Colgate University Top Questions

Professors really do become your mentors at Colgate. They are passionate and genuinely interested and engaged in your learning experience. I've had dinner with at least five different professors here. There are tons of research opportunities and personal guidance too; I love the faculty at Colgate! Warning: students seem exceptionally apathetic, especially for the first year at Colgate. But there are many gems in the student body if you look closely-- people worth meeting, and who you will meet while being isolated up in Hamilton, NY. Most students become empathetic and intellectual by junior year because the education is so geared toward learning for its own sake. Colgate students are encouraged to "live a life worth living and to create a world worth living in." I really like the CORE curriculum at Colgate too, and the distribution requirements really allow students to find their niche.

Academics at Colgate are tough and unlike many other colleges you have to work very hard to get a good grade. This is good in the long run as it prepares you for the future.

Class participation is usually necessary. Except for science classes, usually the class participation, a final exam and lots of papers contribute to your grade. Colgate is geared toward learning for its own sake - it's liberal arts. Students are competitive with themselves, but not with classmates. Group work and study teams are common. Professors are always willing to have extra time to help out difficult matters. Tons of help!

Even in Into to Psych, the largest lecture at Colgate, the professors knew my name. Professors truly care about their students and want us to do well. Students want to see each other do well, too. Colgate is definitely a school of overachievers, but students aren't competitive. We all want to see each other do well. Study groups are very common, and the library offers many rooms for study groups to meet (and all of these rooms are PACKED around finals time!)

Most classes are on the smaller size of around twenty students. Professors will know your name and even in my 70 person lecture hall, my professor knew my name. My least favorite classes are those that are under the CORE curriculum that all students must take (Western Traditions and Challenges of Modernity). These courses completely depend upon what professor teaches them so that's frustrating. Class participation is counted in final grades for the majority of the classes offered. Economics is a very difficult major at Colgate as it probably is at all other schools. Professors work around with final grades for the class being averaged at a B-. Tests are made to be very difficult so that they are curved in the end. The nice thing about going to a small school is that it is normal for professors to take their students out to the clubhouse or the Colgate Inn or Merrill house or even their own house for dinner.

Professors are great. Most seem to be genuinely interested in teaching as well as research. Your experience with Colgate's Core Curriculum will depend on the professors you have, but if you get some of the great ones it will be unforgettable. Some departments are much stronger than others. Philosophy, Economics, Political Science, Mathematics and Geology are some that come to mind as the strongest.

Academically, Colgate is very intimate. All the professors know your name, except in the few big lecture classes. Most genuinely want to help you learn and make themselves available for office hours. Many of my professors have hosted their classes to their house for a meal or dessert. We take academics fairly seriously and most days you can find half the campus in the library, studying and socializing with friends.

The academics are rigorous at Colgate, that might eve be an understatement. As it was named one of the 'new ivies' it is clear that the academics are going to stick to that title. However, the tough academics do not mean it is impossible. The professors at Colgate make a strong effort to know all of their students names and keep office hours regularly to make sure that students do well in their classes. It is also nice that classes do not exceed 30-45 people and every class is taught by a professor rather than a T.A.

They know our names usually. Cross-cultural human development -- the View meets a UN think tank. Sweet. Least favorite? Lots of people have different opinions about which intro class sucks the most--take a couple and find out yourself. Intellectual students have intellectual conversations outside of class, and they're usually really interesting. Then again I just heard someone say "Are you trying to out-bro me, bro?" on the quad, so there's always the other side. Some students talk to professors outside of class; they are community members, etc.

Academics are pretty hard with the exception of SOAN and Women's Studies- hence why you'll see so many athletes in SOAN. Students study pretty frequently, as most are pretty academically driven. Class participation depends on the class and the student group you end up with. Intellectual discussions outside class are not rare, but aren't common either. Within the Art History department, there are some amazing professors and some really cool ones. I loved my Renaissance Architecture course taught by Guile (amazing prof). I generally like the academic requirements here because they give a good breadth. Depending on what you study, you learn for the sake of learning or learn towards a career. There is a very strong push towards internships etc here.