Great… thanks! Choice is good!
@shoot4moon Each floor in all the 1st Year dorms has a single sex bathroom, for each gender. That is not to say the closest bathroom to your room ( or the second closest) matches your gender. Each floor also has a ‘single use’ handicap bathroom. I have lived in Slocum for 3 years, and since I have never had a handcapped person on my hall, those are used by everyone.
Each 1st year dorm has plus’ and minus’. Mathias has ‘Local Goods’ on the first floor, which is essentially a small 7-11, but we can use our meal plans in it. Slocum is the newest, thus nicest, of the three, and also closest to the library and union. Loomis is closer to upper classmen and also all the ‘action’ on campus. It is also the closest to the Preserve, which is a gourmet deli in the apartments.
Noisiest areas? Loomis, Mathias then Slocum.
In addition, unless they have changed something, First Years do not get a choice of dorm. I suppose if a student had a huge preference for one of the groups which is housed in Mathias, they might be able to mention this to the Residence Hall staff. Sometimes, First Years move between semesters to be in one of the Mathias communities. But most people are assigned to dorms without their input. Then, the next three years, we have a housing lottery, and you get to choose, though Sophs get the leftovers, since the lottery is randomized by the number of credits you have.
@KoloradoKid
If you’re a science major, how’s the block plan help/hurt when learning difficult subjects?
@MaizeScream The only real difficulty is that most science classes have labs 2 or 3 days per week. That can eat up study time. Conversely, you only have one class, so it is not like a lab gets in the way of another class, or vice versa. Furthermore, teachers only have one class per block, so they typically have plenty of time to assist students outside the classroom. My first year I took 2 Blocks of Chinese, then all Calc, Chem and Physics. I am still alive to tell the tale, so it can’t be that hard.
Is the social scene “cliquey”? From some reviews on niche, it says people get into groups fast and don’t really associate with others. Full disclosure I’m a pretty awkward and kind of shy guy, will I have trouble making friends?
@KoloradoKid one concern I have is about how welcoming my accepted student would find not only the CC college community, but also the greater Colorado Springs community. They are non binary and definitely wants to be in a place of tolerance. They have some wonderful choices already (Middlebury, Oberlin, Hamilton, Reed…) but they love the Block Plan and the Rocky Mountains. They are leaning CC but I’ve heard Colorado Springs is very conservative and I want them to feel safe and accepted. I would appreciate your thoughts and I appreciate your posting here.
@MaizeScream @aynrandfan Colorado College is on spring break right now, so @KoloradoKid might be off galivanting somewhere. 
@MaizeScream My D is a freshman there and introverted, however, she has not found any difficulty at all finding friends. In fact, she has different “group” (or cliques," I guess) that she hangs out with, without any difficulty. And the different clubs provide even more opportunities for developing friendships. I worried about her relative quietness before she started college, but that turns out to have been a needless worry.
@aynrandfan While Oberlin and Reed are definitely more “out there” and progressive, with welcoming everyone with open arms, Colorado College is hardly a conservative bastion, or even preppy/jock-like at all – I’ve seen very happy students there with blue hair and hippie attire. The town is definitely one of the weirdest towns I have ever seen. There are social conservatives with Trump bumper stickers and confederate flags, there are hippie mobiles (like VW busses) with peace signs and old Obama stickers, of course there are pot shops since it’s legal in the state, everything. I do not know how Colorado Springs works, it is just so hard to define culturally. If you live close enough or if it is feasible, I’d recommend exploring the city for a day. It’s as if Portland OR and Auburn, AL had a baby.
Worth noting is that only medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed in C Springs. The city doesn’t allow recreational sales although just outside city limits, that is available as well.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-colorado-springs-marijuana-20171215-htmlstory.html
@MaizeScream
I don’t see the characterization in Niche to be accurate at all. If one wants to fall into a micro-family, there are plenty of special interest groups with housing arrangements. But everyone is very friendly. Nobody is standoffish. I think that an outsider or someone new to campus to think there are cliques. The reality is that we study really hard for 3.5 weeks, then enjoy the heck out of ourselves for a 4.5 day Block Break. There is no such thing a ‘no classes on Thursday’ which makes Wednesday night a terrific social night. Every day, at 9:00 sharp, there is a 3 hour class for 99% of the student body and people here do put a premium on learning. Still, the three 1st Year dorms all have really attractive social / common spaces. There are guest lecturers and gallery shows. CC just took over the Springs Fine Arts Center. I guess the best insight I can give comes from an administrator who spoke during the Welcome Dinner before my first year. One particularly snow-flakish member of my class confronted the panel about what CC would do to make her feel included as a lesbian member of a racial minority. I thought the answer was perfect: the administrator urged her to simply look around, as the very foundation of the school was tolerance and inclusion, and that virtually anyone would find an atmosphere of acceptance, and that the support network for any individual can be as small or as wide as they wish. Now finishing my Junior year, that is precisely what I have found at CC.
