Colgate University Top Questions

For the most part. The campus is basically a bunch of white rich kids from the Northeast who wear expensive clothes they bought with mommy and daddy's money. Fortunately, some people overcome the need to have excessive hubris and return to earth after a few months of school. It doesn't matter what kind of student you are, you will get your ass kicked on a paper or exam eventually. Positions on the Colgate faculty are extremely competitive and most professors radiate an extreme passion in what they study. Colgate students work hard, some harder than others (particularly science majors). An education from Colgate is not a joke and employers know the level of competence this degree ensures. Dating is rare, but everyone hooks-up. The university has bought the frat houses and is trying to demolish the greek system. There are about 3 bars downtown and a pizza place everyone goes to on the weekends which can get monotonous. Fortunately, there are still plenty of parties at the townhouses, upperclassman apartments and frat houses. The town is small, but quaint and there is an adorable farmer's market on Saturday and Sunday mornings where you can run into your professors walking their dogs or selling windchimes. It's not uncommon to be diagnosed as an alcoholic if you're a student here. I think the winters suck, but if you're a person who enjoys winter sports such as skiing, sledding, ice skating etc. and can also put up with -20* windchill then you may like it. The school is on a hill so be prepared to climb anywhere you go around campus.

Sort of. The majority of students do come from very wealthy families in the northeast. Most students don't work that hard, though. There are some kids as well who come from different backgrounds, but they are definitely in the minority.

Yes they are correct. Colgate tries to promote itself as diverse, but its really not very diverse. It is a great place to be however. Some students want a lot of diverstiy but diverstiy can come in other ways then geographic location or ethnicity.

While some students may fit these stereotypes, they do not account for the entire student body.

To a moderate degree, yes. The majority of students at Colgate are preppy and come from families that can afford to pay their tuition. There is also a large partying and drinking scene. But Colgate is getting less and less conservative. Students are interested in green initiatives like the Green Bikes program and the Energy Olympics, which encourages people to cut back on their energy use. Also, I know far more Democrats that Republicans.

Somewhat - About 60-70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Colgate students are wealthy, but they usually don't flaunt it. Most Colgate students do work really hard at their academics and then party on the weekends. A significant portion of Colgate's campus drinks regularly, but you don't have to drink to have an enjoyable experience here. And no, frat parties are not the only source of social life, although they do have a strong presence on campus.

There is a huge diversity in the personality of the Colgate student, so I would not say that we are all preppy. In terms of work hard - party hard, we do know how to have fun, but it is always well deserved.

As far as i can tell, it seems like both of these things are pretty true; we have great parties and everyone is really laid back

Yes

Yes, they mostly are. We have a small representation of minorities on campus, but not much although Colgate claims to support diversity. The party school thing is semi-accurate. Colgate students party a lot, but they do not have the endurance. Most parties end by like 1 or 2 am. Also, there are basically two extremes at Colgate: those who party a lot and those who don't at all.