Colgate University Top Questions

Lots of drinking, but for people who want to do something else, they'll eventually find some non-drinking friends to hang out with.

There are alot of clubs and acitivities on campus that you can be a part of. I am part of the Breast Cancer club, Students for Environmental Action, Young Democrats, and I tutor other students. Sports are big here, and you can be Division I or play club sports. Alot of people go to the men's hockey or basketball games but I don't think the other sports games are as well-attended. They bring in alot of cool guest speakers, like this year the Dalai Lama is coming to speak. I know that alot of the upperclassmen date but most of the freshmen are interested in hook ups. There is alot of drinking that goes on (it's a small town, there's not much else to do) and I know that some of my friends who don't drink have problems with that because the dorms can get really rowdy at night in the weekends depending on where you live. On weekdays people mostly go to bars like the Jug but on weekends there are more frat parties so you have a choice. I personally go out 3 or 4 times a week to bars or frat parties. I would really recommend that you either be very accepting of drinking here or that you drink because there is not much to do besides drink on weekends besides stay in your dorm and hang out.

The hockey team is the most supported varsity activity. Going to those games are SO much fun. It's an experience. Community service is relatively popular. Probably the most popular genre of activities are club sports in general and intramural sports. I play on the Colgate Ultimate Frisbee women's team, The Vibe. I am a captain and I adore it. We started it sort of haphazardly by just playing with the guys until we had enough girls to need a separate team. So we've been recruiting for the past two years and the team has unfurled in front of our eyes. It's been an amazing experience on multiple levels. I joined Frisbee freshmen year on accident. I was looking for a field hockey team, there wasn't one at the time and so I was dragged down by a friend to the frisbee field. I adore the people on the team. We travel around the east coast to go to tournaments. I've never done anything like it before. It's a relaxed bunch of people, but somehow there is still intensity within the sport. I hang out with these people outside of practice. We've become very close and I've met many underclassmen through this as well as upperclassmen. I think in general, club sports unite the different grades in a very unbiased way. It is a great way to prevent the Colgate social crowd from becoming stale. Dorm doors are left open and that was my favorite part about freshman year. That is how I met some of my best guy friends. It creates a fun and close atmosphere. There's nothing like it. Dating scene is what you make of it, but in general it's pretty weak. I met my closest friends all over the place--mostly through other friends. I met one of my best friends on my Wilderness Adventure and another in my FSEM, so you really keep your friendships even as you make new ones. Awake on Tuesday morning? Either working furiously, procrastinating, or creating some kind of inside joke and deliriously giggling like a school girl with my roommates. Spring party weekend is an important tradition. Partying is prevalent, but it's amazing. You go as hard as you want to; peer pressure is not an issue. You go out when you want to and when you can. Most people enjoy it, some don't and that's fine too. Some people go out 5 nights a week, others once a week, some once every few weeks. It depends on your preferences. There is the work hard play hard ethic--this shows up more in greek life or in teams that like to party together--both are just cohesive groups that like to enjoy themselves in that way. Greek life does not dominate the social scene--it enhances it. If you aren't in a sorority or a fraternity, your social life by no means drys up. You just have to find other ways and other activities to do. Last weekend I went to Florence because I"m abroad. I met up with 5 of my sorority girls who are studying in other places in Europe and it was so much fun and so nice to see familiar faces and good friends. Normally, I probably would have gone out at Colgate or hung out with my friends in someone's apartment. I probably would have gone to the Jug, the only and amazing dance club in Hamilton. I love the Jug and I miss it. You can do all kinds of things without drinking. You can go to the same parties without drinking. No one cares if you don't drink. You can go to plays, movies, watch a movie in the dorm/apartment, just hang out with friends, go an adventure with friends to places in the surrounding area, concerts in Syracuse. Off campus: hiking, bike riding, shopping in Syracuse, skiing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing. I dont do much off campus, but I"m sure there's a ton more to be done.