@aynrandfan
It is hard to describe Springs but it sure is unique. Springs is definitely conservative. It is home to Focus on the Family and a few smaller hyper-conservative religious groups. Yesterday, while the world was protesting gun violence, Woodland Park had a pro-gun rally instead. That said, these groups have little to do with attending CC. For the most part, the entirety of the region leaves CC alone, where we are definitely a bastion of progressivism. We do share a love of the environment with the city at large, so that is a point of cooperation. The commercial part of Springs closest to CC has a lot of shops and restaurants and a reasonably progressive / tolerant vibe like would probably been seen in most 'downtown. areas.
CC is most definitely a place of tolerance. If I had to level a criticism, CC is occasionally TOO concerned about tolerance. I am a pretty progressive person from a distinctly liberal family, and even I get a bit annoyed at the ‘snowflakiness’ occassionally. But non-binary folks will feel warm and welcomed on campus and in the general surrounding areas. Actually, your question comes at a time of campus controversy. Some white supremacist numbnuts hacked the CC mail protocol and sent some kind of racist tirade to about 25% of the community. ( I did not get the email, so I have no idea what it said, but it was apparently pretty Cro-Magnon.) President Tiefenthaler was personally on top of the situation within hours. Butler Center and the Chaplain set up plans to deal with the blowback almost immediately. I can safely say that CC is 100% committed to the comfort and acceptance of all, and does not stand for marginalization.
@aynrandfan, We (DD and I) visited 12 other schools before CC. One of the selling points of CC was the clear positive relationship with the local community. We had three separate conversations in stores in Colorado Springs about their impressions of CC students. One: the middle-aged parent of a student in the Naval Academy, selling clothing at a boutique. Two, the owner of a store that takes its inspiration from Elvira (by his description). Three, a 30-something who I recognized as an evangelical Christian. All three of them made the same comment. “CC is a huge asset to our community. The students are uniformly polite and respectful, and a pleasure to have in the downtown area. I look forward to talking to them when they come in.” Although there were many other factors in DD’s decision, the unsolicited comments from such a divergent group of merchants was a definite check in the plus column. Many of the schools that we visited had a more checkered view of the student community. The lovely woman from the boutique actually made it into her admissions essay: she told DD to “Come back anytime for a Mom hug if you get in - I would love to see you.” When DD returned on accepted students weekend, she saw the same woman in the store. She stopped to tell her that she made it into her acceptance essay, and the woman remembered her painted shoes!
Been deferred with 1350 sat
What are my chances now
If i choose the fall semester away program will it increase my chances
We are revisiting April 11-14.
Any suggestions for hotels? The chain hotels seem mostly 4-5 miles away. We will have a rental car. No specific budget. A B&B or Inn would be fine. My daughter is spending one or two nights on campus.
TIA
If your budget isn’t truly a concern check out the Mining Exchange and/or the Antlers downtown. I believe there is also a holiday Inn express that would be quite a bit cheaper and yet still close to downtown? For a B&B check out the Crescent Lilly Inn.
Thank you, we booked the Antlers Wyndham.
@Garandman I hope you have a great trip!
Hi there! Thanks for setting up this post. I am an international student who has applied to Colorado College through Regular Action and I am on the waiting list right now. I really love the school and it is definitely my dream school to go to. (A little bit regret for not applying it through ED2, lol) In order to get off the waiting list, I plan to write a letter of continued interest and send them an art portfolio. I also plan to visit the school in April but I don’t know to what extent do school visiting may help me. Also, if you have a couple of classmates who were admitted from the waiting list, can I ask for their contact information? I want to know their experiences of getting off the waiting list. Thanks!
If you are going to be there, certainly make an appointment with Admissions and present your portfolio in person!
I would also research which professor is interested in your type of art, and see if you can set up an appt. D1 is an art major, and has been very happy with the program so far.
We stayed at the Antlers and won’t be back. It’s not really close to campus (little over a mile, $8 Lyft), parking is $17 a day, no free breakfast, and time going up and down on the elevator to the parking garage is less convenient. We saw an Econolodge quite near campus, didn’t talk to anyone who stayed there.
The revisit group was about 100 students, a mix f kids already committed andj those still considering. We met families from Brazil, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont. Most of those considering other schools were comparing CC to other selective liberal arts colleges, from Amherst and Middlebury and Lafayette to Carleton to Occidental and Pomona.