Hey everyone! I’m currently deciding between Colby and Washington & Lee. I quite like both, but both of them have their own pros and cons which makes it really hard to choose I’ve been flipping between the two for the past three weeks
A bit about me: I’m an gap year international student from the Philippines. I’m more of STEM person but I hope to pursue Humanities during college. A lot of my extracurricular focused on science communication (my current dream career). Specific fields I’m interested in are: computer science, physics, communication, visual arts.
ON FINANCES
W&L: Offered me a full-ride scholarship (86k out of 87k COA) with only 1k for work-study; my parents don’t have to pay for anything and this is huge for me because I’d really like to be financially independent and help my family.
Colby: Offered me a near full-ride (79k out of 84k COA) with 3.5k in work-study, and the remaining 1.3k from my parents. I don’t mind work-study at all, but that 1.3k parental contribution gives me pause. The Philippine peso is dying lol. I am currently getting my aid appealed to lower my parental contribution to 0, but assume for now that it doesn’t go through.
ON ACADEMICS
W&L: The journalism & poverty programs are really interesting. I did journalism as an EC during my entire high school life, and I wouldn’t mind pursuing it academically. Their communication programs are pretty strong too. I’m just a bit concerned as, while I do love the Humanities, I’m still mainly a STEM person. I haven’t really seen a lot of opportunities for Computer Science or Physics.
Colby: it has my dream major!! Science, Technology, and Society was the course I’ve been gunning since the beginning of this process, and Colby was one of my top choice schools from the very beginning because of that. From what I’ve read, it seems that Colby is pretty strong in STEM and is beginning to focus on the arts too, which is great.
ON SOCIAL LIFE
W&L: People might expect me to complain about Greek life but honestly, I’m not that against it. I’m not really interested, but I’m not opposed either. My main concern is that, according to Niche, a majority of students identify as conservative republican. And uh, well I’m not straight, not white, and not a man, so…I’m a little bit hesitant, for my own safety.
Colby: I know that the school is made of majority athletes, and that there’s some heavy drinking culture. I’m not an athlete, and I don’t drink.
I think these are the most important factors that I’ve considered. Let me know if you guys have any thoughts or experiences that reinforce/correct my assumptions - I’d love to hear it! And ofc questions welcome if you need more info from me
I cant speak for Colby , but I don’t think safety is a worry at W&L. More a matter of comfort and fit. Yes there are many conservative kids but there are plenty of liberal kids too. I think there’s a heavy drinking culture at W&L too.
Perhaps you could gain a sense of comfort by speaking to a current student like yourself. At the bottom of the W&L inclusion page I think you can scroll to the contact of the LGBTQ+ coordinator. Her email is listed. Perhaps she can connect you with a current student.
I think Colby is a better choice for you academically and socially, but it has to be affordable. There is a social scene there that most definitely doesn’t involve drinking.
I would approach them with the W&L offer and see how they can help you close that gap.
Congrats! Both are fantastic schools. Given how strong both are, if the financial differences are real for your family, I think you can safely make your decision based on that.
My S is a first year at Colby. Not an athlete. Not a drinker. Yes, there are parties and yes there are athletes, but I doubt that is any different from any other LAC. He’s had no problem finding his people, making friends, having a social life, going to events, etc. While not a hardcore social justice culture, it is a very open, accepting, and welcoming culture. I think Colby’s old reputation was overblown, but it also has changed a lot in recent years. From what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t think you’d have any issue at all being completely comfortable.
Specifically around academics, S is a CS major interested in visual media. The visual component is very strong in Colby’s CS department, as is the relationship between CS and hard sciences. So I think that in addition to that specific class, the opportunity for visual-based CS with a link to science would seem the perfect fit at Colby. At the same time, S is also a double major (or minor — TBD) in English. He’s had fantastic humanities classes (ok, one professor he didn’t like).
So to me the only drawback at all to Colby from what you say is the money. If that’s an issue, as I said — W&L is fantastic. But I don’t think you should have any reservations at all about fitting in or being comfortable at Colby.
I can speak to my freshman daughter’s experience at W&L. She shares many of your academic interests… major in chem, minor in poverty studies, and will be taking as many communications/creative writing electives as possible. She finds the professors are accessible and actively engaged with the students. She connected so well with her fall semester creative writing prof that they now occasionally meet up for coffee to catch up.
My left-leaning daughter describes the majority of students as left of center politically, but that could be the crowd she is drawn to. There are certainly conservative students but overall it seems kids are accepting of other views. I can speak confidently that you would feel safe and accepted as a BIPOC/LGBTQ student as my daughter has many friends who identify. Her bestie is Asian LGBTQ and is very involved in the Red House (womens gender & sexuality studies, LGBTQ, etc programs and meeting place).
Lexington is a small town so the social scene largely revolves around the colleges, whether Greek parties or other organizations. There are kids who do not drink and/or participate in Greek life. My daughter joined a sorority and does like to attend fraternity mixers, but sometimes chooses to attend a concert, performance, international dance or just hang out in the dorm instead. One thing to mention about Greek life at W&L is that it is quite inclusive. That is one of the reasons there is such high participation.
Regarding the party scene at either W&L or Colby, remember these are both academically challenging schools and the students are serious about their studies. So while there will be partying at any college, the majority of students at these schools put academics first.
You really can’t go wrong with either choice, especially if you get the financials aligned. Make sure you have also considered the costs of travel, incidentals and required health insurance when crunching the numbers.
I’m happy to answer any more questions. I also suggest asking the Admissions office at both schools to connect you with a student ambassador who can speak personally to the LGBTQ/POC experience or to your academic areas of interest. I know they are very accommodating at W&L and bet it is the same at Colby. Congratulations and best wishes!
I’ve been flipping between the two for the past three weeks 
