Colgate/Wesleyan

Parents Forum
1

<p>My wife and I are thrilled that our D got into these two great schools. We are going to both of the colleges' accepted student days staying at least two days at each school. D has done overnight already at Colgate and will do overnight at WESFEST. We know that Colgate has a large greek scene that is a significant source of the social life. We know about Wesleyan's eclectic student body. Our D is quite liberal in her outlook likes parties but is not a drinker. She knows that the decisions are all in her lap now but she does want our opinions.</p>

<p>The insight I would appreciate is are their any true differences between these two schools? My D at this point is interested in Psych. and Spanish. We have compared the course offerings and they seem similar on paper. Do any of you have kids there? If any student who is currently enrolled at one of the schools has any input it would be appreciated. Do any of you such as I-Dad have any interesting statistics about the schools such a success getting into grad schools etc. to share. Or is this going to boil down to the intangibles of what college resonates bets with D. I am thinking that is what it will be. Thanks for any insight.</p>

<p>Dana's Dad</p>

2

<p>I have close friends whose sons and daughters have gone to those (fine) schools. Colgate, though small, plays Division I sports and a large percentage of its students are athletes. I think it's fair to say that with the Greek scene, the atmosphere on that campus is more conservative, more "establishment" than that at Wesleyan. Colgate is in a small, bucolic town that the college has put significant resources into. Wesleyan is in a larger town that is a little gritty around the edges. The book, The Gatekeepers, a study of the college admissions process that came out a few years ago, focused on Wesleyan's admission process and personnel, and also had some pages illuminating that college's culture. I got the impression of very earnest, well-meaning staff and an "out there," experimental atmosphere that could be very appealing.</p>

<p>I have no doubt that your daughter will have distinct impressions of the two schools, and should have a clear idea which way she leans after her visits. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>These are both wonderful schools. Congratulations to your D.</p>

4

<p>"Our D is quite liberal in her outlook likes parties but is not a drinker."</p>

<p>She will be in a distinct minority at C. The binge drinking rate in the past two weeks approaches 50% (which means there are more binge drinkers than moderate drinkers). There is plenty of drinking at W. as well, but the ratios are close to being reversed. (There are abstainers at both places.) </p>

<p>Academically, they are both topnotch, and a good student at either will have no problem with grad schools. Congrats!</p>

5

<p>You might want to PM Wjb. Her daughter attended Colgate, and I think you would find her insights useful. Also PM a poster named Garland - she has lots of experience with Wes.</p>

<p>They may both speak up here as well. Congratulations to your daughter.</p>

6

<p>Hi Dana's Dad! Congrats to your D for some fine choices. As Carolyn said, my D went to Wes and absolutely loved everything about it. I don't have much experience with C, though we did some prelim research on it when our S was looking at schools, because he was interested in astro at the time and it has a good program in that.</p>

<p>Overall, I would agree with Suna's descriptions, though with some caveats. The town of Middletown, though perhaps more "gritty" than some classic college towns, has a lovely downtown area which my D really liked a lot. While she was there, and even more so since she graduated in 04, I believe it's gone through quite a lot of change, with more restaurants, shops, etc which might appeal to students. For entertainment, overall Wes students seem to stay on campus, which has an amazing amount of cultural and other activities going on every day and night. Once in a while, students travel to Boston or NYC, but most seem to really like being on campus.</p>

<p>I also wouldn't, despite its rep, say that it's uniformly "out there." Students do tend to be liberal, but there is a wide range of styles and interests. Few are really "out there" but many are quirky in all kinds of ways. they do all seem to share a real passion for learning for its own sake. My D transfered to Wes, and this was what she was seeking which was somewhat lacking in her first school.</p>

<p>As was said, Colgate is Division 1 and Wes is D3, and not a dominating D3. Athletics are pretty relaxed there on the whole. </p>

