the things you can experience in college that you just won't be able to replace in the fast-paced real world. You're right...cities and their experiences will always be there but it's less likely that you'll live is a beautiful small town with 2500+ peers to share the experience. Someone mentioned "everything within walking distance". Is the town of Hamilton within walking distance of campus? We're visiting in the fall and I can't wait to see it!

lydia08

Getting around is really pretty easy. There's a 10 minute passing period between classes, but unless you're trying to get from the Dana art building to the new Ho science building, you don't have to rush. I'd say it's probably a 10 minute walk (depending how deep the snow is!) from campus to the main part of town, where the Colgate Inn, Bookstore, bank, movie theater, restaurants, etc. all are. It's a really cute, charming town. There's an independent grocery store in town and a Grand Union a bit north. There's a campus shuttle that runs from campus to town and out to the grocery store, so you don't have to lug your books up the hill. They're also putting in a Price Chopper a bit further out, apparently. They allow cars all four years (though first-year parking is maybe a 7 minute walk from the top of the hill where first-years live - soooo far when you're at Colgate...) so it's easy to get a ride with friends to shop in town. Once you're a junior or senior, you can park right outside your apartment/house/townhouse.

You may hear current Colgate students whine about how far it is to walk down/up the hill (10 whole minutes!!!), but they just haven't lived in the real world yet. My commute is 30 minutes and I'm lucky! I wish I could roll out of bed 15 minutes before I needed to be at work...

bucco

Lydia - How much snow are we talking about here?

lydia08

Heh... it's pretty snowy, but it's a lot like most schools in the NE. Colgate is far enough south that it misses the reallllly heavy lake effect snow (Oswego, NY got 11 feet, we got 36 inches in the same storm, which is the most Colgate's gotten in quite a while - fun day though, lots of professors couldn't get to campus ). It usually starts snowing around... November, though there may not be snow on the ground consistently until December. It usually lasts through March, though there may be one last hurrah in April (one year during April Visit Days it went from 65 degrees one day to a foot of snow the next (which freaked out all the prospective students), then back to 65 after 3 days...). They're used to it there, so it's handled really well - paths and roads are cleared before classes start, staircases are heated. It's usually in the 30s and it doesn't snow every day in the winter - usually you get some for a couple days and then it's sunny for a while.

I grew up in Seattle where it snows maybe 2 inches on one day each year and people full-on freak out and everything shuts down, so I was worried about it too, but it's GORGEOUS and well managed, so as long as you stick to the paths, it's no big deal. The only reason it would take longer to get to town if there's more snow is that you can't cut across the big grassy areas below campus on the hill on the way to town and have to stick to the roads if it's deeper (it does build up throughout Dec-Feb). You don't really notice it after a while, really, since it's out of your way. Some of the paths on the side of the hill can be a bit slippery, but they have hand rails and as long as you're not wearing high heels, you should be fine. The weather can be a little unpredictable, but that's part of the fun. I really miss REAL snow now (NYC snow sucks).

ticklemepink

Not bad at all. Usually about 8 inches to about 15ish stay on the ground from December to March. Nobody really tries to make a "path" through the snow... I don't know why but I'm glad that they don't. It would just ruin the whole scene. Campus Safety is very careful as well- they'll close any slippery paths to avoid any accidents. I've slid down several times by accident... fun for a moment but not fun at all when you've got your laptop in your bag! And it hurts like hell. So boots with excellent traction are a must. The other thing is the wind. Just KNOW that it's really cold only along the hill when you're walking up/down because of the wind hitting against it. On the top and down on Broad Street to the town, it's relatively quieter and warmer in comparison. So future freshmen, don't sit in your rooms and think "God, it's so freaky cold up here and I don't want to go all the way to the town to get a couple of things..." Go. It'll be much nicer down there.

Just don't expect any snow days unless your professor is driving in from Syracuse. About 90% of professors live within 10 minute drive to campus. I never got a snow day except for one independent study class... but that barely counted.

mytra_ob_Crazier

cool.. iam scared of snow.. literally... i get sick all the time...

1 Sky Pilot

Well, if I decide to go here, that's one less preppy person . Nice to meet ya *shakes hand*.

mytra_ob_Crazier

one less?? ahaha.. cool grammar... yeah