Colgate University Top Questions

Colgate is a small college, in a small town. There's not much to do but get drunk and go to parties. The general consensus is that a party isn't a "cool" party without alcohol, and this upsets me because the drinking environment creates an unhealthy "hookup" environment. As someone who rarely drinks, and probably never would if there were better alternatives, I feel a bit excluded from the fun. I would like to go out and party without watching people get sick and men hump girls that can barely stand. What is more frustrating is that Colgate has some really cool events going on and the attendance rates are just depressing. Provocative speakers, and talented musicians and performers take time out of their hands to enrich our community.

A large part of the social scene is drinking, but if I've found that you don't need to drink to have fun. There are game nights, sponsored by The Game's Afoot!, the Colgate gaming club, that offer nerf battles, Risk, Smash Brothers, Rock Band, and any other game you can think of to play. The movie theater has the latest movies, and there are always concerts and interesting lectures available. You also have the option of joining any number of clubs or recreational sports teams. I'm an Outdoor Education staff member, so I often spend my weekends out skiing, whitewater canoeing, or mountain biking. It's a pretty awesome job, and a great way to get to know people.

Division I athletics are an enormous part of Colgate's extracurricular scene, but the school offers something for everyone. We have a strong arts program on campus, encompassing studio arts, music, and theater. There are political groups, cultural groups, and media communications groups. Room selection will almost certainly place you with others from similar extracurricular interests. In terms of social life, as I've addressed, this is a party-oriented campus, but not everyone parties or drinks. For those who do, we have six fraternities, three bars, and a downtown club-like place called the Jug. For those who don't, we have the Take Two movie series, as well as various student performances (e.g. a capella groups). There's something for everyone.

You think you are involved now...I don't know one Colgate student who isn't the President of Club X and leader in Activity Y. We are all involved and active on campus and that is why we love it so much. Running from one meeting to the next, studying with friends, hanging out between classes, we find time for it all.

Colgate is a fairly large drinking school, which is probably understandable considering its location and its proximity to any major city.. or lack thereof. For the most part, a good number of students party pretty much on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with much smaller days being tuesday and then the almost non-existent sunday night. But there's still plenty to do on Campus that doesn't involve alcohol, there's a number of groups and clubs like the Game's Afoot which has tons of gaming nights throughout the year, movies every friday and saturday night, dance parties and other events. There's also really no pressure to drink if you don't want to from what i've seen, people here seem pretty chill about the whole thing and generally tend to follow a "more for me" attitude if you decide not to. The one thing i do have to say though is, if you're looking for a dating relationship, Colgate is DEFINITELY not the place for you. Colgate's dating scene, although there have been several attempts made this past year to "bring back the date" is virtually non-existent. The main thing is for people to go to the Jug in town at night and come back with random hook-ups for the day.

There is not much to do at Colgate for a social life besides going to the Frats and the Jug( a bar). There are plenty of activities though and events. We also have a really good outdoor Ed. program. I went caving last semester and to D.C. for a rally and Colgate paid for it all.

Everyone plays squash... Actually, quite a few do but a lot of the campus is a varsity athlete and if not then they play a club sport or intramurals are popular. Groups like Breat Cancer awareness, WeFunk, SGAC are very popular. I am apart of the club tennis and ice hockey team. Both are very relaxed, low stress teams. It was a big shock coming from competitive varsity sports to club. Most everyone I know leaves their doors unlocked or open. Colgate feels very safe and is very welcoming, rarely does anyone knock. Athletic events are not well attended but you can always find someone to go with. Guest speakers are spotty, it depends on how well they are advertised. Dating scene is there but Colgate is mostly a hook-up school. Sometimes there are one-night stands sometimes they are repetative, but dating is rare. I met my closest friend on the pre-orientation outdoor adventure that Colgate provides. My other friends are my roommates and who they are friends with through class and clubs. If it were 2am on a Tuesday, you are either sleeping, watching a movie with friends, just leaving the library (it closes at 2) or in the 24 study room. Frats and sororities are a major presence on campus. Frat parties are very popular and rushing a sorority is a big deal sophomore year. Last weekend was Spring Party Weekend. It's a series of bands, parties, BBQs, events and competition that spans the entire weekend. Lots of fun! A Saturday night without drinking, you can go to the CAB sponsored movie at 7 and 9 pm. Watch a movie in the dorm, or create your own fun in the dorm or outside. In the winter, sledding down the ski hill is a popular past-time. Off campus is some good restaurants, a grocery store and a Wise Buys. In the fall there is a farmer's market on Saturday morning.

Colgate brings in a good number of cool, well-known guest speakers, which is fun. Greek life is very prevalent but there are tons of people that do not participate. The Greek community is very welcoming, always hosting parties and the like. There are only four sororities, each with a very specific personality, which I find to be a negative thing - wish they had more options. I think that being on an athletic team or being in Greek life is very necessary to having a group of friends. Freshman year, it's easy to make friends I'd say, but people find their group and click. As a freshman, I've heard that you kind of lose out/miss out in the later years if you don't have a solid group that you've found (whether it's the outdoor education leaders, Greek life, or an athletic team, it's something pretty large that has various outlets).

Greek life is pretty important here. Not dying as administration tried to do to it several years ago. Theres even some dating here. Things can be a little closed down at times socially but the open parties are great and the freshmen all do their own thing up the hill in the dorms. It's a really great thing that they're separated because you really get to know your class year well. Speakers are also amazing. We got the Lama for god sake. If you're into theater we actually have a pretty good program too.

