Colby College Top Questions

The best thing about Colby is the PROFESSORS! I tell this to all of my tours, and I never have to exaggerate even the slightest amount when I talk about how wonderful the teachers are at Colby. They don't just see their students as grades in a grade book - we're real people to them, and it is not at all uncommon for a professor to attend students' concerts and games or invite the majors in their department over for dinner. Most Colby students take all of this attention for granted until senior year, when they (like I did!) realize that the support and connections of their professors are absolutely essential when applying to grad schools or looking for jobs. If I could change one thing about Colby, I would move it four hours closer to New Jersey. I hate the long drive home! But most of the time I am glad that I have an excuse to stay on campus for shorter breaks and long weekends. Colby is just the right size. It is rare that you will ever be in a situation where you don't recognize anyone, but you meet new people everyday. Anyone who is actually familiar with Colby (which most well-educated people living on the East Coast are) is very impressed when I tell them I am a student here. Otherwise, the usual reaction is, "Colby - where's that? Why on earth would you want to go to school somewhere so cold?" I spend most of my time on campus in the library or a dorm room - my own or one of my friends' rooms. Waterville actually has a nice little downtown area with restaurants and shops, but it's still pretty dead at night. Luckily, our student programming board has something planned practically every night of the week, and the new pub is FANTASTIC - great for a relaxed evening of drinking, if you're legal.

I like Colby's size a lot because I like the idea of knowing almost everyone in my class. Some people might find the small size suffocating, but I'm halfway through my sophomore year and am still meeting new people.

I like the friendly atmosphere, how kids here work hard and party hard. Waterville is not a great college town but the town-gown relationship is improving along with the revitalization of the downtown area.

The best thing about Colby is that it is a small liberal arts college, but has strong mathematics and natural sciences departments. Also, while there are bound to be clicks and groups at any school, there seems to be a great community where anyone can get along with anyone else. The town is nothing to brag about.

The best thing about Colby are the people here. I feel that this school tends to attract people who are genuinely nice, open-minded, and receptive - and it makes for a strong community and learning environment both inside and outside of the classroom. I feel that, for most purposes, the school's size is just right. Almost every class I've taken here has been under 20 people, with the exception of two introduction lecture classes. The student body is small enough that you get a sense of knowing, or at least recognizing, almost everybody on campus - but still big enough that you're being introduced to or discovering new people throughout the year. When I tell people at home (Connecticut) I go to Colby, they have no idea what I'm talking about. I've started just saying "I go to college in Maine" because that's what the conversation always boils down to anyway. It's frustrating that for such a competitive school, it's so unheard of by most people south of Massachusetts. The town of Waterville doesn't have a ton to offer students beyond the movie theaters and restaurants. The local music scene is non-existent (beyond Colby events). We have a Wal-Mart and a Starbucks that students frequent, and some nicer restaurants down on Main Street for couples going out on dates, but there's really no incentive for students to go into town unless they're volunteering at a school, going out to dinner, or buying something. Our sense of school pride doesn't necessarily stem from athletics or reputation like other schools', but I definitely think there is a sense of pride in our community. There's this sense of closeness as a group of kids out in the woods in Maine that I don't think people at other schools necessarily get. If you see a Colby sticker on a car on the highway, you honk and wave ecstatically. It's exciting since the experience is so rare, and it's like you're both in on a secret.

The best thing about Colby is that everyone wants to be here, and everyone loves the school. Thats why I came, I knew no one was sure if they would like the college they decided to go to, but if I chose a school where everyone I talked to loved it, I had a fairly good chance of loving it as well. I would try to improve the schedule of activities so I could participate in more. The school feels small at times, but I have a very close group of friends, and I still havent met everyone in my grade. I meet a few new people every day. I traveled to Ecuador last January, I was wearing my Colby sweatshirt and walking down the street, and a gentlemen yelled out to me "Yeah Colby College!" I have gotten similar reactions in my home town, and several other parts of the country. Colby is everywhere, and the alumni are very proud. Overall our reputation is something to hold our head high about. I cant even begin to try to figure out where my time on campus is spent. Everywhere? We have a college town, its small, and closes up early. The advantage is we dont need to leave campus, but we can, and we have bowling, movies, bars, and great food a few minutes off campus. Colby administration works hard, they hold the students hands a little too much. They do struggle with realizing that we are adults. We had a small incident in one of our dorms recently with a racial slur being written on the white boards. The student was caught, and the school had meetings and sessions to discuss the matter and resolve the issues caused. There is an enormous amount of school pride. One of the most attractive qualities about Colby is how proud the students are.

The best thing about Colby is the wide array of people with whom you can meet and be friendly, without feeling like you are crossing any awkward borders. Everyone is so smart and friendly that you will find yourself having an incredibly intellectual arguments/discussions with your group or friends over lunch. If I could change anything, it would be to have more housing on campus and have more suit-style living available. The size is just right for me - bigger campus so I can spread out or be alone when necessary, but small enough that I know people really well. "What College town?" Colby's administration could be a little more willing to give student leaders more power and freedom. There is tons of school pride. Colby, unlike Bates and Bowdoin, used to have fraternities and is thus socially a little still as if there are frats. But no one seems to get excluded. If you are willing to put yourself out there, you will find friends.