Re: Colby’s quoting of the median SAT
Folks, remember this of the accepted students not matriculating students. The college doesn’t know the latter yet. I find it a bit much even somewhat disingenuous for them to quote a number when many of these students won’t commit to Colby.
And isn’t Colby test optional?
Yes.
That completely skews the statistic. Of course of those who submitted SAT scores they would be that high.
Colby is test flexible.
It is totally optional now, not flexible.
https://www.colby.edu/news/2018/09/24/colby-eliminates-standardized-testing-requirement/
OP, as others have said, there is nothing objective which is “better” in either one. So it all depends on which one you like. Ignore “documentaries” about campus life, since nobody has ever made a documentary trying to demonstrate how “normal” life is at a college campus.
Based on what you wrote, you seem to be leaning towards Colby, based on the feeling that you will have a social circle that is more in tune with your personality, but are worried because of stuff that you heard about the school. I would, in all honesty, ignore much of the rumors.
In a LAC in a rural setting, finding your crowd is extremely important, so do not your feeling towards the students you met on your visit should be an important factor in your decisions, IMO.
My son is a substance free freshman at Colby. He says his biggest challenge is balancing his time because there are so many social/non-academic opportunities that interest him. He does go to parties but hasn’t felt any pressure to drink or use drugs. He is really happy there, engaged in his learning, and enjoying his social life.
These are both spectacularly excellent liberal arts colleges.
In the Northeast, especially New England, NY and NJ, Colby is a powerful brand. Much more so than Carleton.
I would wager the exact opposite is true in the Midwest.
Sophisticated employers and academia would appreciate the excellence of both schools.
Colby is just an awesome place these days. Not sure about Carleton other than it’s sterling reputation. But Colby has “it” right now with the quality of the students choosing it locally. Just really smart and nice kids.
I find the apparent antipathy toward the Colby documentary troubling. All documentary films reflect an aspect of reality, so there’s no need to put this particular documentary in quotation marks – unless, I suppose, to indicate a personal dissatisfaction with it. In any case, the best time for @Calistudent2023 to view the film would be during a stage at which she is still empowered to make a decision. If she were to have encountered it, for example, just having made her decision, I think it would be much more difficult to interpret evenly.
I watched the Colby Life Documentary. It is 44 minutes & 5 seconds long. Seems to have been made in conjunction with the Colby College Residential Life Director & two Colby counselors & about 17 students–all from the class of 2013.
Insightful, but depressing. I cannot imagine anyone who watches the entire 44 minutes, or even just 22 minutes, of the documentary wanting to attend this college. But I also think that the perspective of the individuals in the film has to be taken in context. Counselors & residential life directors deal almost exclusively with students experiencing difficulties.
Honestly, when we visited Colby, it felt like it was a backup school for a lot of east coast kids who hadn’t gotten into their first choice. Party vibe was also stronger than my kid liked. I think Carleton more often is the first choice of the students there. I’ve spent a lot of time on the Carleton campus and know quite a few students who went there. The ones I know are pretty straightforward and not caught up in prestige, and also not overly quirky. Carleton has a bit higher SAT range as well. I’d also be nudging my kid toward Carleton if they had this choice.