<p>My daughter has narowed her choices down to these two. While they have a lot in common, they also seem to have some important differences.</p>
<p>I wonder if anyone has any insight as to the differences between the two?</p>
<p>Some details that stood out to me about Colgate was the noticeable Greek influence. For Colby it was that there is no Greek system, and there is the Jan Plan.</p>
<p>Kids at both schools…I sent you an email if you would like to chat…Best of luck.</p>
<p>My daughter was admitted to both Colby and Colgate and pretty much narrowed her choices down to the two schools with one or two other possibilities. After thinking about it, she decided she loved Colgate but only liked Colby. This is her choice, and your mileage may differ, and certainly Colby is a very fine school.</p>
<p>As I recall, she didn’t want to be in the North Woods of Maine hours from the airport in Boston, but didnt’ mind (and I have no idea why) being in upstate New York an hour from Syracuse Airport. We live in California so this mattered. A cousin of hers attended Bates (also in Maine) and described his 3-hour bus rides to Logan Airport in Boston just to get on a plane. I know there are local airports closer to Colby, though, if travel is an issue. </p>
<p>My daughter like the big sports athletics at Colgate. Colby plays Division III sports (which always seemed like high school to me). Colgate plays Division I sports so it’s a bit more exciting if you’re playing or just watching. Colgate had great off-campus programs especially overseas progams (She spent a semester in Paris – kind of cool), but I imagine Colby does, too. And the academics differ in some ways, depending on the programs you’re interested in, of course. She is in Political Science and it’s a first-rate program at Colgate. </p>
<p>I think what finally decided for her was that she felt that Colgate was a bigger, richer, more varied kind of school where she’d meet more types of people–more a small university than a college. I don’t really know if it turned out that way for her (She’s a Senior now), but she absolutely loves Colgate. </p>
<p>Now you have to decide. Good luck. Both are terrific schools but with very different feelings and appeals. Whichever one “speaks to you” is probably the right choice.</p>
<p>Both are great schools.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, we went to revisit days for both schools in the past week, and Colgate came out a clear winner, at least for her.</p>
<p>ColDad59…Did you buy the sweatshirt? As you will find out, it will be a winner for both of you. Welcome to the Colgate family. You should be proud of her!</p>
<p>She ordered the sweartshirt online…we visited Colgate first, and she didn’t make the decision until she had seen both.</p>
<p>Colgate is quite preppy, has a big Greek scene and most students like to play sports. </p>
<p>And Colby is not in the North Woods of Maine. It’s in Waterville, which has an incredible movie place downtown (Railroad Square Cinema), ethnic food and a some shopping options. Hamilton, NY has virtually nothing, although it certainly is a lot better than it was before the college bought up and renovated parts of downtown.</p>
<p>Both have excellent academics.</p>
<p>Momfromme,</p>
<p>Virtually nothing? Then you must have missed the Hamilton Movie Theater and Palace Theater, as well as the venerable Colgate Inn, La Iguana, Nichols & Beale, Royal Indian Grill, Rusch’s Sports Bar, Main Moon and the other amenities of Hamilton, NY. Then there are the Seven Oaks Golf Club on campus and the Hamilton Inn on Lake Moraine off campus. </p>
<p>Of course, Colgate is 1000 students larger than Colby and has 100+ more faculty and so I imagine that on-campus life reflects the difference. Am I right to suggest that Colby is similar to Hamilton College in Clinton, NY in terms of size and its town amenities? That’s about 20 minutes away from Colgate.</p>
<p>…And not to slight Slices Pizzeria just beyond the Barge coffee shop on Lebanon Street, I would like to add Oliveri’s Pizzeria across the street from the Hamilton Movie Theater. I will be visiting Colgate next week and look forward to having breakfast and dinner at least once at both. Great people run them and they are all very popular with students.</p>
<p>Good luck with your college search!</p>
<p>Colby was the CLEAR winner for me. It’s all about fit/personal preference.</p>
<p>Well, I do have to admit I haven’t been in Hamilton for awhile. I guess the college’s efforts to improve downtown have yielded strong results. That was a good investment.</p>
<p>And, no, Waterville is not like Clinton. It’s 15 minutes from the state capitol, an hour from the biggest city in the state (a truly fabulous, walkable city with an incredible art and music scene) and relatively close to skiing one direction and gorgeous beaches the other way. Clinton is a cute town and you can get to the Adirondacks easily but it’s far away from a real city.</p>
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<p>As a proud alumnus of Colgate and part time Hamilton, NY resident, I am always pleased to highlight what makes our community so special. </p>
<p>The renaissance of our village began roughly 25 years ago when the Colgate bookstore was moved downtown from its position of the O’Connor Campus Center (the Coop) on the campus’ Hill. Now the Colgate Bookstore is the largest independent bookstore in Central New York. It is owned and operated by Colgate and its proceeds are plowed back into our educational mission.</p>
<p>Since then wise planning and investment have allowed many other enterprises to follow, thereby enhancing the charm of Hamilton.</p>
<p>Probably this dynamic has contributed to Forbes in Dec., 2012 naming Hamilton, NY as he 11th most friendly town in the country. Check it out!</p>
<p>I hope you visit again sometime. The Finger Lakes, Adirondacks, Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown and numerous colleges and universities are within easy reach too.</p>
<p>Good luck with your college search!</p>
<p>… And I was thinking about transport links in connection with your views on Clinton, NY’s location. </p>
<p>Clinton is only about 15-20 minutes from Utica which has a mainline train station. We are about 45 minutes away from the station in Hamilton. From there you can go to Albany in 2 or so hours and New York City in a very civilized 4.5 hours. And from both Clinton and Hamilton Syracuse airport is less than an hour’s drive for nonstop destinations such as NY, Philadelphia, DC, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta etc.</p>
<p>And from the Colgate campus we have regular Shortline bus service to NYC via Binghamton in 5 hours. So we are well served with public transportation in central NY.</p>
<p>Good luck with your college seach!</p>
<p>markham,</p>
<p>I can believe that the bookstore moved downtown 13-15 years ago but I am quite certain it was not 25 years ago.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update on Hamilton. Colgate clearly made good decisions to spruce up the downtown, as it used to be rather dingy.</p>
<p>Momfromme,</p>
<p>You are right and I imagine that your recall is based on a visit to Hamilton in the late 1990s or so.</p>
<p>I did a quick google search and see reference to work on the 1895 building that houses the Colgate Bookstore now leading up to the eventual move in 2002- 11 years ago.</p>
<p>Thanks and regards!</p>