My son has recently expressed interest in Colby College as a recruited track and field and cross country middle distance and long distance runner for the fall 2025 season. Looking for general feedback on student life, quality of the food, residence halls and general culture. Basically all of the things! Any feedback is greatly appreciated! We live in Ohio and he is also looking into Denison.(He loves the winter and being outdoors so weather is not a concern.)
This post includes brief, subjective comments on Colby in the context of comments on other liberal arts colleges: Struggling with D21's List. ED & ED2: Amherst, Hamilton, Wellesley, Vassar - #7 by merc81.
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My son goes to Colby and has enjoys it so far. He’s a second year. He’s made good friends on campus. Colby is pretty remote, but I think he’s happy with the on campus social scene and he’s had good dorm experiences. Last year he lived in the newly-constructed pond dorms and they were pretty nice–modern, attractive, and well-located. The food is fine, but from his descriptions nothing special. All-in-all everything has been great for him, including academics which are challenging and very interesting.
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Thanks for the info. Did he also apply to Bates?
Yes, he did, though he preferred Colby to Bates. He has a very good friend at Bates who seems to be happy there, though.
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My D graduated this year, and I would say that socially, there are not a lot of options. Typically there’s one party in the senior apartments each weekend night, which gets pretty crowded. (My daughter was not a fan, although occasionally would drop in). And one Thursday each week is “bar night” where everyone goes to the same (one) bar - other than that, no real bar scene.
Having a car helped, since she and friends would go to Portland or other hiking destinations on some weekends. Even though David Greene has done a great job in investing in and transforming Waterville, there is still a long way to go before the town becomes another Brunswick. (However I personally feel it is nicer/safer than Lewiston.) She lived in Colby’s downtown apartments for 1 1/2 years, and those are really nice.
As I’m sure you know, Colby’s students primarily come from New England, and there’s definitely a white, prep school vibe. My D found her group which was NOT that, but it takes some effort.
Overall, she was happy there because she found a close knit group of friends (who have all moved to Boston - it seems like most of her class has!) She also loved her professors, which overall were great and some of whom she developed a real bond with. And through Colby alums, she found both a summer internship and her current job in her field (although NOT through the school - Colby alums are fiercely loyal and tend to look out for other Colby alums).
Overall, I think Colby under David Greene is headed in the right direction (and we were very impressed on how they handled Covid). The biggest negative to me is the social scene, but that’s likely the case at most LACs in a rural environment.
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My kid graduated during the pandemic. To answer one of your other questions, Bates and Colby were his top two choices. Both places have a lot to recommend them, and the final choice was tough.
He made a lot of friends and was happy with the social life. He was pretty athletic and also into the music scene on campus, so the combo provided access to a lot of different types of people. He was also very excited to go abroad junior year and see new faces, so while kids continue to meet people over the 4 years, it does feel “intimate”. Pros and cons to that, of course.
Excellent academics, excellent career counseling, no complaints about food or housing (although freshman housing wasn’t spectacular imho.)
Colby has become less preppy over the last decade but still is in Maine, rural, and attractive to kids who have some connection to Maine (vacation/camp), its reputation (New England),
are outdoorsy, etc. While some older alums might feel it is almost unrecognizable given the wider range of students it now attracts, it certainly doesn’t look like Colombia or Chicago. It is easily a first cousin of Denison, though. Dynamic president moving it forward and not the place it was decades ago.
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I think Colby and Bates are very similar! My kid is at Bates and we visited all 3 Maine schools. If location is important, look also at Bates and Bowdoin. Bates has a lot of breaks & easy to get to airports (Portland is quick and there is an “approved” ride service back and forth that parents absolutely love). Boston is 2 hours but there are enough buses, and sometimes kids share a van and split the cost. Colby is just further out so harder to get there if you are not from the northeast. We live in California, and many kids this past year from our area applied to Colby, Bates, and other NESCACs and had to decide. There is a tight network around the Maine schools and I think they are all excellent. Professors are great, campuses are pretty, plenty to do, etc. But my daughter felt Colby was just “too far” from Boston. Good luck with the decision!
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I have a 2022 Colby grad. He enjoyed his time there and would say there is something for everyone socially, but being on a team definitely makes things easier. The remote location can be a negative for some, but a positive for others. The profs are exceptional and truly care about the students. We were greeted with such warmth and big hugs from many profs at graduation. My son was able to secure incredible internships and now has a wonderful job. This would not have happened without the help of Colby profs.
We also toured Bates, my son did not apply but has friends who loved it there.