FRATS! freshmen year people leave their doors open. Up on tuesday--probably can't sleep or doing work. Spring Party Weekend! Greatest weekend every year in April. Everyone gets drunk for 3 days straight and we go to concerts/a million open parties. Great times. Last weekend my sorority had a closed party with a frat and it was a themed party. The sororities usually have two of these kinds of themed parties a week. The other night I went to an open party at a frat. Nights end up at the "Jug"--a "bar"-like place where everyone is extremely intoxicated so that everyone just dances and makes out with random people

Dorm room doors are always open. Athletic events vary in attendance...Basketball attracts maybe 3 fans while Men's Ice Hockey attracts the whole school, especially when we play Cornell (Sucks!). We have lots of traditions that are really important to people here (torchlight, burying of the hatchet, etc.). Fraternities are overrated.

People here are generally warm and friendly, leaving their doors open to welcome in others. You meet friends primarily from through your living situation (dorms for freshman and sophomores) and through classes. There's a strong social scene, and people party on any given night of the week excluding Tuesdays and Sundays. Yet the library is always packed until it closes at 2am, so you're either doing work or you're out. There are tons of events going on daily, from class films to theater productions, athletic events to lectures. Students are busy people and fill up their schedules with tons of meetings- everyone's involved in something, but for most, it's many things, and the busier the better. This is a reflection of a Colgate student's passion for everything- classes, community service, exercise, extracurriculars and parties. Fraternity and sorority life is not imperative to a social life here, but it surely helps. If going out isn't your scene, movies, music, dance and theatre performances are offered on weekends. There's always something to do- it's choosing WHAT to do that's difficult.

All teams are popular. Outdoor Ed is my numbe rone team. My door is always unlocked and people come in when they desire. Part hard work hard. You will pretty much find a party every night, especially on weekends with frats and then Jug later. If I am awake late it is usually because I am studying or talking with friends or at the jug... walking back up before bed. Saturday night is either watch movie or drink. ALmost every weekend I am off campus in the adirondacks or skiing at a park. Or climbing at little falls. If not I usually sleep.

One detractor from the Colgate social scene is the absence of serious dating. I have a serious girlfriend, however, I am definitely in the minority. A lot of emphasis is placed on the "casual hookup" which kind of goes hand-in-hand with the popularity of the party scene.

The most popular events are Dancefest and Mr. Colgate. Though I've never been. There's plenty of events for everyone though, whether it's a football game or classical music concert. WRCU is the biggest group I'm in. It's our totally student-run radio station, with over 100 DJs. The biggest thing about any group is that it's really easy to get involved and easy to take a leadership role, even if you don't think of yourself as the leadership type. People leave their doors open when they're home if they live on a hallway. Suites are a bit different. People tend to be quite social. Events depend on the success of the team. Speakers tend to be pretty well attended, as does theater. People don't really go on dates. There's two cultures, a hook-up culture and a long-term relationship culture. Which you're in is totally up to you, and rejection of the whole system is an option as well. I met my closest friends through living together, radio, and friends-of-friends. 2 am on a Tuesday? Studying. Though Tuesday and Sunday nights are the quietest nights socially because most people have class the next morning. Some people go out Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, though that's pretty rare. Most people only party on Friday and Saturday nights. Traditions: other than official things, like the torchlight procession of seniors the night before graduation, etc., Dancefest and Mr. Colgate, as well as the Colgate-Cornell hockey game. Greek life is a perfect balance. It's there for those that want it, it's not overpowering for those that don't. I've never been to a Greek event, and I'm ok with that. Last weekend I had a horse show at 8 am on Saturday, so not too much! If you don't drink, there's regular movies in town, as well as a midnight movie and free films from the school. There's usually some sort of concert, plus club events and banquets. If you live in substance free dorms, you'll have a lot of friends that don't drink, and you can just hang out with them. Parties don't always necessarily have alcohol. Off campus, there's movies and bars in town. Usually students are so busy with on campus activities they don't have time to get bored.