<p>The other main reason my D transfered was because of the kind of drinking culture at her first school--much more intense and widespread than at Wes. I can't speak for Colgate in that respect.</p>

<p>They are both great schools. A D of friends of ours is at C as a frosh and loves it. She is a very down to earth, non-preppy kid, probably more middle of the road than our D, but smart and extremely nice. She is there as an athlete and is having a great experience.</p>

<p>So, it's definitely a fit thing--I suspect that visits to both will clarify this for your D. Either way, they are both wonderful schools, very student centered and promising a solid experience either way.</p>

7

<p>They seem rather apples and orangish to me. I can't imagine a good fit kid at one being a good fit kid at the other.</p>

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<p>I just want to add that S, who was at Wes at the same time as Garland's D, enjoyed his time there very much. He was a non-drinker and lived for one year in a substance-free dorm. The following couple of years, he lived in a Wes apartment after his return from his semester abroad.</p>

<p>Garland is right that students tend to stay at Wes for entertainment, though when S went for an admitted students visit, there were busloads of students going off to NYC to take part in a demonstration. I can't remember what it was all about. He also noted some extreme, in-your-face chalkings at the time, but by the time he enrolled, these had been banned. There are definitely some groups with a cause, but they do not seem to dominate the campus, even those that attract media attention. It is entirely possible for a student who does not drink, do drugs, has limited interest in politics, to thrive at Wes.
Hope this helps.</p>

9

<p>Thank you all for your insights which are very helpful. When we visited W last year we thought that the town did have quite a few good restaurants and places for the kids to hang out in. I also understand there is a movie complex in town but with W's great theater and movie program I don't forsee any lack of that kind of entertainment.</p>

<p>One thing that I have read in the C student paper are complaints that the students don't support their atheletic teams enough so I don't think it has the typical Div. 1 sports mentality that many other schools have. Which by the way I think is a very cool thing(sports fever) as it makes for an exciting and unifying school spirit.</p>

<p>My only concern about C is that the town has nothing at all to do there. A couple of ehhh restaurants a few pizza shops and a movie house. I hope that the students and the university offer alot especially during central NY's long winters.</p>

<p>It will be interesting to see how my D evaluates the two great schools and what she will discern are her important factors. Thanks again to all of you and any further postings will be appreciated. It certainly is great for D to have good choices of these two schools and two others lacs not mentioned.</p>

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<p>I don't know much about Colgate ... my kids did not look into it at all because of its very Greek atmosphere. While visiting Tufts, we met a lovely young lady who had just transferred there from Colgate. When we asked her why, she said that the only thing happening at Colgate was drinking, drinking, drinking. She felt very out of place as she was not a drinker. My son's final choices were between Wesleyan and Vassar. He chose Vassar but I'm sure he would have been happy at Wes too. I don't doubt that all of these schools have drinking/partying cultures. However, I know that at Vassar those that don't party heavily fit right in. From what I've heard, it's the same at Wesleyan. I suspect that your daughter will have a good indication of where she fits best after she visits and does overnights. Congratulations on her fabulous admissions!</p>

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<p>Hi Dana's Dad -- </p>

<p>As Carolyn mentioned, my daughter transferred from Colgate after her freshman year. Here's a thread on which I discuss her reasons: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2872268&highlight=colgate#post2872268%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2872268&highlight=colgate#post2872268&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>For my daughter, the cultural fit was just not there, and the physical isolation meant there was no escape. For many other kids, the fit is excellent. I know that jrpar's son is both very successful and very happy at Colgate. I do agree with those posters who have pointed out that Colgate and Wesleyan are culturally quite disimilar, although I believe that if a given kid is comfortable being outside of the mainstream, he or she could find a fit on either campus. Both are large enough to support a variety of subcultures. </p>

<p>I also want to add that although I don't know anything specific about Psych or Spanish, the academics and academic advising at Colgate were top-drawer. </p>

