<p>Colgate is an amazing school and going there would be a dream come true. But I was just curious as to where Colgate leans on the political scale? I've read that they are more conservative.</p>
<p>I am a very liberal individual so would Colgate students be welcoming? I am open to all political ideologies so conservatives would not be a problem to me. I know for sure I would attend if accepted, no matter where Colgate is on the scale; I am just curious.</p>
<p>Just because Colgate is a conservative school doesnt mean everyone there is. I mean think about it, you wanna go there =)</p>
<p>Most students at Colgate, like their counterparts at all colleges, are pretty liberal. I wouldn't say that many Colgate students are activists - so in that sense they are more conservative than students at some other schools. My kid is as liberal as they come - and so is every one of his friends. I think a student who is a true political conservative would be part of a very small minority at Colgate.</p>
<p>This has come up quite a bit, and it's always bothered me. Current Colgate students and staff are only "conservative" if you're comparing them to other particularly liberal colleges. Most students are fairly middle of the road, and I'd guess there's significantly more super liberal students than super conservative. The latter tend to be pretty outspoken though. An informal facebook survey in the past turned up way more "liberal" and "very liberal" students than "conservative" or "very conservative," but on average people are middle-left, in my experience. Conservatives tend to be more "small government" conservatives rather than Bush fans. I think in general people are pretty open to other ideas. There are plenty of students that may appear outwardly to be WASPy conservatives, but turn out to be super-liberal peace studies majors. So while Colgate may appear "conservative" to an outside observer, I think they're pretty on par with most of their peer schools.</p>
<p>It's definitely not a big activist school (compared to many), though I think one big reason is the weather!</p>
<p>I have several good friends on the faculty there and have visited there while school is in session. It's a very preppy school. Almost everyone is involved in athletics The students are smart and upper middle class with a strong sense of entitlement. There is a huge drinking scene. And they are more conservative than most northeastern schools (although certainly with plenty of students who are not conservative.) The conservatism is fiscal conservatism not social conservatism and not a conservatism linked to Christian evangelical faith traditions. </p>
<p>And, no, it isn't the weather. There are plenty of colleges and universities in cold and snowy places that have different tones and cultures.</p>
<p>I can understand how you might get the impression that that everyone is a preppy conservative athlete from visiting campus, but after being there for 4 years and NOT being preppy or conservative, and only a club athlete, I can tell you it's not always what it may look like.</p>
<p>Preppy doesn't mean conservative. Guys in pink pants with popped collars tend to stand out a bit more, so it tends to look a lot preppier than it is, too. The 80% athletics figure that they give you includes intramural sports, so if you play a few games of kickball with your dorm, you're now an "athlete," so it's really not what it sounds like. Only around 20% of students participate in varsity athletics.</p>
<p>The drinking scene is significant, yes, but it's, well... college. That will be true everywhere except places like BYU or Bob Jones University. Comparing stories with friends at other schools makes Colgate seem almost tame in comparison sometimes - I'd say it's average among peer schools, not huge. The school does make a big effort to provide non-drinking activities, and if you wanted, I think you could be perfectly happy not drinking, depending on your interests.</p>
<p>It depends what northeastern schools you compare it to if Colgate is considered "conservative" or not, and it's not actually "conservative," just LESS liberal, closer to the center.</p>
<p>While many students are upper middle class, there are many that are not. I'd say around half of my friends were on some form of financial aid, though that's just anecdata. Actual facts: 37% of students are on financial aid with an average package of $37,631 out of $49,170. If that's the average, that means that many students are on significant aid. Yes, there are a few flashy people who are entitled. But there are students like that at any school. The huge majority of people are not at all, in my experience, even if they may look like it at first. You can't just base everything on their outward appearances. You never know if that preppy girl is actually on $30k of aid every year and saves money from her summer job to buy those clothes, or if that grungy art student who looks like he's been sleeping on a bench for a week actually goes home to his family's $10 million estate every vacation. You'd be surprised.</p>
<p>I'm not saying the weather makes people "conservative," I'm saying that's why there's less visible activism. Students aren't going to chain themselves to trees when it's 8 degrees and snowing sideways. A lot of things go on under the radar that you don't see on a campus tour (or even as a student, sometimes) because of the lack of outdoor venues for that sort of thing.</p>
<p>By entitled, I mean expressing attitudes about one's privileged position that completely takes that position for granted. I base that on reports from friends who are faculty members there and my own interactions with Colgate students. However, that attitude is not that uncommon in many other higher education settings (although not at institutions which have lots of first generation students).</p>
<p>At the same time, of course there are many wonderful students at Colgate who are bright, articulate, and interested in broad social and political issues. And the faculty is truly caring and top-notch.</p>
<p>I'd agree there are people like that around, but only having attended one school, I can't say how it compares to elsewhere. It probably matters what department you're in, too. I took a lot of sociology courses, and you don't run in to many entitled snobs in that department...</p>
<p>It's a middle of the road school. Students are more apathetic, actually, to a lot of what's going on in the world so a lot of depts and student groups work hard to bring speakers to campus to raise awareness. It's not Berkeley of the 1960s for sure. If anything, there are actually only 3 openly conservative professors.</p>
<p>Well I'm certainly glad it's a "fiscal" conservatism and a "Evangelist" conservatism. Huge relief.</p>
<p>Yep. Huge relief here too.</p>
<p>Yeah, for a former Baptist seminary, it's very religiously neutral/low-key. There are student groups of every kind for every major religion, but they're all very friendly with each other and hold inter-faith events all the time. I actually once had a fantastic discussion on why being Christian means you should be liberal with a few members of the Newman Community (Catholic group on campus). I never met any crazy evangelicals or anything... they're all at Bob Jones University...</p>
<p>It reflects the culture of the upper middle class, northeastern (and DC, Chicago, and California) suburbs from which so many students come.</p>
<p>Interestingly, there seems to be something of a mild uproar (as reported in the Maroon-News) regarding the hiring freeze and the resultant decision to leave vacant the position of Protestant chaplain. The article was by the current President of the Colgate Jewish Union, and was a very thoughtful, supportive, and positive piece advocating for the chaplain position. It spoke well of a student body that is truly openminded and collegial, and open and accepting of religious conviction. I was impressed.
Here's the link (if I've done it right!) For</a> God and Truth? - Commentary</p>
<p>Wow. I just google Bob Jones Uni and I rather become a janitor than study there.</p>
<p>"The 2005-06 Day Student Handbook states, "Loyalty to Christ results in separated living. Dishonesty, lewdness, sensual behavior, adultery, homosexuality, sexual perversion of any kind, pornography, illegal use of drugs, and drunkenness—all are clearly condemned by God's word and prohibited here." Grounds for immediate dismissal include stealing, immorality (including sexual relations between unmarried students), possession of hard-core pornography, use of alcohol or drugs, and participating in a public demonstration for a cause the University opposes. - That place sounds like a complete joke.</p>
<p>Gotta love South Carolina!</p>