Changes in Colby Social, Cultural Environment?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colby College
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I assume most people who have looked at Colby have seen things like the Colby Life documentary and the NY Times article noting that Colby had more students from the Top 1% than the Bottom 60% in terms of income. In addition, Colby is often mentioned as being “sporty”, and having a pretty significant drinking culture (even compared with peer schools).

My question is this – has this been changing recently? The Colby Life documentary is from 2014 and covers students in the Class of 2013 (so 2009-2013). The NYT data is also old at that point. And it feels from the outside that Colby has been trying to make changes. So are things ACTUALLY changing? Any Colby students or parents have thoughts or info to share?

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Our son is a 2025 admit, so I’m following this post. Colby is near the top of his list.

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If you would like to consider survey results, which aggregate the recent responses of students, then Colby’s atmosphere may (currently) be one of “little race/class interaction” and “lots of beer”:

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Yes, I’d seen that, and things on Niche on related topics. It is sometimes hard to tell exactly when the data were collected (e.g., does Princeton start from scratch every year? It feels like, if they did, there would be WAY less persistence in rankings, if only because of year-to-year idiosyncrasies in who fills out the survey). And if they use a rolling average of multiple years, how does that reflect change?

But yes, it is data points like these that give me some pause.

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Ditto.

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I’ve spoken to both parents and students (current and past) about Colby. I have heard only positive things about collaborative, happy, cooperative students inclusive of all.

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Colby is in Waterville, which is a town where the median household income is under $40,000 – probably only about a fifth of the median parental income of Colby students. Probably makes for a very sharp contrast SES-wise.

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@jpeggers I am the parent of a Colby Jr. He is double major Econ/Computer Science. I had some of the same concerns as you do about Colby. He was accepted to several peer schools and Colby was not my first choice for him. He attended the admitted student event (prior to covid, the kids got to spend a night on campus) and fell in love. The kids he met were all super smart, friendly and interesting. He really felt at home there. 3 years later, I can honestly say that my son made the right decision. Although I am sure that there are plenty of kids on campus that fit the Colby stereotype, my son doesn’t interact with many. His friends are all on the nerdy side, incredibly bright and overall just nice kids. He attended an independent day school where the student body was made up of many more entitled, spoiled and inconsiderate kids than those he meets at Colby. In recent years, Colby has made a lot of strides in making a Colby education more accessible and anecdotally I can report that all of my son’s friends receive some sort of aid.

The professors really care about the students and go out of their way to connect with the kids. For example, a professor on sabbatical this year has come to campus to meet with my son on several occasions, he even hooked him up with a great internship opportunity.

So my long winded answer is, yes, Colby has changed in recent years.

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Dramatically. My kid was a 2020 and said it felt quite changed between 2016 and 2020 alone. It was definitely more white, affluent, and “clubby” in 2016. The students were always serious about academics.

Even when I was in college, Colby was a favorite of the prep school crowd and the families who vacationed in Maine, and that was reflected in the white, affluent, outdoorsy students who chose to go there. It enjoyed a good reputation in New England.

David Greene came to the school from Chicago (14 or 15?) and brought with him the perspective of a nationally recognized university as well as the experience of what can come of expanding your reach… And the latter has been at the forefront of the school’s efforts - in every respect.

In 2016, Colby welcomed its first Questbridge class, and if you go back to the QB threads here, you’ll see that it was a significant # of students. They introduced scholarships for middle class families… This continued as did national outreach. It used to be a joke that everyone was from "30 minutes from Boston ". No longer (much to the dismay of applicants from that area.)

As you can imagine, that NE preppy culture has been "diluted " as the student mix has grown. No doubt, there are some who find this disappointing, but most like that the tight community that the school has always enjoyed is broader. The school has created more spaces for more student groups. The academic experience is excellent. There is funding for all kinds of experiential learning. Students take their classes seriously but are not competitive. . The increased selectivity can only help in an environment where classroom participation is an integral part of the experience.

I sense that while there’s plenty to do that does not involve alcohol, Colby – like most rural LACS-- sees a fair bit of drinking as part of its party scene. I would guess that part of what made it traditionally appealing – especially outdoorsy activities
– continues to attract a certain type of student. And let’s face it, Maine itself is not one of the more diverse states. Colby is in the NESCAC conference, so the athletes, while D3, are typically serious about their sports (and a lot of students are on teams). Those things all impact the culture.

