Finally getting around to a write-up of our Colorado College (SAME/UP) admitted students day last weekend. D24 was accepted ED1 back in December, so we were unsure whether to even attend this event on Sunday. We are glad we did. ETA this is a long write-up. When researching Colorado College, I didn’t find much on this site. I’ve included all our impressions intentionally.
We arrived on the Friday evening in order to have a little extra time to explore Colorado Springs, which we were unable to do when we first visited last June. D24 had met a few admitted and committed students on the CC instagram page, and made plans to get together on Saturday with one new friend/potential roommate. They spent much of the day together, breakfast, exploring the city, thrifting, etc. and decided to commit to being roommates, D24 was happy to make such a close connection before the admitted students day even began. We were also happy to see many options for students in the downtown area of COS, within walking distance of campus there are numerous restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. Much younger vibe and hipper than I had pictured in my mind, and a pleasant surprise for my liberal LGBTQ kid. She felt safe and welcome.
Now on to the event itself. Check-in was at 8-9 am, students received schedule of events and some fun swag. I’d estimate less than 25% of students attending were already committed, and there were about 380 people in attendance, including parents. Brief speeches by the dean of admissions, the interim president, very welcoming and even inspiring to hear their individual stories. A resource panel and Q and A followed, with reps from res life, mental health services, overall health and wellness, public safety, advising, etc. Audience could scan a QR code to submit questions to panel. Very informative, I came away with the sense that the college takes excellent care of students and prioritizes well-being.
The next part of the day featured dorm tours and department open houses, select professors were available in their respective departments to answer questions and chat with students. D24 wants to major in geology, but also curious about the Business, Economics and Society major. Geology department not present so she went to BES and chatted a bit there. We also toured one of the first-year dorms, which was in good condition, clean and updated, nothing fancy but nothing that gave us pause. Any of the three freshman dorms would be fine with her. We then walked over to the new hockey arena where there was a taco bar lunch, the facility is pretty impressive and lunch also surprisingly good.
Next there were open houses for arts, outdoor program and something else I’m forgetting. We attended the outdoor/sustainability session. CC is obviously known for its robust outdoor program given the location, and in the session held at the gear house, we heard about not only about outdoor offerings, but also sustainability initiatives (CC was the 8th institution in the US to achieve carbon neutrality and they take sustainability seriously). Gear rental for students is inexpensive, multiple outdoor trips happen most weekends and during block breaks, there are no barriers to entry even for students with no experience. All programs are student-led and there are leader trainings held regularly.
D24 hung out with students she met for the next hour or two, while I wandered around campus on a fabulous, warm, blue-skies day. The campus is beautiful and well-cared for, with a mix of historic old buildings and new modern ones. They are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, and there’s certainly a lot of pride evident for the college’s unique history, offerings and location in the Rocky Mountain West. Later, we met up again in another theater for a student panel and Q and A. This was the session that impressed me the most, the students on the panel were smart, diverse in all ways and had really made the most of their 4 years at CC. Won’t go into details as this is becoming a book, but were as well-spoken, accomplished, passionate and interesting as any students I’ve heard from from any of the colleges we’ve visited over the years of touring colleges.
Finally, D24 attended a mock physics class while I went to a presentation and Q and A given by a biochemistry professor. The prof explained how she structures her classes during the block plan, giving examples for chemistry 1 and 2 as well as a 300-level class. Parents had great questions and she answered candidly and thoroughly.
It was a full and exhausting day! D24 came away thrilled that she made the choice to ED (she decided to do so without nearly as much info as she has now) and thrilled to be attending what feels like a pretty remarkable place. She loves the block plan, is looking forward to all the academic and extracurricular opportunities, and thinks she will find her people; we can see her really thriving at CC.