Colgate University Top Questions

Good alumni network for jobs. great campus. fun night life.

Colgate is amazing. I couldn't be paid to go anywhere else. The people are the friendliest I have ever met. While I do spend a very large amount of my time studying, it is definitly worth it. I love it here and am actually upset to be graduating, just because it means I have to leave!

Best: Academics -- stellar, engaging. It's awesome. Change: The weather. Fuck cold. Size: Just right. Reactions: People down south haven't really heard of Colgate. Time: Studying, duh. Or procrastinating. College town: Haha... Hamilton grows on you, it's not that bad, but there's nothing really to do. Administration: Let's face it, administration, no matter where from, is helplessly suffocated by its own bullshit bureaucracy. That consider, administration at Colgate is above par. Controversy: The Greek house purchases were controversial, but few really gave a fuck. Pride: Yes, lots... mostly. Unusual: During orientation, freshman are given hype about all sorts of "traditions" -- it's all crap. We don't have these meaningless arbitrary "traditions" like those retards down at A&M. Listen, I went to college to learn physics, not to shout some fag chant every time a football player scored a touchdown. Experience I'll remember: making out with girls. Student complaints: Students complain about the weather and the small town. And by students I mean freshman. A few pussies transfer out after freshman year because they're too weak to handle a bit of cold and -- for heaven's sake -- to learn how to survive in a place that's not flooded with wal-marts and other evil conveniences of the 21st century. The rest of us stay and learn to love it.

The problem with Colgate is that students don't care about things that are outside their universe. Students do not expand themselves and are concerned with only their own well being. Very self centered group that is not progressive or considerate. There is not much school pride and many students where clothing from other universities. It is also very cold here, don't come here if you can't stand near 0 weather.

It can be stress free at times as long as your comfortable with your academics. The classes I took first semester is what I would change. The school is just right but you might want to have your liscence and maybe a car. People I have met so far are quite indifferent when I tell I attend Colgate. I mainly study in my room because I have a single. The administration I believe is constantly trying to get better. They are a respectable authority figure. The biggest controversy right now is the possibility of removing first years from HRC- Harlem Renaissance Center. Most people do not regret coming to colgate after a while. It was not great at first but i do not regret it. The average student i believe drinks three beers a week. I think there is definetly more to come for me. Frank Dining Hall can definetly use some improvement. Most if all if a student wants to attend colgate he or she should come with someone that they already know. It will work out well if one has that initial support system. Hardly anyone wants to be a fish out of water.

The town is way too small. Makes focusing on school a lot easier but the combination of complete country-bumpkin-land with the ridiculous amounts of snow we get from December to March can be a little depressing. There have been recent controversies over fraternity-house ownership, but Greek life is still significantly present on campus.

I think my favorite thing about Colgate is the small community, because you get to know alot of people really well and become close with them. One thing I don't like is that the town is TINY however, it's like 2,000 people, and you are really isolated from everywhere else. I like Colgate alot but I think I would prefer a school that's a little bit bigger and maybe more diverse. When I tell people I go to Colgate they either go "Oh that's a great school!" or they ask if it's a school for dentistry, and of course you get alot of toothpaste jokes. To be perfectly honest I have not been very impressed with the administration at all. There is alot of red tape, especially with Residential Life, and my advisor and alot of my friends' advisors have been very unhelpful.

The ability to accel in your club or in multiple activities and try new things is supported tremendously by the school. You can easily become very active in whichever activity you choose to pursue. I think the strictness of credit acceptance and transfer credit is ridiculous. It's far too difficult to transfer in outside credits or dabble in various classes that are not your major because you can only take 4 at a time and the requirements for the major are too limiting to give you adequate time to test every subject. It's beginning to feel a little small. But on the same level, it is so cozy and comfortable. A junior year abroad is enough to quell the clausterphobia because you go away at the right time. I love Colgate and I'm still so happy with my decision to come here. It depends on who you are talking to. For an educated crowd or an eastcoast crowd, people know what Colgate is and they respect it for its academic prowess. If you try talking to someone who is not into the college scene or from a part of the country that is farther from the east coast, people generally don't know what it is. You just have to accept that not everyone will know what it is, know that Colgate is a fantastic school and move on. I spend most of my time either up the hill around the quad where classes are (coop) or down on the frisbee field. Hamilton is too tiny to be considered a town with any purposes for entertainment, but that's not what the school is about. You don't think about the town. Colgate life revolves around the people you meet and the things you do (activities and schoolwork). That is what is so great about the school--it fosters fantastic relationships because that is all you can do. No one really leaves on the weekends, and no one wants to leave on the weekends. The life is very satisfying and most people don't feel the need to find external stimulation. There is a real mall 45 minutes away and other small towns that are even closer. The administration is a little strict in its policies, as I said before. But it's fine, it hasn't impeded my plans/life as of yet. An ongoing controversy has been whether or not Greek life should continue the same way it has. Yes there is a ton of school pride. Plenty of people complain about the lack of school spirit in terms of sports (they are trying to fix that, so maybe there will be changes) but there is so much spirit in other ways--on individual teams and within clubs. The Colgate body is very spirited in terms of energy and personalities, but perhaps is not in the same way that a sports crowd is. Most memorable experience (one of very many): going sledding at midnight on a tray from Frank dining hall with my friends Most complaints are about the administration and transfer credits (it comes up a lot with abroad programs out of Colgate).

My favorite thing about Colgate is the size. Though it is a smaller school, I think that the size is just right! The school is small enough that your classes are not too big, your professors know your name, and when you walk across campus you always see someone you know. However, it is not too small because you are always meeting people that you don't know. An experience I will always remember is that as part of the service pre-orientation program I did, a small group and I were told that we had to make a dinner for less than twenty dollars. We were then told that we were making dinner for the Dean of Students and the small group of us ended up having dinner at her house! These is one of the benefits of Colgate's size.

Sometimes it's wonderful to know that everyone knows your name, and sometimes you kind of get sick of that. it's nice though to really feel like you belong somewhere and that this is your home because it's so small. I definitely wouldn't want a smaller school than this. Don't really go into town accept at night to go to the bars and eat pizza. There's a lot of school pride. It's unusual how party oriented our school is because of its small size. Though I'm in a sorority, I feel like Greek like is a little too overwhelming. I can't imagine not being in a sorority and what my social life would be like.