<p>I'm seriously considering attending either of these schools, but they seem very similar. I visited Colby and loved it, but I haven't had the chance to visit Colgate. How do you think they compare in terms of students, academics, and anything else?</p>
<p>I’m also seriously considering both of these schools and I’ve visited both. </p>
<p>I would say that Colgate was in a nicer town that offered more things to students, but nevertheless, they are still both in very desolate areas. Colgate is in Hamilton, NY which is a very cute little town with a green and the colgate inn and an old movie theater around it. From my understanding, Colgate keeps the town running. Colby is kind of isolated from the rest of Waterville, ME, and I would say there isnt much of a town there at all.</p>
<p>Colgate has frats, Colby doesn’t. I’m pretty sure Colgate’s social life revolves around the greek scene. I think both student bodies are pretty preppy.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, I think they’re pretty similar, maybe Colgate is a little stronger.</p>
<p>I’m a Colby student, but I visited Colgate several times when applying so I can make at least a base comparison. Here are some things to note:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Waterville (Colby’s town) definitely has more to offer than Hamilton (Colgate). While Hamilton is cute, it’s pretty much a hotel, a bookstore, a movie theater, and a gas station. That’s it. While the town of Waterville might not have the same charm, it definitely has more amenities. There’s the downtown area with its many restaurants and smaller shops and also two more commercial areas near the highway (all of these options are about a 5 min drive / 20 min walk off campus) that have things like Walmart, Home Depot, Staples, a huge movie theater, etc. So, in contrast to what georgie said, there is in fact a much larger town with more to offer in Waterville than there is in Hamilton.</p></li>
<li><p>The academics are the same at both schools.</p></li>
<li><p>Maine isn’t called Vacationland for nothing. The outdoor experiences around here are amazing. I obviously can’t be sure if that would be something you’re interested in, but Sugarloaf (some of the best skiing in the East) is only an hour away in the winter, and hiking is accessible nearby. Colgate may have stuff like this too, but I’d like to think that Colby would have it beat.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the town of Hamilton there are also 3 art galleries, several restaurants (Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, pizza, burgers, 3 delis), the Palace Theater, a proper sports bar, a few other bars and hardware stores, a wholefoods store, 3 beauty salons, the venerable Colgate Inn and the inevitable nail salon- just to be fair. Yes, it’s compact; it has one 5-way traffic light.</p>
<p>I stand corrected on the options in Hamilton, NY. Thanks for pointing that out markham. </p>
<p>That said, I know that at least I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere when visiting Colgate; something I don’t get that feeling here in Waterville. I guess that was really what I was trying to get at.</p>
<p>Don’t know if this is true or not, and I’m sure even if it is true that it’s probably a gross overgeneralization, but what I have heard suggests to me that the student body at Colby is going to be somewhat more liberal politically and socially than the student body at Colgate.</p>
<p>If it matters, Colgate has Division 1 sports, Colby does not.</p>
<p>Students at Colby in aggregate definitely do lean liberal. Then again, most college students when judged as a group tend to lean liberal. It’s a product of the age group. All that being said, it really doesn’t make much of a difference here. Colby really isn’t a very politically charged school.</p>
<p>The town of Hamilton is cute but amounts to about one block. The nearest actual city is Utica, which is downright depressing. I’d take Maine over central NY any day–Augusta is about 20 minutes from Colby, Freeport and Portland an hour or so. Agree that Colby seems less conservative, preppy, totally pre-professional. But both are great schools.</p>
<p>Aw c’mon…</p>
<p>Central NY is not so awful. Between Colgate and Utica, and only 20-25 minutes away is Hamilton College. I imagine it’s similar to Colby in many ways and that can’t be all bad. Then it’s about 15 minutes from there to Utica which is “up and coming” and has an Amtrak station for NYC trains to Penn Station in less than 4 comfortable hours. </p>
<p>I know that college students like to travel about and shop. On the route to Syracuse, home to the Carousel Mall, about 50 minutes from Colgate is Cazenovia College in another very pretty town; it’s only 20 minutes from Colgate. Oh, and I don’t want to overlook Oneida which is about 20 minutes away and its Walmart. </p>
<p>Then there’s Ithaca about 90 minutes away. It’s home to our closest reputable Division 1 sports rival.</p>
<p>So you see there’s a lot of choice in central NY. Nothing to sniff at!</p>