So yes, it has changed significantly. And it is far easier to make your experience there what you want it to be.

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@gardenstategal @xyz123a Thanks for the insight. I think this is what I had been seeing around the edges, but of course no one is going to come right out and say “we are not as proud of who we have been, so we are changing.” Hard to tell anyways, but even harder with Covid.

@ucbalumnus Definitely. While true of many rural colleges, a quick perusal of the towns of top LACs suggests Colby is one of the more extreme cases. I’d have to think one way that some college towns have higher HH incomes is because the faculty live there. I wonder if Colby faculty mostly live in Brunswick or somewhere else. Having a town that faculty should WANT to live in should be a goal for all schools. Plus creating growth and opportunity in the town.

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@merc81, just curious - have you personally had a negative experience with Colby? I saw you posted about Colby’s increasing yield rate in another forum as well.

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Brunswick (where Bowdoin is) is not exactly a high income town (its median income is slightly below the median incomes of Maine and the US) either, although higher than Waterville.

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It’s most definitely changed. Lots more diversity at all levels. My daughter attends and has found many opportunities to connect with down to earth, smart, engaged, and kind peers. She looked at other LACs and was drawn to Colby because it had LESS of a party/ drinking seen than the others she visited as an athlete recruit. Her experience to date confirms this. The college has invested in athletics and the arts, and there are many activities to take advantage of both on campus and off. Colby today looks nothing like that documentary.

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One other thing I’ll add about Colby – they make it really easy to try things and get involved, whether it’s something like pond hockey or rock bands or ceramics or volunteering. This creates a lot of "intersections " where students can connect with each other, regardless of finances or background or other affiliations (teams, dorms, majors.)

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Although, with respect to Colby, it might appear that I posted unfavorablely in this topic and favorably in an adjacent topic (on Colby’s dramatically increasing popularity), my intent was similar in both cases: to introduce aggregated opinion (survey results) or data as bases for individual interpretation or further discussion. What I post naturally will depend on the question being asked as well.

Regarding my own opinion on Colby, my relative toured it based on my recommendation, so that should speak for itself. Academically, Colby can make a great choice for students interested in its programs in areas such as environmental studies, biology, economics, global studies and English literature. For a brief opinion on Colby in the context of opinions on other top liberal arts colleges, see reply #7: Struggling with D21's List. ED & ED2: Amherst, Hamilton, Wellesley, Vassar. With respect to the surveys just mentioned, I do think it might be unrealistic to expect the reality at any college to deviate too far from the indicated results. Colby might be an exception because of the recent, significant increases in its admissions reach and popularity (as introduced in Colby's Increasing "Draw").

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Colby’s social scene may be changing, but it remains a small, rural, cold weather LAC so drinking will be part of the campus culture.

What attracts you to Colby College ?

What are your other options ?

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I think we have a pretty good handle on S21’s other options. Most relevant comparison is Bates, so also a small, rural, cold weather LAC, but one with a somewhat different cultural reputation than Colby. S21 likes campus and specific academics at Colby better, but has been drawn to Bates’ culture (which is a better fit). So trying to decide how “far away” Colby is from his preference.

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Are you willing to share your son’s understanding of the culture at Bates College.

It is not clear as to your concerns at Colby College. For example: Does your son dislike the “sporty” aspect ? The drinking aspect ? The high income families aspect ?

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@jpeggers , this is exactly the choice DS was faced with! He would have been very happy at either, and I think that’s the case for most kids at any of the BBC schools. They are - in spite of the rivalries between them and the nuanced differences from their past – more alike than different. The year DSxwas applying, I think Bates was the #1 beer drinking school. Never quite sure how that is decided.)

I know that after BBC sporting events, for example, there will often be a BBQ, and the teams hang together and some kids will stay over at the host school with friends. At least in terms of sports teams, the kids and schools seem interchangeable.

One thing that helped DS was looking at the graduation requirements for the school overall and for his expected major. While the paths were similar, there were a couple of things that jumped out for him that made a difference to him. Not sure if you’ve done that yet or not. You can also look at funding for these if that’s an issue.

In any case, there’s no bad choice here. Good luck!

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JTerm at Colby College may be of interest as one can escape the cold of January.

Bates College has a different calendar with Maymester type 5 week term. Not sure why students in Maine would want a separate term in May. Colby’s calendar makes more sense.

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