<p>My daughter was just accepted with large grant (because of our families relatively limited means for private school tuitions). I understand generally where Colgate ranks academically, but I wanted to hopefully get some thoughts around:</p>
<pre><code> 1) small number of attendees (approx 3k?), and
2) "friendliness" of students - this requires a bit more explanation:
</code></pre>
<p>At the risk of opening up a can of worms around typecasting schools/students/people, we consider ourselves "regular" old country folk- and, as you climb up the "selectivity" latter for colleges (and price) culminating with Ivy League schools there is a perception, right or wrong (and this is what Im trying to find out) that the students can be arrogant, elitist, pretentious etc. </p>
<p>Now my daughter's smart as heck and can handle the academics - but she and I would obviously like her to fit in and feel comfortable with the student community.</p>
<p>So question is, if you accept the premise that there is at least the perception of an elitist attitude at Ivy league schools, does this extend to very high quality schools such as Colgate?</p>
<p>Have you visited Colgate yet? Take a look around the area. Look at the kind of volunteer service that Colgate kids do through COVE (Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education). Look at the kind of “brown bag” presentations and lectures that happens on campus. When students volunteer in the area and work with “regular” folks, it puts them in perspective. Yes, Colgate is a bubble, but when students learn more about the area, they don’t take things for granted. Thus, losing the “elitist” attitude and having heightened awareness of the larger world out there.</p>
<p>Very small amount of Colgate fit in the mold you’re concerned about but your D will quickly recognize them and stay away from them. </p>
<p>I do think LACs vary widely in terms of those types of students and your D will just have to visit the school and interact with the student body to find out for herself if she will be accepted for who she is.</p>
<p>As it’s been said on these boards, Colgate focuses much more on creating a dynatmic, collaborative community than a cut-throat, competitive entity.</p>
<p>While you are there, ask about DORAK, a student run organization. It stands for Do Random Acts of Kindness and is very popular. My D and her friends began this club three years ago to promote kindness among the student population - last week was DORAK week and they were gratified to see how the concept has evolved! Also, ask about student volunteerism in the local towns. My D tutors in a local elementary school every week. Her roomate volunteers for the first aid squad. I think that most students are just down to earth kids. Your daughter will gravitate towards people who are similiar to herself and find a group of friends easily. Good Luck! </p>
<p>BTW, my H and I are alums. Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions for you or your D.</p>
<p>My S graduated from Colgate last May. My niece graduated in 2005. I have always found Colgate students to be very lovely, friendly and courteous with no pretension. However, many of the students are very wealthy. My S was not one of them, although we are by no means lower income. He never felt out of place or put down. </p>
<p>To put it into perspective, many student’s cars are BMW’s, Mercedes, etc. My S’s car, which he only had in his senior year, was a used Nissan.</p>
<p>ED II (depending when they submitted) and regular decision students who were chosen as Alumni Memorial Scholars (top 250 accepted students, I think?) will be receiving notification around now, but just because you haven’t heard yet doesn’t mean anything.</p>
<p>As far as the small number of attendees is concerned, i think it is just about right. I mean, obviously, that is my own perspective, and your D might prefer a school with a larger population. However, it is not that you know everybody on campus, although I am a Freshman, so this might change in four years. But all, in all, i prefer the tight knit community of Colgate.</p>
<p>Colgate students are friendly, in spite of the fact that quite a few of them are, lets say, too wealthy. However, as far as I believe, income levels have nothing to do with friend selections as far as Colgate is concerned. Surely, there will be students who will be arrogant, pretentious, and elitist, but they are there at every college. This is not true for the general student body.</p>
<p>Hope that helps, and good luck with the selection process.</p>
<p>Yes my daughter was RG and AMS-
nice to hear of everyones very positive experiences </p>
<p>btw the small town of Hamilton looks nice as far as the photos I’ve seen.
Tenormama- thank you for your invite for PM- I may take you up on that (and we’ll make sure to ask about DORAK).</p>
<p>No problem, Bigdaddio. We have a S applying now to conservatories and we are trying hard to weigh his acceptances to figure out which school will be the best place for him. We understand your concerns!!! Good luck to your D! You must be so proud of her accomplishments!</p>
<p>I’m glad to see someone admit this. It sounds like the OP’s daughter isn’t going to have a car her senior year, used or otherwise.</p>
<p>I think it is important to remember that if your daughter matriculates to Colgate she will be surrounded by kids from wealthy families. That doesn’t mean they aren’t nice kids, just from privileged backgrounds. It might be a bit of a culture shock for her.</p>
<p>I think this possible drawback needs to be weighed against the fine education she will receive from a school like Colgate. If they gave you enough financial aid for her to attend then I think she should go. (She must be one smart cookie.) Hopefully she’ll find a group of friends who wear their privilege well.</p>
<p>As a scholarship girl (in my day)at a private college, I found the alumni network and the personal attention of the faculty outweighed not being able to accompany my roommates to the Bahamas on spring break, or buy cocaine(not my roommates).</p>
<p>There are lots of great people, rich and not so rich at any selective college, and I think your daughter will be able to find her niche. Our NYS public high school sends a student or 2 there most years, and the reports we get back at our house are all good. Congrats and good luck!</p>
<p>I probably overstated somewhat my country bumpkin status- we are middle class, middle income, and if things go right , she actually might have a used Nissan to drive her senior year (that’s for tenormama:) Thanks Pea and Oldbatesie</p>
<p>Is there really much need for students to have cars other than trips home and back? Am hoping the answer is no… Also, I know Ithaca has tons of travel options for students - how is Hamilton in this respect?</p>
<p>The can of worms you speak of are from your heart.</p>
<p>They do not speak of your daughter, as she is very young.</p>
<p>As she is the recipient of funding and the largesse of the institution, she should find no problem surrounding herself with peers and potential friends despite class considerations. </p>
<p>As a parent your concerns are more your own rather than your daughters.</p>
<p>Perhaps the institution overwhelms you. </p>
<p>Perhaps you would feel better if she attends a Junior College of your choice.</p>
<p>Travel to and from Hamilton is not that easy. There are buses, but they are not that frequent. Students do car pool. Or there are buses from Syracuse, Binghampton or Utica and flights out of Syracuse. </p>
<p>In terms of the need for a car, you do not need one, no. There is a shuttle called the “Cruiser” that will take students downtown from campus so that they can go to the bookstore or to the supermarket. There are very few stores in Hamilton to service students’ needs, so if they need things, they go to the nearest Walmart which is 45 mins away. There’s no way to get there unless they have a car or go with a friend who has one. Our D did not have a car freshman year and she survived. We brought up what she needed when we came or if she couldn’t get it downtown, she ordered it online. </p>
<p>Upperclassmen, especially if they live in apartments like to have cars because it’s easier to do food shopping and because the apartments are farther from their classes. With a car they can drive “up the hill” to class, which is nice in the bad weather (most of the time). :-)The other reason upperclassmen like to have a car is that Hamilton is small and the winters are long. By junior and senior year, it can get kind of boring being on campus all the time. It’s nice to be able to get off campus once in awhile to go skiing or whatever. So, a car’s not a necessity, it’s just really nice if you can have one. </p>
<p>I would say about 1/3 of our D’s friends have cars on campus. She is a junior this year.</p>
. We buy American (waiving my flag, now).