<p>I have a question for students, alumnae, and parents:</p>
<p>What are the best and worst aspects of living and learning at Colgate?</p>
<p>After a visit, my observation would be that it is in a very small, somewhat remote town. That could be good or bad depending on what you want.</p>
<p>Best: All the opportunities on campus!</p>
<p>Worst: The stairs up the Hill. I’m serious. Luckily I had classes that I actually liked that I’d trudge up 300+ steps for.</p>
<p>300 steps? Not so sure about that. I visit campus next week and will count them for the definitive number. For now I suggest it’s fewer than 100 between the Student Union and Alumni Drive through Persson Hall.</p>
<p>Colgate has a stunning campus and the feeling of an intimate community well linked to the small town of Hamilton by activities as well as installations such as the Colgate Inn, the Bookstore and 2 theaters.</p>
<p>My personal view is that the best academic departments at Colgate are political science and also philosophy and religion. I would welcome other nominations from Colgate alumni and current students.</p>
<p>Another “best” is experienced on the varsity sports scene. The setting of the Village Green for the Saturday Farmer’s Market followed by a home football game is iconic. (Remember that Colgate- yes, top 20 LAC Colgate- was in the 1AA championship football game in 2003 and sadly lost to Delaware). Then on a winter weekend we host ECAC Div 1 ice hockey. The games are electric against our friendly and much larger rival Cornell from down route 26 a ways. Spring is lacrosse where our league, the Patriot League, is very strong. </p>
<p>Give me a couple of days to pick up on the question of the number of steps from the lower to the upper quad. Ticklemepink and I like to banter about the challenges of mounting
“Cardiac Hill”. I don’t know if anyone has documented the number of steps yet. But give me a couple of days and it will be done!</p>
<p>Ha ha, I could use some cardio. ;)</p>
<p>@ticklemepink What sort of opportunities are there on campus? I’ve heard a lot about there being parties, but are there other options? </p>
<p>@markham How would you say the biology department is there? And when you say that there are two theatres, do you mean movie theatres or live theatre for plays and musicals? (I’m a huge theatre nerd, so the latter would be a pretty big plus)</p>
<p>As I am on campus now I am able to reply to our open issues:
- There are 167 steps leading from the Student Union to Alumni Drive. They run alongside Little Hall (Art and Art History) and through Persson Hall (Economics, Political Science and Education) to the path crossing Alumni Drive up to the upper quadrangle with the Chapel on the right and Lawrence Hall (Languages and English).
A view of the landscape from the steps at Persson is currently shown as one of the scenes on the colgate.edu website. An alumna is shown taking a photo across the lower campus and Taylor Lake. - I won’t comment on the Biology Department as students and faculty are better sources than I would be. Please look at the website’s section on academics, then departments and then Biology. You will see information ranging from course offerings, various concentration, majors and minors, honors programs, facilities, study groups and faculty backgrounds. Once you review the material you might want to contact the department directly or the Admissions Office for more information.
- The town of Hamilton has a movie theater and the Palace Theater which is a community production venue for both students and Hamiltonians, for live shows as well as workshops with visiting artists. Dana Arts Center and the Chapel also host student and guest productions. Remember that the combined population of Colgate and Hamilton is roughly 6,000 and the facilities reflect their needs. </p>
<p>I hope that you plan on visiting Colgate soon so you can see the facilities first hand. Good luck!</p>
<p>@markham Okay I exaggerated 
It’s been a while since I’ve counted. I counted from the bottom of Case though as I was walking from Tri-Delta. Even if you make it up past Perrson, you still have that little incline (which seems… tough at this point) to go. Oh, yes, I had classes in Alumni Hall, on 3rd floor.</p>
<p>@KaiserinSisi- I don’t necessarily mean the parties. I meant study abroad options (though they CAN be competitive), social and lecture events put on by student organizations, volunteer work in Madison County that’ll humble anyone, willing professors to give you their time and advice as well as challenging you to think deeply and broadly, and recreational activities (including Outdoor Ed). I nearly 100% sure that Colgate’s site doesn’t lie. And of course opportunities to be part of Hamilton- the residents are generally pretty open to kind and respectful students.</p>