I visited Colgate University and absolutely loved almost everything about it. After doing further research post-visit, I realized that the vibe/environment of a party school might not be for me. I know that there will be parties and drinking anywhere I choose to go; however, being that Colgate is a small school and that I’ve read that frats dominate the social scene, I don’t know that I would fit into a college where the social scene revolved that heavily around parties and Greek life. I probably will drink and go to parties at some point, but I don’t want a school that nessessarily has a strong “work hard, play hard” mentality.
Are there any colleges other than Hamilton (which is my number 1 choice right now), with similar academics, an LAC, size, ect) that are similar to Colgate but might have a more welcoming and diverse social scene? I visited Vassar and that was a little too liberal for me.
@nwcollege, what were the things that you liked about Colgate? That might help others come up with some other options.
Holy Cross might be an option. Not too liberal, no frats. I think the drinking culture is there, though, come to think of it. What about Haverford? I don’t think they have a frat scene, and I’m pretty sure it’s not a party school. I don’t know where it falls on the liberal/conservative spectrum, though.
What are you thinking about majoring in? Will you need financial aid or merit aid, or can your parents afford to pay full tuition for a private school? The answers to those questions might help people point you in the right direction.
Here’s some schools to consider with a range of selectivity that aren’t extremely liberal or overly greek (in many cases non greek), but where you can still have fun and get a great education without being an over the top party school: Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Dickinson, Haverford, Middlebury, St. Lawrence. These are all in the Northeast. If you wish to consider other regions, I could make a few other suggestions of schools to consider.
I think you might click with Haverford. Our D visited Lafayette, Colgate, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Williams and Vassar. Colgate seemed too preppy. She really liked Hamilton and thought she might ED there. Liked Vassar, but couldn’t quite see herself there. Wesleyan had a very liberal vibe and she liked it. Williams was a bit more conservative and while very beautiful, she felt it was too remote. Lafayette also had very nice campus, but the town of Easton seemed rather depressed. Haverford ended up at the top of her list. Small LAC, beautiful campus, no Greek life, with the added benefit of having a train station across the street where she could get into Philadelphia in 20 minutes. It is also part of the Quaker Consortium and it is easy to take classes at both Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore. She was accepted ED there in December and will part of the class of 2020.
Oh man. There is so much I could post on this thread. First off, I want to start by saying that when I agreed to go to Colgate, I never drank, never partied, and didnt plan on partying. Now, I am in a frat and I am really enjoying my experience. Colgate is 100% a work hard play hard campus, but thats mainly because of any school you could go to, Colgate students are incredibly passionate and HEAVILY involved. What do you expect when you go to a Wall-Street feeder school with some of the highest middle career earnings in thr U.S.? You wont find this characteristic in most other LACs. I do have friends who kept their promise not to drink, and still loved Colgate. I also have friends who hated Colgate and transferred. Its all about your own ability to cope.
I will say that if Hamilton is your top choice, Colgate probably isnt for you. Despite being close geographically, Hamilton is an anti-Colgate of sorts. It has 1,000 less students, virtually no athletics, no downtown presence, and weak greek life. Its more of a pure LAC - very laid back and more liberal and humanities focused then Colgate.
Unfortunately, I dont think you can really find a school like Colgate. Some second-tier LACs are bigger and have athletics like Colgate, but lack in academic rigor and job placement. Williams is full of preppy, athletic go-getters like Colgate, but its also tough to get accepted. Bates is probably the closest thing to what you are looking for. As a college, its student body always seemed incredibly ‘normal’ to me. Like I was at a diverse public university. Middlebury was my top pick while applying to schools, but I now realize I would have miserable there. Its preppier and richer than Colgate without the social life to balance it out!
Ultimately, its gonna take quite a bit of research on your part, but I honestly believe there is no place like 'gate. Even if it isnt for you, I hope you find some semblance of what you liked about Colgate somewhere else. best of luck.
