Colgate University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Casey

Class: Freshman
Major: Psychology
Gender: F

High School: Pennsbury High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

Colgate is a pretty small school located in the middle-of-nowhere New York. Sometimes the small town is a bit stifling, and if you don't have a car it is always a big deal to get a ride with someone else off campus. Even going to Target is a luxury. However, the smallness of it all means that the community is pretty self-contained; you could almost call it a bubble. The administration tries to emphasize how we cooperate with the community, and there are certainly many community service groups at Colgate, but from my perspective the town is very separate from the university. It serves the needs of students when we need it, yet otherwise I feel that we all ignore it. And we love the number 13. It's kind of a big deal.

Academic Life

Academics at Colgate are comparable to those of the majority of similarly directed liberal arts colleges. The class size is generally small, with 20-30 kids in most lower-level classes and even smaller classes when you start to specialize. The professors are, in my experience, always helpful and available when you need them, although there always a few that no one likes. The core curriculum at Colgate is interesting but really not entirely helpful in the long run. The concept sounds more interesting than it really is. It's the distribution requirements that are more useful. They force you to experience subjects beyond what you think you're comfortable with, and that's actually a really good experience for a student to have. Getting a job after school is a big reason for coming to Colgate; we have a great alumni network for that, and Colgate is a good name to have on your side if you're looking for a job. However, the students are fairly diverse in their focuses. We've actually discussed the position of education in society in both of my core classes about Western thought. I see both scholars and motivated job seekers at Colgate. It's really a very good place to be for anyone.

Student Body

There are groups for everything at Colgate. That's pretty much all I need to say. Colgate is definitely a dressed-up place when it comes to clothes. It's really only acceptable to slouch around in lounge wear in the early morning or on the weekend, unless you're an athlete. Otherwise, most people at least make the effort to put on jeans. I'd say that it's definitely a fashion-forward campus. Colgate students come from everywhere, including abroad. There are certainly more kids from the East Coast than the West, but Colgate is a good enough institution to attract people from all over. Also, financial aid here is great, so there's a good mix of economic backgrounds. Class and group lines aren't very obvious here either; unless you flaunt it, no one cares. Colgate is pretty cohesive. As to politics, I actually see more liberal activity on campus than conservative, but both groups are equally active.