How prestigious is Colgate?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colgate University
1

<p>Colgate is one of my top choices for college right now; I absolutely LOVE the school itself.
However, I have one problem (it's the only thing that's causing me to hesitate in applying ED): I'm pretty overly concerned with prestige
It's just that I know that having a certain name on your resume can make your life much, much easier. (My dad went to UCLA undergrad and Duke Law, and he never had an issue getting a job, no matter how long he was out of work for any period of time).</p>

<p>I had never heard of Colgate until my sophomore year when I began my college search. This may just be because I live in literally the other end of the country (Arizona). Down here, everyone knows the prestigious liberal arts schools as like Pomona and Claremont, and of course Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, etc...</p>

<p>Is Colgate on par with these schools as far as prestige? Is it odd that I had never heard of it until I began my college search? Will the Colgate name help in applications to med school, and just respect in general for the stereotypical, hoity-toity, "fancy", prestigious college alumnus?</p>

2

<p>Is Colgate prestigious?</p>

<p>I suppose the answer you seek depends on what you expect it to mean. As a starting point you are asking about job prospects and graduate school admissions. Depending on the respondent you may well find that Colgate is very well regarded indeed. </p>

<p>What is special about Colgate is that is relatively unique in terms of the LACs you listed. Colgate is larger by roughly 800-1000 undergraduates and this unique size, in conjunction with certain other attributes, makes academic and extracurricular opportunities very plentiful. Colgate sets high standards with a Division 1 varsity program and old fashioned school spirit. Its Global Lecture Series is extremely ambitious. And in common with these other colleges Colgate is among the elite academically. It is renowned for the highest quality of undergraduate teaching, access to professors, its institutes to complement the traditional disciplines, its range of study groups led by its faculty, and is breath-takingly beautiful.</p>

<p>So my question would be: How will you take advantage of what Colgate offers and distinguish yourself during your time in order to achieve your own goals? Attending Colgate or any top LAC, in my opinion, is a great spring board to success. </p>

<p>Good luck with the challenge that awaits you!</p>

3

<p>Further to your question about prestige, have you looked at the 2007 thread (below) started by batman628? It received 228 replies so I am sure that you will find lots of views about how Colgate is regarded by its alumni, employers, graduate schools, other applicants, parents and just about everyone else!</p>

<p>What I wanted to convey specifically is that Colgate’s uniqueness among top LACs makes it a terrific place- energetic and extremely ambitious. Its ambition is to be the best liberal arts UNIVERSITY in the US with its focus on a core curriculum and the liberal arts which is sustained by its larger than most LAC size and the depth and generosity of its offerings and programs.</p>

<p>Over to you as you assess your choices! Is ED right for you?</p>

4

<p>I really appreciate your thorough responses. Colgate seems like an amazing school and I feel that I would fit in very well. Surely, you can understand the concern for having a respected name on your transcript/resume.
I understand that Colgate is no Harvard or Princeton (strictly in regards to prestige) but it is highly regarded by graduate schools, employers, and other students.
Personally, my primary concern was simply that I had never heard of Colgate until I began my search.</p>

<p>Perhaps I am just overly concerned with prestige?
Thank you!</p>

5

<p>What you care desperately about at age 18 you may find you couldn’t care less about at age 22 or later. By then, I imagine, you will care far more about the quality of education you got, who your friends are, and how well prepared you are for the rest of your life. </p>

<p>I had many friends who were intensely motivated to go to an Ivy of some kind, got into one, but never found it all that satisfying for some reason. I imagine it was because they choose the school for its name instead of for what they really liked best. Sometimes it’s much smarter move to turn down Yale and Princeton (like that would ever happen) and go to a school you liked more like Amherst or Haverford. </p>

<p>To me (and this may not be what you mean), “prestige” equates with the window decal on the back of the car. Or how easily recognizable the name of the school is to people who don’t know colleges very well (except for sports, maybe). </p>

