<p>how does social life, campus life and student happiness compare between the two? pros, cons, why cornell over colgate?</p>
<p>see, im trying to decide now whether or not i should try to pursue the waitlist at cornell with updates etc, or just decline my spot...</p>
<p>we're better at hockey :)</p>
<p>why would not want to pursue? just do it cuz u may never know, u might get off the waitlist. Enroll at Colgate, but still keep pursuing Cornell.</p>
<p>btw didn't u also get JHU?</p>
<p>If you are waitlisted at Cornell, definitely go to Colgate and make sure to get good grades so you can transfer out. Colgate and Cornell, from everything I have seen and heard, are roughly comparable in terms of rigor, so not only will you be prepared better than 95% of the competition, any school will look at your grades much differently because of the grade deflation. Pretty much any time you see stuff about an "Average GPA," they're talking about the grades people get at state schools, community colleges, or Harvard; not places where you have to really <em>earn</em> good grades.</p>
<p>FYI I'm currently applying for transfer to Cornell CAS from Colgate.</p>
<p>The social scene at Colgate gets worse by the year, and overall the school is pretty much going down the tubes in everything but academics. Greek Life here used to be great, but the school is killing off the frats, and out of fear they're generally lame now, anyway. Colgate used to be an awesome place to go to school, but now it has to be one of the most dull places I've ever found. What's more, they tell you that the small size of the place leads to really close relationships, but they fail to mention that the small size of the place severely limits your opportunities for growth and change, because it's hard to work your way into new circles of close friends. Also, the "Colgate type" is not a myth: you will not be comfortable if you don't fit the type, and there is scarcely any diversity whatsoever.</p>
<p>If you took the Colgate tour, they told you that the library is "temporarily" closed for renovations. It won't be finished until December 2007, if I recall correctly, so good luck finding a library or a study place that is pleasing, quiet, and comfortable if you don't have a good single. In terms of the classes, don't believe they are as small as they say they are. My Elementary Ancient Greek class has 32 students, and so do both of my CORE courses.</p>
<p>Colgate has good food, compared to other colleges, but after a while you realize how bad it is, and there are, as in anything else, extremely few options both on campus and in town. The "healthy options" dining hall, for example, is almost never open when I want to eat there.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, most people here find their place and are very happy at Colgate, although I find they are often jealous of friends at higher-ranked schools for having so little work. The people who join frats or sororities tend to be the happiest, but there are only ten houses in the Greek System and they only accept certain types of people.</p>
<p>Since I'm trying to transfer, you should take my scathing criticism with a grain of salt. What I say is true, but chances are that if you come to Colgate you will not regret it. And if you do well in your classes, get involved, and find yourself fed up with the place like I am, you will most likely find yourself at an advantage in applying for transfer, or for graduate school.</p>
<p>yeah i did get into hopkins, but i liked colgate 100x more</p>
<p>well i already did the thing online where i opted to stay on cornell's waiting list, and i got into colgate as well. I sorta felt a lot of what our bitter transferee up here (kingsleyzissou) is saying about colgate. it just didnt seem like the kinda place a not-so-rich, not-so-preppy, not-so-fratty, wanting-to-meet-new-people (i.e. me) would want to go to. i just didnt feel like i fit in, so thats why i'm pretty sure im attending middlebury next fall.</p>