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So wonderful to hear! I agree with the internships - all of the Maine schools have a fantastic CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) recruitment network where alums offer internships and job shadows. It’s so well organized. I believe there are also NESCAC cross-posted job listings, so students can access those as well. Even those these schools are small, you benefit from a much larger network of alums and potential employers.
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My son is a Soph at Colby. Pros: Academics are very rigorous and new athletic facility and performing arts center are amazing. Lots of smart, high achieving kids. Campus is beautiful. President Greene is amazing and a force of nature. Great career center and alumni network, particularly in Boston (where we are from) and NYC, don’t know about midwest. Cons: Housing is not great, although my son lucked out and got placed in new Johnson Pond dorms both years. Social life, there’s not much to do. As an athlete you will be super busy, but my son does often get bored there and closest action is in Portland an hour away. My son is not a big partier, but part of the reason is the only place to have them is in dorms or upper classman apartments. No fraternities or college bars to speak of, so lots of kids crammed into small rooms. Food is meh.
Town of Waterville is not the best, but getting better. Colby has invested a ton of $ in helping redevelop the downtown. Some decent restaurants and small businesses.
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Agree - and I think the same is true for a lot of the liberal arts colleges – limited number of things to do at night. At Bates, there are 2 hangouts/bars a couple of blocks from campus, and the Den (bar/grill on campus) is just starting night hours again (it was closed for a while for renovations to the building). I think more things happen in spring/fall due to the better weather (backyard parties, etc). But winter months can be quiet. So it seems like students really need to decide how much city life/entertainment they need on weekends, or whether just hanging out with friends on campus is enough fun in itself!
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I think this is key. My son graduated from Colby in May and loved it. But he was always skiing or biking or rock climbing. He lived in a senior apartment and they seemed to always have a party going. I could see how some kids could find it repetitive socially. I guess the tough part is figuring out if that works for you before you attend. Some kids do find these schools too small and too remote.
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Thanks for the info! I am disappointed to hear about the food. 
I would think a school like Colby would be able to offer decent food. My friend’s son goes to Bowdoin and he raves about the food there!
My kid was fine with Colby’s food, but that was a few years ago. At one point, they had the same food service as Bowdoin, so the complaints were curious to me. Then again, he wasn’t excited about lobster when it was served for some occasion. Maybe it was a step up from my cooking? Brownies at Bob’s were a hit…
A friend’s D who graduated more recently always ate at the dining hall that had the most vegetarian options (Foss?) and said it was very good.
I think it’s common for kids to complain about food – it can be excellent quality but not to their taste or they may choose the same things every day and it may become repetitive. (I can’t eat the same thing from my favorite takeout every day!)
Not saying it may not be meh – always a possibility! – but it’s easy to tire of even excellent options.
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My son attended a summer program at Colby and liked the food. They even had lobster mac and cheese.
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By meh, I meant nothing special. I think it is hit or miss, there are some dishes he likes, although he did get a bout of food poisoning from a burger! Part of it is him, he is an adventurous eater and loves sushi and lots of different types of cuisines. There is a great greek restaurant in town (Opa) and a good Indian spot he and his girlfriend go to from time to time. Overall, he loves the school and the people, I just wanted to present a balanced view based on what he has told us.
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Just in case it wasn’t clear, my son really enjoys Colby, just pointing out some of the pros/cons from what he has told us and he hasn’t found the dorm parties all that fun. He loves skiing, but seems to always have too much work to go, but he has managed to go once of twice! The campus has lots of beautiful hikes all around. It’s a shame it isn’t adjacent to town, I think it would create more to do. They run shuttles pretty frequently, but as you know but that is less convenient that a walking from campus. I went to a similar rural liberal arts school (Gettysburg) and comparing the two, there was just alot more to do between greek life and being able to walk into downtown, which had alot to offer thanks to 3 million annual tourists…
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Fun Fact: Colby is the only NESCAC to have moved campuses*. It was originally located downtown, but became landlocked within a narrow strip of land between the Kennebec river and an expanding railroad system by the early 20th century. The college welcomed its last remaining downtown students to a brand new campus in 1951.
EDIT: *in the modern era.
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Thanks for the feedback! My son is currently in the process of contacting NESCAC coaches for track and cross country to start the potential recruitment process. I have absolutely no idea what will happen but he just requested an early read to see if he has a chance and if the coaches respond yes, we will be visiting some of these schools in March traveling from Ohio:) it is exciting! But academically, he wouldn’t probably have a chance of getting in (he knows this) and is relying on the recruiting process so I don’t know what to expect. Trying to remain level headed for sure as these are reach schools.
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