<p>If you asked about the “prestige” of Bowdoin, for example, or Swarthmore – two of the finest small colleges in the country, 90% of people either have never heard of them or have but know nothing about them. How’s that for prestige? Does that make them less effective on a resume? I suppose it might, except among educated people who do know how good such colleges are. Of course, if you go down that path, the only colleges worth applying to are going to be the most famous ones. I imagine UCLA opens a lot of doors as does USC. That’s “prestige,” but personally, I wouldn’t want to be a student at either school because that’s not the kind of educational experience I want. </p>

<p>Any educated person familiar with colleges and universities will be familiar with the top 25 or 30 in each category. Schools that are not as well know would include Haverford, Bates, Pomona, and CMC, yet these are all excellent colleges which will give you a great education. Among liberal arts colleges, Colgate may be more well recognized than many others. How many people know Carleton? It’s ranked in the top 10, but it’s certainly not well known. </p>

<p>Awareness of Colgate results from a number of factors. While most top liberal arts schools lie pretty low on the athletics horizon, Colgate does not. It routinely plays well known, and often much bigger schools, Ivies included. This makes it more visible than colleges where sports are more like intramurals. The Patriot League is a small college version of the Ivy League with the same “student athlete” policy which requires that all athletes be of equal academic quality as other students – no recruiting future dropouts just to win a few games. </p>

<p>Colgate also “plays up” in the diversity and number of its offerings such as off-campus programs, lecture series, clubs, and other organizations. In a non-urban environment, it pays to have a lot of options which students can take advantage of. Over half of Colgate students take part in at least one off-campus program. That is the kind of thing which change people’s lives, but it’s far less common at many similar schools. My daughter is the reason I compared off-campus programs at similar schools. Colgate’s language, history, government and other off-campus study programs came out way ahead. </p>

<p>In the fields of law, business, and medicine (and in terms of salaries where Colgate ranks #1 among liberal arts colleges), Colgate alums are very successful. Those who do the hiring know the high quality of Colgate grads. Many similar schools produce excellent but narrower intellectual, scientific, or technical graduates suitable for fairly narrow fields. Colgate typically produces more broadly-educated students. For leadership, most professions prefer those who are broadly educated. This explains the unusually high level of success Colgate grads have had in the areas I’ve mentioned. Not a lot of scientists, but a lot of doctors. Not a lot of philosophers, but a lot of journalists. Not a lot of engineers, but a lot of heads of business. And so on. </p>

<p>Most importantly, you should go with your own feelings. Having looked at a number of schools which seem right for you academically and otherwise, the school you like best is nearly always the right choice. It’s sort of like who you marry. You’ll know pretty well when the time comes, not necessarily someone rich or famous, but someone you know is just right for you. Nothing else is likely to be a better indicator of where you should go to college than that you really like the school.</p>

6

<p>What you care desperately about at age 18 you may find you couldn’t care less about at age 22 or later. By then, I imagine, you will care far more about the quality of education you got, who your friends are, and how well prepared you are for the rest of your life.<br>
I had many friends who were intensely motivated to go to an “Ivy School” of some kind, got into one, and never found it all that satisfying for some reason. I imagine it was because they choose the school for its name instead of what they really liked best. Sometimes it’s much smarter move to turn down Yale and Princeton (like that would ever happen) and go to schools you liked a lot more like Amherst or Haverford. </p>

<p>To me (and this may not be what you mean), “prestige” equates with the window decal on the back of the car. Or how easily recognizable the name of the school is to people who don’t know colleges very well (except for sports, maybe). </p>

<p>If you asked about the “prestige” of Bowdoin, for example, or Swarthmore – two of the finest small colleges in the country, 90% of people either have never heard of them or know nothing about them. How’s that for prestige? Does that make them less effective on a resume? I suppose it might, except among educated people, of course, who do know how good such colleges are. And, if you go down that path, the only colleges worth going to are the most famous ones. I imagine UCLA opens a lot of doors as does USC. That’s “prestige,” I guess, but I wouldn’t want to be a student at either school, myself. </p>

<p>Any educated person who is familiar with colleges and universities will be familiar with the top 25 or 30 in each category. Schools fewer people will know anything about probably include Haverford, Bates, Pomona, and CMC, yet these are all excellent colleges which will give you a great education. Among liberal arts colleges, Colgate may be more well recognized than many others. How many people know Carleton? It’s ranked in the top 10, but it’s certainly not well known. </p>