<p>Colby has need-blind admissions, Colgate does not.</p>
<p>And what’s the import if you don’t meet the cut in the first event?</p>
<p>Any other ideas?</p>
<p>Visit visit visit!!! Our D was considering both, and on paper thought Colgate was going to be “the one”, but a visit changed everything. Colgate was not a good fit AT ALL, and Colby was exactly right. Despite very similar stats and academics, the more intangible factors were dramatically different. Seeing the place in person, meeting the other kids, getting a feel for it are invaluable! And, just a word to the wise–check out in depth that each school really has what you’re looking for in programs. We discovered that at Colgate, the study abroad program is very narrowly administered, and that her financial package would not be portable to most of the programs that interested her. By contrast, Colby bends over backward to make an enormous variety of incredible abroad options available, and all of the financial aid is portable. This was a major deal maker/breaker for us! So… VISIT, and do your homework!</p>
<p>Colby vs. Colgate. A couple more things:</p>
<p>Colby gets 400 more hours of sunshine a year than Colgate (Hamilton, Cornell). Google the “How Stuff Works” Annual Sunshine Map. Think of that as 50+ days of winter with sun instead of clouds.</p>
<p>[HowStuffWorks</a> “Maps of United States Annual Sunshine”](<a href=“http://maps.howstuffworks.com/united-states-annual-sunshine-map.htm]HowStuffWorks”>http://maps.howstuffworks.com/united-states-annual-sunshine-map.htm)</p>
<p>Colby has the ocean for science (see Colby research opportunities at Bigelow Laboratory) as well as eating lobster, summers at friends’ cottages on the ocean, etc.</p>
<p>Portland, Maine is on the ocean and has a great arts scene, national concerts, etc. There are tons of other cute ocean towns in Maine. Great photo ops.</p>
<p>Colby has a ton of interface with Boston. Internships are plentiful for Jan Plan and summer. Everyone spends time in Boston on their way to and from campus, visits friends there over break, goes to cheer for the Colby Crew team at the Head of the Charles, etc. Boston is a great college town.</p>
<p>Eliminating frats at Colby (25 years ago) has led to an infinitely more gender-balanced social scene. Schools with frats often feel very different than schools without. Personal preference.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m impressed by the sunshine index. Not sure if I believe the 50+ days of sunshine-vs-clouds claim in winter though; after all, Maine is Maine. That said, I have to admit that I do like lobster and the sea shore for holidays!</p>
<p>Now about the location of Colby, I wonder if it’s a deal breaker for those who might think Colgate/Hamilton/Cornell and Syracuse are remote. According to various online sources I’ve consulted, depending upon road conditions and your driving speed, it takes 3 hours to reach Boston from Colby. That’s amazing! No wonder Boston is on the hub and spoke system for other destinations such as NYC which is yet another 4 hours of driving. In contrast, it’s less than 5 hours to reach Colgate from Boston and 4.5 hours from NYC. </p>
<p>I hope that everyone has a chance to visit a number of colleges and universities and see what’s what. Good luck to all!</p>
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<p>I’m not sure what you mean here. Maine is Maine, but Maine is sunny, even in the winter.</p>
<p>Also, while Colgate may be equally far from both NYC and Boston, it’s pretty far from both. Colby is at least close to Boston, with Augusta (20 min), Freeport (1 hr), Portland (1 hr, 15 min), and Portsmouth (NH, 2 hrs) along the way. So while both schools are remote, both have nearby small cities (Colgate has Syracuse and Utica). Overall, I think that Colby is less remote, but the fact of the matter is that anyone considering Colgate or Colby knows that they’re not going to a metropolis or its suburbs.</p>
<p>… as in Maine is not Mexico. Who would believe Maine has 50+ sunny days more than central NY state in the winter season alone?</p>
<p>Well, i’d rather have colgate toothpaste than colby headphones so…</p>
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<p>Gotcha. I suppose it is weird considering all the snow that we get. Guess it’s just sunny here when it’s not snowing ;)</p>
<p>Colby is MUCH less remote than Colgate. While Waterville is nobody’s idea of lovely, it does have its cute stores, and plenty of restaurants (Pad Thai, anyone?) and big box stores, while Hamilton, NY (where Colgate is) is probably the most far-from-anywhere place I have ever been. Not just a small town (and we’re talking teeny-tiny!), but there’s nothing but nothing for miles around. (and I went to Kenyon–not what you’d call a booming metropolis!) As we’ve said before, drive an hour from Colby and you can be in Bar Harbor or Portland or any number of other beautiful coastal towns. Drive an hour from Colgate and you’re in… Utica.</p>