No visit to Bates?
@doschicos S19’s list is still really long and he’s got schools like Bates when it comes to acceptance rate, etc,. closer to home and that he knows he likes. He’s also started showing a preference for warmer weather so I he won’t be loading his list up with more cold weather schools. We are seeing Bowdoin because we have two neighbors who sent their kids there and they LOVED it.
The plan was to see Bowdoin and then head to Bar Harbor for a family vacation but I just realized that Colby is practically on the way so it’s silly not to see it. We will have the whole family on this trip and it’s not really intended as a college visit trip. I haven’t even told S19 that I’m adding Colby. He’s never heard of it, I’m sure, and will wonder why we are adding more options at this point. He wants to close the list and be done!
Too bad. Much prefer Bates to Colby as did both my kids. I personally wouldn’t make the call on acceptance rates. Until the past few years the 2 colleges have been in he same range until Colby initiated some policies such as dropping application fees and supplemental essays.
BTW, Colby does have a nice art museum so if any of your family members prefer art to a campus tour, they should check it out.
Thanks @doschicos S19 is an artist so we will check it out.
Yes, Colby is on the way. As for preferences, to each his own. My kid loved both Colby and Bates but loved the former a little more. : 
And yes, the art museum is worth the stop. It’s literally 5 minutes off the interstate. …
@rachelnguyn Hello! I’m not sure if you were still looking for any responses, but I thought I’d still comment as an Asian-American from SoCal who currently attends Colby! I won’t deny that there was definitely a culture shock for me (and I DEFINITELY had asian food withdrawals) but ultimately you can still find ways to adapt to life in rural Maine. Colby’s dining service, Bon Appetit, absolutely butchers Asian foods most of the time. However, they’re still a fairly new dining service and I will admit that they ARE trying. Last semester, they experimented with a new rice bowl station where you’ll find seaweed, furikake, kimchi, etc. However, your best bet for a good fix of Asian food is heading to a more urban environment (the nearest being Portland) or cooking with fellow Asian students on campus. Food is a huge part of community-building for Asian students here, particularly Asian international students. Colby’s Asian Student Association club also has a lot of food-related events you could check out, although we usually make do with what restaurants/ingredients are available in the middle of rural Maine.
EDIT: City apps like Yelp, Uber, and Lyft will not be your friend in Waterville. In terms of nearby Asian restaurants, most students I know frequent Pad Thai Too, Mirakuya, and Jin Yuan. They all do delivery (not always for Mirakuya)! Another asian restaurant I know off the top of my head that doesn’t do delivery is Jewel of India. There’s also Asian Cafe and The Dancing Elephant outside of Waterville. Selah Tea is IN Waterville and is a super cute cafe, but has terrible boba.
Colby students rarely travel to Boston unless they have the money and time to burn. I definitely don’t know many people that travel to Boston other than for heading to Boston Logan Airport or taking mini-vacations during some of our short breaks (mainly fall/thanksgiving break).
Social life is… interesting to say the least. It will definitely be one of the biggest culture shocks coming from LA to Waterville, and social life can get pretty repetitive. New England winter culture in particular is difficult to adjust to, and it honestly sucks to be cooped up indoors for most of the time if you aren’t going on ski trips and stuff. You’re basically stuck on campus for a majority of the time unless you have a car, and the jitney can definitely be unreliable at times. It’s really the people that make Colby a home, not so much the surrounding entertainment. So I definitely suggest you find fellow music/art lovers to surround yourself with. There are quite a few people that play instruments on campus or are in bands that you can have jam sessions with. You can also explore the music department (students can take music lessons), host your own radio station at WMHB, take a small roadtrip to Portland/Boston for the occasional concert with friends, play at open mic night, check out student/guest performances, etc. And Colby obviously has an amazing art museum, which is conveniently connected to Bixler, the music department’s building/library. I’ve heard great things about the art department as well, and I always love going to the senior art showcase at the end of the year, where senior art majors/minors get to put their work on display in the museum.
Overall, Colby is going through a lot of changes right now, especially in downtown Waterville, but if you have any more questions, I’m still willing to try and answer them to the best of my ability!
@colby2020 Oh my god thank you so so much!! This helped more than you can imagine. I’ve been getting cold feet these past few weeks and have literally been considering dropping Colby and going the community > UC route because of how terrified I am of the culture shock, but your comment really helped :’-) not gonna lie I’m still incredibly anxious and scared because of how secluded everything seems & just homesickness in general (I’ve realized I took SoCal for granted hardcore), but I think I’ve settled on giving Colby/Waterville a chance before I make any more drastic decisions. I do have more questions but I’m actually on a plane rn and we’re about to take off lmao so I’ll message you later!! 
@rachelnguyn - Have you attended one of the local receptions? We went to the one in our area and it was great to meet up with a few current students (who spoke to the incoming students – separately, w/o parents and meet up with future classmates. My child really got re-invigorated after that event. Not that they were doubting their decision, but there is that ‘letdown’ space of time between being accepted and actually attending – so reaching out to alumni or current students could help!
We’ve visited Maine many times and also toured Colby in April at admitted students day. Yes, it’s a little more ‘secluded’ than some other campuses are, but the vibe my child got (and what we keep hearing from so many current/alumni) is how the environment at Colby is friendly and active. I’ve also been impressed with how well-thought and spoken students are; how engaged they seem and the opportunities the students have to do everything from studying abroad, taking really interesting classes, getting involved with clubs, embracing the winters and making life-long friends. Now, no place is perfect and Colby will certainly have its flaws/challenges that will be different for everyone. Maybe you can look at the next few years as an adventure; a wonderful gift you’ve been given to broaden your horizons and experience something very different. CA will always be there, and you never know…you might grow to love it there! Best of luck to you.