“Hamilton [has] . . . virtually no athletics” (#9)
This would be news to the students at Hamilton, of course. Hamilton fields 29 varsity athletic teams (compared to 23 at Colgate), including baseball, which Colgate lacks.
There are 25 D1 sports at Colgate competing in the Patriot League and ECAC (ice hockey) with early season competition with ACC, Big East, Ivy and other D1 league teams. The resource and dedication commitments of Colgate and its students to this level of performance is simply not matched by DIII schools such as Hamilton. Sorry, but that’s easy enough to verify and validate.
“There are 25 D1 Sports at Colgate . . . that’s easy enough to verify” (#11)
Colgate appears to list 11 men’s and 12 women’s varsity teams on its “Athletics” page. However, should “swimming and diving” be counted as two sports (for both men and women), that would add two more.
Here’s some additional perspective for those interested in the state of play in central New York and D1 athletics:
Colgate routinely schedules ACC member Syracuse and Ivy member Cornell in football, soccer, volleyball, field hockey, lacrosse, ice hockey, basketball, softball and other sports. As you might expect, and given the type of program Syracuse operates, Colgate’s results are less satisfactory than those Colgate achieves against Cornell. There is little, if any, exposure to Hamilton- apart from the odd tennis and track meet. Oh, and club rugby matches, which Colgate wins handily.
How about tuning into the CBS Sports Network’s national coverage of the Colgate Raiders’ women’s and men’s lacrosse games tomorrow versus the Midshipmen of Navy? And then there wac Colgate’s end of season no. 8 national ranking in women’s ice hockey. This level of play exemplifies the commitment to D1 sports within the Patriot League and the ECAC. Win or lose, Colgate students and alumni have a lot to boast about.
About other sports, and about the ole giant-killer ambitions Colgate teams have long pursued, my favorite event of the year was the Colgate men’s (club) squash team’s victory in February over Northwestern to win the Hawthorn Cup. How about that for a top central NY LAC with 2900 students?
Hamilton athletics are participatory and integrated into the life of typical students. This is one of the decided strengths of the college. Ocassional national championships (e.g., women’s lacrosse) are not beyond Hamilton’s reach, however.
“Oh, and rugby matches, which Colgate wins handily” (#13)
Then there’re squash matches, from which it appears that Holden Caufield himself (of foils on the train misadventure) may have been responsible for transporting Colgate’s rackets:
Would those Hamilton varsity squash team results be against the Colgate CLUB squash teams, by chance?
Moving along, I will be back with the scores involving the rugby teams. Both sets of teams are at the CLUB level.
For now, though, I see both teams’ women’s websites for 2015 show Colgate wins and so I guess that’s settled.
On the men’s side the Colgate website gives the spring 2016 match schedule but not the 2015 results while the
Hamilton site for some reason has no men’s rugby site information beyond 2013. What’s that about?
Anyway, I will supply the rugby scores for this past fall season as soon as I can do so but if you can locate something I would be interested.
For anyone interested, here is the competitive profile regarding rugby, a club sport at both Colgate and Hamilton:
Women’s rugby in 2015 saw Colgate prevail 28-17, as it did in 2013 and 2014. By the way, Colgate is in the National Small College Rugby Organization and made it to the championship contest, losing to Minnesota State University at Moorhead(!).
Regarding the men’s team, there was no match between Colgate and Hamilton in 2015. Colgate is 1AA and Hamilton is DIII/National Small College Rugby Association. Apparently, there is little interest in competition, apart possibly for player developmental reasons.
“Would those Hamilton varsity club team results be against the Colgate CLUB teams, by chance?” (#16)
Colgate doesn’t have a varsity squash team, which relates to the athletics-breadth subtopic. However, with focus, effort and determination, Colgate squash players may win at least one of their 18 annually scheduled Hamilton matches within the next few years. In fact, I’d come close to predicting it.
“I see both teams’ women’s websites for 2015 show Colgate [rugby] wins, so I guess that’s settled” (#16)
Perhaps, but there’s a rumor the rugby ball was improperly inflated.
