Colby College Top Questions

you can't venture off campus. most kids travel abroad because its the only way to leave campus safely. There are no fraternities, it feels like the activities planned are artificial and stilted.

Everyone loves Colby-Bowdoin sporting events. Sports teams tend to be the loudest groups on campus, but the outing club and the Colby Volunteer Center are certainly the largest.

Drinking is a big part of the social scene, which I did enjoy. Colby has its own drinking game called beer die which has extensive rules. Every student and alum has a "beer die name" which is usually pretty raunchy but also a rite of passage. I would say about a third of the students are chem free which everyone respects. There are plenty of activities and clubs which have events on the weekends. The outing club is the oldest in the country and has been copied by many other schools. They have their own cabin which students can sign up to use. Colby also has a lake house about 15 minutes which is great for swimming. It also features a full wood shop and blacksmithing studio. Classes on woodworking and blacksmithing are given during the winter months. There are so many varied opportunities at Colby for such a small school. There is even a woodsmen team which competes nationally.

social life is vibrant, to say the least. you will never have a weekend at colby where you cannot find a party, and there is no grade or social discrimination when it comes to admission to such events. rarely will you have to pay for a drink (the benefits of going to school with kids who never knew money to be an object), and loud music and dancing is always provided. similarly, there are larger, school-sponsored seasonal events such as "formals" and gatherings that are offered and widely attended. overall, parties here are a lot of fun and always provide horrific (yet amusing, so long as you are not the subject of them) stories to tell and re-tell throughout the coming week. the disclaimer is, however, that colby social life is not all that friendly towards non-drinkers. if you are straight edge, this is not the school for you. of course, there are exceptions, and there is certainly a chem-free portion of the student body, but generally students who do not participate in weekend endeavors involving intoxication find social life here to be one-sided and barren of alternatives. in the same vein, kids here drink to an alarming extent, but that is not a trait specific to this school and is rather an unfortunate phenomenon paralleled at all colleges and universities throughout the country.

always several things available to do

Now this is one thing positive I can vouch for Colby. Programs such as Colby Cares About Kids which is where students help Waterville children through a mentoring program is one of the most impressive things Colby has going for it. Also various club sports and activities such as BMR (Broadway Musical Review) are a nice addition to an otherwise not so great atmosphere. Colby says that there is 21 and over alcohol policy but if you don't drink your social scene is pretty stagnant. Most kids who drink heavily are projected as being cool and most of the conversation of underclassman revolves around drinking and how hammered they got last night.

Lame.

Acappela groups are the most popular - both in terms of events and participation. Unfortunately, athletics don't seem to garner as much student support/turnout. Dating scene is pretty slim. The campus is too small - everyone is someone's best bud or the other... too many complications! If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm either running regressions or writing up proofs...or filling out Colby surveys... Traditions - COOT, Mr.Colby, Doghead, Champagne on the Steps, Bassett and Boylan Halloween Readings, etc. We don't have frats - thank god! Last weekend - I acted in a Theater dept. play, attended an island themed semi-formal, worked on my honors thesis, rehearsed a bulgarian folk dance piece for Colby Dancers, took a trip into downtown Waterville...and of course, gorged on waffles over brunch in Foss.

I'm involved in performing arts, and I feel like we're pretty popular. The departments may be small, but we have a ton of students interested in seeing our shows. The problem I have with the theatre department is that they always pick shows with small casts and don't seem to care about giving more people a chance.

I wouldn't say any group at Colby is considered popular. The football team is a big group, but not necessarily popular, and some of the other teams are the same way. The Outing Club is huge, and they organize trips all the time for you to participate in, like hiking, or skiing. The Outing Club will also rent out equipment to the members for no charge, so you can rent skies or hiking gear. I see this more is smaller dorm, but many students in the dorms leave their door open. Some athletic events are more popular than others, but like games like the Colby-Bowdin hockey game, everyone on campus goes to that. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I would probably be either studying or just hanging out with friends, not that many people drink during the week, but if you really wanted to, you could probably find a party every night. Every year, for St. Patty Day, Colby has DogHead. This is where everyone on campus wakes up at like 2 am on Saturday morning, and starting drinking, most likely green beer. We then all go to the same dinning hall drunk. Your supposed to then drink for 24 hours, but not everyone is able to pull that off. Last Saturday was DogHead, and I woke up to drink, went to a few parties on campus, then went off campus to another party, came back and went to breakfast, and then passed out for a few hours. I didn't end up drinking Saturday night because I went skiing on Sunday, and I wanted to be well rested for that.