Colgate vs. GWU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colgate University
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<p>Hey Everyone! </p>

<p>I can't decide between GWU or going to Colgate. I'm not sure what I want to study ( possibly foreign languages, history, etc) and I love DC but I also love small college towns.
I know that DC has so much to offer, internships, etc. but I"m worried I'll be missing out the traditional college campus/close knit community that colgate offers
I know that GW and Colgate are so different but i'm torn. i love both equally.
What do you guys think? Which school has the most to offer/best way to spend my undergraduate years? Any suggestions/comments?
THANKS SO MUCH.</p>

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<p>A lot of Colgate kids are city kids at heart so they often escape to big cities for summer internships. Colgate rents 4 apartments in DC that often go to interns and I did it one summer and it was JUST FABULOUS because I didn’t have to go apartment hunting! :)</p>

<p>As people will eventually tell you, you have 4 years to live in a small, rural town but you have the rest of your life to live in big cities. That was my decision when I chose Smith over American University (before I transferred to Colgate). I’ve never regretted it because I was able to be in DC for 2 summers and then abroad in a big city for one summer.</p>

<p>I have several friends who went to GWU. We certainly had VERY different experiences that we almost never quite talk about on a regular basis unless we had an outsider who wanted to know about colleges. We all had a wonderful time and were happy with our decisions. It really depended on how we made the most of our college experience. I definitely had much different perspective of academics, professors, campus life, and such that my GWU friends were “uhh… what did we do in college again? We did play in the city a lot…”</p>

<p>Also, think about expenses as well :)</p>

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<p>Apples and Oranges. Totally different situations. Larger colleges in cities have almost nothing in common with small liberal arts colleges. If you want the traditional small-town college experience, you will not find it at BU, NYU, or GWU. A nephew went to NYU and he hardly even felt like he was in college. It was like taking courses in some huge faceless institution he did not even feel particularly connected to. No offense to NYU as many students I have taught over the years (I’m a high school teacher) have loved New York City and found NYU excellent for what they wanted. But most were not students who wanted to go to “college” so much as students who wanted to get out in the world and to a lot of things. My nephew even graduated from NYU in three years, mainly so he could get out of there. </p>

<p>I don’t know very much about GWU, but of course it is a very good school. You can get a very good education there. Being in Washington would be interesting, too. Academically and in terms of overall reputation, however, Colgate is a good deal ahead of GW. I think most people would agree. And GWU is a little in the shadow of Georgetown in some ways which might rub some people the wrong way. </p>

<p>Colgate offers a first-rate academic experience. The larger a university gets, I think the more varied its academics get. What I mean is that there is no focus anywhere. Colgate has strengths in all the areas you mention – foreign languages and history, especially – and you will work hard, there will be much more focus on certain key elements, and in the end you will emerge with an excellent reputation. It does not have a lot of junk academics like larger universities sometimes have. I attended Colgate, and I consider my education to be superior to that offered by most of the top 25 universities in the country. I have many friends who went to such schools, Ivies and others, who were allowed to focus too narrowly or who found that, after the competition of getting in, the work they actually did in college was not very rigorous. Colgate will stretch you and you will benefit from it. Getting in is just the beginning. </p>

<p>Colgate recognizes it is in a small town in the middle of nowhere, which is why it has an amazing number of off-campus programs, both in D.C. and elsewhere. I think it has at least 20 overseas programs. An enormous majority of Colgate students use these programs. Somewhere I read that it was 65% or more, but check that figure. So while many students at large urban colleges are staying put, the typical Colgate student is involved in at least one off-campus program. You will not be trapped in a small town all the time!</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy[/url]”>http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy/semesterprograms[/url]”>http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy/semesterprograms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy/extendedstudy[/url]”>http://www.colgate.edu/academics/offcampusstudy/extendedstudy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In high school, which college experience you choose seems like the most important decision of your life. It’s an important one, but you have decades after college to do many things, including travel and more study, if you wish. The four years in college are special and should be spent focusing on college (in my opinion), making good friends, working hard academically, and opening your mind to new experiences. Being in a college in a large city is something I would have found very distracting. I would be afraid that after four years, I would feel I had taken courses in many buildings and done many things, but that I had missed the closeness and special quality of a traditional “college experience.” It sounds like you might want that, too. </p>

<p>No one can make your mind up for you, of course. And, you can always transfer! You are always best going with your gut feeling. Keep in mind, that wherever you do go, some things will not please you. The small town college will get tiresome at times. The big city college will be overwhelming at times. At one you may get tired of the same people, but at the other you may get tired of feeling anonymous or unconnected to the institution. You’re looking for the place you feel you’ll like best most of the time, not all of the time.</p>