Colgate University Top Questions

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.