<p>Hi,
These are all the colleges that are currently on my list. I'm going to visit all of them this summer, but I just wanted to know some of the pros and cons of each and what I should keep in mind when visiting. It would be nice if someone could tell me about the students/community since I'll be visiting in the summer and might not be able to see much of that. </p>
<p>If it matters at all, I'm a Japanese international student and I'm probably going to major in politics/gov/international relations or something along those lines, but who knows, I might end up changing my mind.</p>
<p>As a rising senior here at Colby College, I can touch upon the student body/community seeing as you’ll be visiting in the summer, and the feel is definitely different from that of the academic year. Colby’s student body is relatively small (about 1,815 students) so it is very common to hear that we are a close-knit community. Although 1,815 students may seem like an extremely small number, you don’t have to worry about being around and seeing the same people over and over again. In my four years here, I am constantly meeting new people, and learning from them. We are a very active campus–ranging from athletics, to volunteering, advocating, researching, working, and campaigning. Students here are quite friendly, and there are tons of resources if you’re in need of any help. </p>
<p>In regards to your major possibilities, Colby does not have a politics or international relations major. We do, however, offer Government and Global Studies which I believe are similar to your interests. </p>
<p>I won’t discuss the pros and cons that you’ve asked about as the responses are different from person to person. I encourage you to come and visit our campus and decide for yourself. </p>
<p>Thanks for your response!
Just one question, I keep hearing about how Colby is considered the more preppy/sporty of the maine schools. I’m sure this is just a blown up stereotype, but I was wondering whether there was some truth to it, and how well a not so preppy girl who only runs as a hobby would fit in.
Thanks again.</p>
<p>My daughter is a rising sophomore at Colby–a child who was raised in California and attended public schools all of her academic life until she arrived at Colby. We were discussing the preppy thing the other night. My daughter hates preppy but loves Colby. She says many of the kids were educated in New England prep schools (i.e. boarding schools), and come from families which are very comfortable financially, but that none of the kids flaunt it. There is little display of conspicuous consumption, family money is not really a standard by which people are judged, and if you go to the library in slippers and pajamas with no makeup on no one cares. It seems to be a very “Come as you are,” accepting type of school. I do think that a lot of the kids are outdoorsey/sporty (if shopping at the Mall is your primary activity out of class then maybe Waterville is not the place for you–those who enjoy the outdoors in one way or another will never get bored), but not everyone is outdoorsey, and from what I can gather people are very accepting of everyone. Honestly I think your experience at Colby will be what YOU make it.</p>
<p>Thanks, that was a really helpful/insightful post (:
It’s really too bad I can’t visit while school is in session, but I’m happy I get to go visit at all seeing as I live in Japan.
I’m sure I won’t be positive until I visit all these schools and think everything over, but at this point, based on everything I’ve read and heard so far, I think Colby is at the top of my list.
:)</p>
<p>Conn College, Skidmore and Vassar were all women’s colleges until approximately the early 1970’s (I think that’s about when they became co-ed, but I’m not sure of the dates). I think that still affects the schools in certain ways, such as the types of sports offered (no football at some or all of them, I think) and the culture or atmosphere of the colleges. The effects are somewhat intangible and hard to define if they do continue to exist. Bowdoin was originally a men’s college and some people think that still affects its atmosphere. You may sense some of these differences in culture when visiting, although it’s harder to do in the summer. Just historical information to consider…</p>
<p>Thanks sailfish.
I was actually wondering whether there was a reason why some of the schools seemed to have a higher percentage of girls, so I guess that might explain it.</p>