<p>Please PM me if you have additional questions. And for a contrary view, you might want to PM jrpar.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
the atmosphere on that campus is more conservative, more "establishment" than that at Wesleyan

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Without belaboring the point, or over-emphasizing it, there are precious few higher-education institutions for which this statement would not be true.</p>

13

<p>My d is at colgate and thought of transfering- some because of the drinking culture- but some, because she didn't analyze where she wanted to live which changes friends. She thought the suites were great and cute, but it ended up the party dorm(Andrews). She thought, hey, I like to live it up too once in awhile- but a lot of kids there like to liven it up all of the time. She would have been smarter to do the leadership program at Gate house, where her friends now live. She now has found the friends who don't drink all of the time or don't drink at all. It's still an evolving process though.
She has loved her classes, not minded the huge amount of snow that fell this year and I think, enjoys herself as much as she would have anywhere. I think Colgate has been a good place for her and she no longer is speaking of transfering.
I think your D will know which school she'll fit in- I was looking for that perfect formula last year as we revisited where she got in and by gut instinct, she chose Colgate</p>

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<p>Oberlin and Vassar would be a lot more like Wesleyan in atmosphere. So would Brown, which is why all of those schools get a lot of cross-applicants. I think that Colgate would be more like Union; it would be unlikely that a particular kid would find a fit at both Colgate and Wesleyan.</p>

15

<p>First of all, Colgate and Wesleyan are both excellent schools - your daughter will have a great academic experience at either one. I know psychology (and in particular neuroscience) is very strong at Colgate but don't know anything about Spanish. I think Wesleyan also has a good neuroscience program.</p>

16

<p>AH - I wrote a long post which was somehow deleted and lost. Let's see if I can remember what I wrote.</p>

<p>Congratulations to your daughter - Colgate and Wesleyan are both wonderful schools. What a nice choice to have.</p>

<p>I like JHS's quote above. Colgate is more conservative than Wesleyan, but it's not a very conservative place. My son (and his friends) are all outspokenly liberal.</p>

<p>The frats are no longer the dominant presence they were on campus years ago - or even 5 years ago for the matter. The school recently forced the frats to sell their houses to the school, and it is exercising a good deal of control over the frats these days, including the rush process. Some alums think this is a first step to getting rid of the frats all together and are dismayed - but I like the current administration's approach to the issue. My son joined a frat last fall but it is not the focus of his life at school. There is plenty going on on campus outside of the frats.</p>

<p>There are some sporting events which draw large crowds at Colgate - a home football game on a nice fall afternoon will find a sea of maroon t-shirted-students in the stands, and students line up for hours to get into the Colgate-Cornell hockey games. The basketball teams were both pretty awful this winter and I think the letters/articles you read were reacting to the lack of crowds (just a few hundred or so) at the hoops games. Intercollegiate sports don't dominate the campus culture. Having said that, Colgate students are a physically active bunch - drive by the athletic fields and gyms on a late afternoon and they are packed. The outdoors club is very active.</p>

<p>A couple of years ago I would have thought it would be a rare student who fit both Colgate and Wesleyan - I think I might have even posted here on CC to that effect. Having learned more about Wesleyan over the last few months, I'm no longer sure that is true. My younger son has looked at both of these schools and likes both of them, and I think he could "fit" at either. Both schools are larger than most other LAC's and this size allows for more diversity of interests.</p>

<p>I can't remember what else I wrote in my deleted post! </p>

<p>Colgate is a great place to go to school. One of the things that makes it special is the tremendous affection its students and alums have for the place. </p>

<p>Good luck to your daughter in making her choice. If I can answer any specific questions about Colgate, please PM me. I think you are right that it will come down to which school has the intangibles that most resonant with your daughter.</p>

17

<p>I just wanted to thank all of you for the great responses to the posting. I printed them out and my D read all of them and found them helpful. It is great to have CC as a support system and an encyclopedia of college knowledge.</p>

<p>Dana's Dad</p>