<p>I noticed this on CC home page and decided to watch it. I have no affiliation/connection to Colby but I would suggest it to parents and kids before their freshman year. It’s really informative, honest and quite disturbing/depressing. It might be especially important for shy/introverted kids to see.<br>
[Colby</a> Life - The Documentary - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG4F430NUAE]Colby”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG4F430NUAE)</p>
<p>I also thought it was a very interesting documentary and worth the time to watch, especially for kids heading off to the ‘smaller’ size campuses.</p>
<p>This video popped up on a thread about Bowdoin life for some reason. I watched it, and honestly couldn’t get through the first 10 minutes. I think it’s fine to have an honest discussion with your kid before they ship off about realistic expectations around the next four years. Remind them that, like all of life’s major transitions, it’s probably going take them a while to find their footing. Remind them that college is rarely like they portray it in the movies, and if they use those images and stories as a barometer for college social life they’re likely to be pretty let down. Remind them to be open…to new relationships, experiences and challenges. Remind them that college is one of those great and rare life “restarts”…and to take advantage of that! I wouldn’t recommend this video to any young person who is heading out to college in the fall.</p>
<p>Interesting, thanks for posting the link. The observations probably apply to most small colleges and the college experience overall. As an introvert and parent of one introvert and one extrovert, I enjoyed that part of the film and discussion. Also the seniors’ advice looking back. </p>
<p>That said, I’ve just decided Colby is not a good choice for my introvert…:)</p>
<p>Colby is no different than dozens, if not hundreds, LACs out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. The slightly anti-intellectual conformist party scene of Colby exists in many LACs I’ve seen. And it’s the prime example of a school-you-grow-out-of, as opposed to the big research university, public or private, that kids grow into.</p>
<p>I don’t think that is true, katliamom. There are different schools for different people. Many people from small LAC grow and go on to bigger and better things. There is no need to be dismissive about other people’s choices. I had one kid go to a small LAC and another went to a large public university. My intellectual non conformist from an LAC is an amazing individual ( and so is her sister).</p>
<p>I’m sorry if I came across as dismissive, that wasn’t the intent, and I certainly don’t believe that ALL LACs are “slightly anti intellectual and conformist.” I think, for example, that Amherst, Williams, Claremont McKenna colleges – all small, all highly intellectual – offer a superb undergraduate experience. </p>
<p>Nor did I say - or even imply – that kids at LAC can’t grow and go onto bigger and better things. In fact, I said the opposite: that many kids OUTGROW their LAC long before they graduate. These schools are often small, insular and out-in-the-middle of nowhere. Many observers believe that one reason so many kids in LACs do semester/year abroad is because they get bored on campus. </p>
<p>A friend of mine is a long term-professor at Colby. He says the school actually has a problem with seniors (especially those who did a program abroad.) By their fourth year, they are simply ready to leave, they’ve been to and done just about everything you can in that small environment. He also says, there’s a pervasive culture of partying and hooking up at these schools because in the winter, at Colby, there’s precious little else TO do! (That was also the observation of a professor friend of mine who teaches at Trinity College.) Certainly the kids in this video talked about that too.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that there were just a handful of students interviewed for the “documentary”. Everyone has a different college experience - it’s what you make of it and how you decide to spend your time. If other students were interviewed I’m sure there would be a different tone to it. Just some perspective…</p>
<p>Of the Maine trinity–Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby–the latter is the school I would least recommend for the intellectual kid. It is a good school, with intelligent students. But not known for fostering intellectualism.</p>
<p>It also strikes me that some students need to grow INTO college, period, and some have a hard time doing that. This is true of all colleges and universities. For some, being at a LAC facilitates this, especially if it is the right LAC for them. (And I strongly doubt that a highly introverted person is not going to find it any easier to walk into the dining room at a school with 15,000 students.)</p>
<p>allaboutbooks: just curious, why the quotes around documentary? I wonder if you are not aware that documentary film by nature takes a point of view. The filmmaker is under no obligation to air all sides or interview a set number of people. Documentary and “news reporting” are two different entities.</p>
<p>I havent watched it, but IMO a small school where everyone knows everyone could be tougher for a while for introverts because there are certain social niceties that are expected when you see the same people very day.
At a large school it is much easier to acclimate at your own pace.</p>