I got into Colby College 2020…Feeling very blessed
I’m from the South, and have little information other than what i can glean from websites. i visited last year, but only for an afternoon, and liked the vibe I got on campus. Very friendly people, more laid back than a lot of the top schools I’ve looked at. I have looked up many of the educators, and the range seems to linger somewhere between excellent to very, very superior.
The things I am having a harder time finding out is what its like for Colby grads AFTER Colby. I am definitely going to Med school, or at the very least, grad school. Colby gets very little name recognition in my town (I realize that speaks more about my town than possibly Colby). I want to help people, and have the freedom to choose where to do that. Where are most Colby grads going after graduation? Do most stay in the Northeast? Did any from the South make it back to the South? lol.
A big part of why i chose Colby is I wanted the adventure, and independence of being so far from home…as it’s getting closer to time to make the final decisions, I feel a little like I’m about to jump from an airplane, exhilarated, but also REALLY praying the chute opens!
Class of '77
Georgetown Law '80
2-yr. clerkship with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
4 yrs. legal counsel with legislative committee in D.C.
4 yrs. Legal Services staff attorney in PA
switched careers to teaching
4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade teacher in VT
Colby is a terrific school, providing an excellent liberal arts education and well-rounded preparation for virtually any career. Go for it!
The college pages on LinkedIn give data (compiled by LinkedIn from their member’s profiles) about careers and placements of graduates from those colleges (at least those who have set up profiles on LinkedIn). The page for Colby College is here: https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/edu/school?id=19919 (not sure if you have to be logged in to LinkedIn to see it).
I, at least, found this useful in comparing the college choices my son has (including Colby).
Congrats on getting accepted! I’m also a southerner and am an upperclassman at Colby College.
I’d say most Colby grads stay in the Northeast (although most are from there). Specifically, many seek employment or graduate education in Boston and New York.
In terms of graduate/medical school, Colby is well known in the academia field so name recognition shouldn’t be an issue. As for jobs, particularly in the deep south, the name isn’t going to get you far. When I have done internships back home, people are often indifferent. I’m sure if I went to a southern school it would have helped me get more internships back home and gain connections. However, in larger cities like Houston, Washington DC, or Atlanta, you’ll meet a fair number of people who know about Colby (and when you do meet them, they bend over backwards to help you- Colby has an amazing community).
Personally, the career center has never been too helpful in southern internship searches either. They have strongholds in New York, Boston, and Washington DC, but that’s about it.
I’m personally hoping to get back south after graduation (graduate school). I’d say this is pretty rare though, as many northerners hold strong negative connotations about the south.
I do absolutely love Colby and Maine, but personally, the southern culture is too deep in me to continue living up north. However, it was the best decision I made and I gained so much from living in a different part of the US.
Colby is such an amazing school; the community and professors are wonderful, and I am so proud to call it home.
I hope to see you on the hill next year! Let me know if you have any questions about being a southerner at Colby- I’m more than happy to help! 