<p>Awareness of Colgate is because of a number of factors. While most top liberal arts schools lie pretty low on the athletics horizon, Colgate does not. It routinely plays well known, and often much bigger schools, Ivies included. This makes it more visible than colleges where sports are more like intramurals. </p>

<p>Colgate also “plays up” in the diversity and number of its offerings such as off-campus programs, lecture series, clubs, and other organizations. In a non-urban environment, it pays to have a lot of options which students can take advantage of. Over half of Colgate students take part in at least one off-campus program. That is the kind of thing which can change your life but it’s far less common at many schools. </p>

<p>In the fields of law, business, and medicine (as well as in terms of salaries where Colgate ranks #1 in liberal arts colleges), Colgate alums are very successful. Those who do the hiring know the high quality of Colgate grads. Many similar schools produce excellent but narrower intellectual, scientific, or technical graduates suitable for fairly narrow fields. Colgate typically produces more broadly-educated students. For leadership, most professions prefer the broadly educated. This explains the unusually high level of success Colgate grads have had in the areas I’ve mentioned. Not a lot of scientists, but a lot of doctors. Not a lot of philosophers, but a lot of journalists. Not a lot of engineers, but a lot of heads of business. And so on. </p>

<p>Most importantly of all, you’ve got to go with your own feelings. Having looked at a number of schools which seem right for you academically and so on, the one you like the best is nearly always the right choice. It’s sort of like knowing who to marry. You’ll know pretty well when the time comes. It may not be the rich or famous person, but the one that knocks your socks off in other ways. Nothing else is likely to be a better indicator of where you should go to college than that you really like the school.</p>

7

<p>ColgateDad-</p>

<p>That was one of the longest, most detailed, and most helpful answers that I have ever received on this forum, and I would like to thank you thoroughly for it. I think that perhaps you’re right: perhaps I am simply desperately concerned with something that I could care less about five years from now.
Surely, you can understand, to some extent, being pressured by practically everyone around me (including my mother) to go to the biggest and best name, simply because of its name.
I especially liked your marriage-partner analysis. I feel as though Colgate is the girlfriend (strange but fitting way to put it) that I am truly in love with, but an Ivy is the one that I know will impress everyone.
I should point out that I am only a junior, so I have some time to balance and weigh everything (I just think way too far into the future).</p>

<p>Again, a hundred-thousand thank you’s for your thorough response.</p>

<p>P.S. Did you attend Colgate yourself, or do you have a child that is attending?</p>

8

<p>Been there done that… I was just thinking about a similiar thread that markham mentioned. Lots of different views.</p>

<p>In my view, it may be a regional thing. Colgate is very, very well known in the Northeast and is a popular choice among HS students. But when you go out, if people don’t recognize Colgate, you’re going to want to talk about your experiences and explain the school more. People will understand and become impressed with you- that you have taken advantage of all the opportunities that Colgate has to offer. You’ll give them a great impression of Colgate so that next time they hear about Colgate, they can smile and say that they’ve heard of it. Employers will look closely at your resume to see what kind of activities you’ve done and your responsibilities.</p>

<p>Colgate grads have been able to get jobs and fellowships all over the place. NYC and DC are popular places for grads to go after graduation mainly because these cities just offer a lot for young people. I wouldn’t worry too much. Also if you go to graduate school, your graduate school’s name may trump Colgate’s but people who do know Colgate will appreciate that you went there and got quality education.</p>

9

<p>Since you are apparently measuring prestige mostly in terms of life and a job rather than purely academically, I will tell you that Colgate has an incredibly deep and comitted alumni base in business and the professions. And many of them seem actively comitted to helping out and giving a leg up to Colgate grads. It also has a very strong recruitment and counseling center. My daughter and her friends had many opportunities for internships while in school and at graduation, she, her boyfriend and all her close sorority sister friends who wanted to work instead of go directly to grad school, got jobs even in the disasterous job economy of a year ago. A few of them are now, after a year considering business, law or nursing school and seem to be having great success with that too.</p>

10

<p>I did go to Colgate, Class of '70. Things are quite a bit different there now. Glad I could be of help. Good luck with your college choices.</p>