Student Profile
Jake
- Class: Sophomore
- Major: Mathematics
- Gender: M
- High School: West Morris Mendham High School
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
The best thing about Colby is the wide array of people with whom you can meet and be friendly, without feeling like you are crossing any awkward borders. Everyone is so smart and friendly that you will find yourself having an incredibly intellectual arguments/discussions with your group or friends over lunch. If I could change anything, it would be to have more housing on campus and have more suit-style living available. The size is just right for me - bigger campus so I can spread out or be alone when necessary, but small enough that I know people really well. "What College town?" Colby's administration could be a little more willing to give student leaders more power and freedom. There is tons of school pride. Colby, unlike Bates and Bowdoin, used to have fraternities and is thus socially a little still as if there are frats. But no one seems to get excluded. If you are willing to put yourself out there, you will find friends.
Academic Life
Depending on the subject, you'll get a different perspective at Colby. For sciences, you often have to demonstrate an obvious, sincere interest in the material for the teacher to know you more than your face. Students study pretty often. The library is always packed, and you will almost always be able to find someone in the Street. (The bottom level of the library that students often walk through to get across campus.) Students can be competitive, but never in a harming way. Everyone just want to do the best they can possibly do. People often have intellectual conversations out side of class. It is not uncommon to walk by a table in one of the dining halls and hear people discussing politics, religion, or something from class. I have had lunch with professors several times, and call all of my professors by their first names.
Student Body
There are most definitely LGBT people on campus that make sure everyone is treated fairly, although some people can tend to be less PC and cautious about their words than others. I don't see this as a bad thing, however, because people aren't constantly watching what they say to make sure they don't offend this person or that. People in general are pretty comfortable with themselves and act accordingly. Many Colby students are form Mass. but there is also a large population of foreign students who are integrated quite nicely into the school's population. Many students are politically active. One event that comes to mind is the other day, for the Democratic Caucus, one of my friends couldn't make it because of work, and kept saying how bad he felt that he could not practice his voting privilege.
The Best Things
Everything.
The Worst Things
Lack of housing.