Hockey is the most respected sport here. People spend their time wisely; they study early so tha they can go out every night (for the most part) except for Sundays and Tuesdays.

Colgate students party a lot. You can find a group of people going out pretty easily every day except Sunday and Tuesday. Other than that, just go to the Jug at 12:30 and you'll see just about everyone. The Greek system is a big part of the party scene. People tend to pre-game in their dorms or apartments, stop somewhere along Broad street for a party, and then go to the bars downtown. It is very easy to buy beer and get into bars, even if you're underage. The school offers a lot of activities for those who don't drink, from movies to competitions, but the small town can get old pretty quickly. I'm sure that boredom accounts for a reasonable amount of the drinking. There are plenty of clubs and organizations that focus on any number of activities. No matter what, you will be able to find a group of people to be friends with through clubs. Going to athletic events is especially popular, especially football and hockey games. All in all, there is always something to do and someone to do it with.

Good.

As a drummer, playing in a band for all four years of college has provided me with much opportunity to play for all sorts of parties and activities. There is not much to do on a Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking.

The jug that is all

There is no school spirit for Colgate sports events, or at least not the ones I care about. We like hockey. That's pretty much it. If we're ever playing Cornell at anything, there will definitely be people at the games. Otherwise, I feel like the spirit around the sports teams is pretty apathetic. Because we're in the middle of nowhere, the school always makes sure to provide things to do on campus, and there usually are. There have been all kinds of interesting speakers and concerts. We're actually getting the Dalai Lama on campus in April; it's going to be fantastic. Partying is definitely the main focus of student social life. The schedule is this: You go out every day except for Sunday and Tuesday; Thursday can also be a day off if you really need it. The parties here are good if you know where to look, but if you don't look, you can easily ignore them. I don't drink, and it hasn't stopped me from having a good time here at all. The balance between work and play is very well maintained at Colgate. Spring Party Weekend is a huge tradition at Colgate. It happens in late April every year. I haven't actually been to one yet, but it is supposed to be the best weekend of the entire year. We get really good bands each year, apparently. This year we have OK Go. The Jug is the seedy bar in town; it's extremely popular. If you're eighteen, you're allowed in on "Freshman Nights," which are Mondays and Thursdays. Nineteen year-olds can get in whenever they want, which lends some mild significance to an otherwise useless birthday at Colgate. Many of the club sports at Colgate are focused on getting drunk; "pubs" seem to be a frequent occurrence no matter what sport you're in. It's mildly unpleasant if you aren't into that, because it prevents you from getting to know your teammates very well; the bonding seems to go hand-in-hand with the drinking. That has really been my only issue with the social scene at Colgate, though.

Club sports are very popular at colgate. I participate on the women's club soccer team and we practice 3 times a week in the fall and have a lot of fun together. We have games on Saturdays or Sundays and usually we start off with a lot of freshman but as the season continues we usually get the same core group showing up each day. On fridays we scrimmage and the start our weekend off with some fun at one of the senior's apartments. Another group I am involved with is kappa Kappa Gamma. We have a lot of social events and I met a lot of my friends sophomore year when I joined this organization. The rest of my friends I met freshman year in the dorms because a lot of us happened to live near each other. It is really easy to find your group of friends at Colgate because it is so small and you can seek out the people most like you who you want to become friends with right from the start. There are a lot of "random hookups" at Colgate because the Jug is a popular bar where students go to drink and dance and the often find someone to go home with for the night. People go out almost every night of the week except for Tuesdays and Sundays. You can find something to do any other night of the week. Wednesdays are the biggest night of the week and there are a lot of frat parties or social events for your sorority/fraternity. Spring Party weekend is a fun tradition that happens every year where all of the frats have big outdoor parties and everyone is outside walking from party to party and there are a lot of BBQs and fun activities. Everyone is so happy that the long winter is over and we all try to enjoy the outside as much as possible.

There's really no dating scene, like I said earlier. Mostly just random skeezy hook-ups and a few prized couples here and there. People party a lot and the social scene seems to revolve around Greek life, which seems unnecessary at such a small school. I'm involved in greek life, and the largest affect I've seen it have on people is give them a snobbish sense of entitlement and create a strict, hostile social hierarchy.

You really have to get involved in something. Anything. There are a ton of groups and activities available on campus, so just find something you'll enjoy. If you can and you're willing to put in the time, the varsity athletic teams are really great. The bonds you'll make with your teammates after surviving brutal workouts together are powerful stuff, and it's really cool to be able to compete at this kind of level. The clubs and intramural sports are amazing too, though. Personally, I've found the karate classes to be a great way to let off some steam and have fun. I've sampled a few of the other martial arts clubs available, and even picked up fencing. Then there's the Outdoor Education program, if conquering the wilderness is more up your alley. Most of the groups are pretty small, like the school itself, but you're going to have a good time and make some friends.

Students in dorms do not leave their doors open and it drives me nuts! At the beginning of the year this year I gave every door on my hall a note inviting people to a group dinner so we could meet, and it did WONDERS for the hall chemistry. Last year there were people on my hall I never even saw, and this year I know who everyone is, and even a little bit about each. Weekends are a struggle if you do not drink. Most non-drinking activities are over by 10:00, mostly because the organizers arrange it that way to allow them to 'go out' afterwards. It can be very frustrating. If you drink, or are comfortable around and enjoy being in an atmosphere where most people are out of their heads then you'll be just fine.

Sports are very big - overall, we are a very fit campus.