i have visited both schools and cant decide which one to apply ED to. why would one choose bucknell over colgate or vice versa?
I don’t know Bucknell as well as I know Colgate, but I think they have a somewhat similar appeal: remote rural beauty, a small college with division one sports, frats, very smart students. Both are wonderful, so you can pick based on fit. Based on your visits, you have a favorite?
Colgate has a good outdoors club that goes hiking in the Adirondacks, etc.
Students at Colgate take four common core courses.
Colgate is a little more diverse than Bucknell (68% vs. 78% Caucasian, as per the Ultimate Guide to America’s Best Colleges).
Average % of financial need met by both is high: 100% at Colgate and 91% at Bucknell (ultimate guide stat). But Bucknell offers merit scholarships, which is nice.
Bucknell has an even more robust/pervasive fraternity/sorority life than Colgate. Whether that is a pro or a con depends on the applicant.
Do you prefer brown stone or red brick buildings?
If you have visited both, go by gut. Where can you see yourself more? If they are roughly equal for you, Colgate is the harder school to get into, which might factor into an ED decision. You could do Colgate ED1 and Bucknell ED2 if Colgate does not work out… or go for Bucknell ED1 if your stats match it better and you want to take your best shot at an early admission.
The two schools are more alike than different. The biggest difference is Bucknell has engineering and business programs…Colgate does not. Less significant differences include size (Bucknell is close to 4000 students, Colgate is under 3000 greek life (present at both schools, but more so at Bucknell)
That would be 17 active Greek houses at Bucknell and 8 at Colgate.
Further, Bucknell is number 33 and Colgate number 12 in the 2018 USN&WR ranking of LACs.