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College Prowler

Academics

I came to Colgate because it was so beautiful and everyone was super friendly. It just felt right to be here. Most of the professors are great. They are there to help you and, unlike at bigger universities, they are here because they want to teach not just do research. The workload is pretty varied between classes, but it is usually manageable for most of the year, then it explodes around finals.

Athletics

Varsity sports are a mixed bag. While I'm not an athlete myself, I can tell you that almost most athletes I talk to hate their coaches. The coaching staff isn't that great here and it shows. Our teams rarely make it to the playoffs. Attendance at all athletic events is pathetic even though they're free. The athletics department has taken to bribing students to come to events.

Campus Dining

Food at Colgate can be hit-or-miss, but the dining staff does a great job trying to provide something for everyone. It can get really repetitive—they always have hamburgers and quesadillas. The cafe-style Coop offers great make-your-own salads and sandwiches, so I eat there pretty often. They also have The Edge Cafe, an on-campus restaurant that is also hit-or-miss.

Campus Housing

Although most colleges offer standard double rooms for incoming freshmen, Colgate truly has a living situation to suit everyone. For those who want the epitome of a college social experience, Andrews and Stillman offer suite-style living that is always lively. For those who fear guys horsing around in the hallways while they try to walk back from the bathroom in a towel, West Hall offers single sex floors. I lived in East Hall for my first year, which is the healthy living dorm on campus. I would highly recommend it to all incoming freshmen.

Campus Strictness

During the first couple of months of school, Campo (Campus Safety) is pretty strict, but they loosen up. You will get written up if you get caught. If you're caught often enough, you'll be put on probation. If you're discreet and not ridiculously loud or anything, you're pretty much fine. They know we mostly all drink, and they can't stop everyone, so they only stop the really obnoxious drinkers.

Computers

The computer labs at Colgate are usually crowded at crunch times, like midterms and finals. Besides that, you can always find a spot. Most people do have their own computers, With Wi-Fi, it is definitely nice to have your own. If you don’t own one, I don’t think it would be a huge problem.

Diversity

The average Colgate student is white and comes from an upper-middle- to upper-class family. There is then a pretty even split between Jews, Protestants, and Catholics, and an even split between males and females, and liberals and conservatives. Colgate is as diverse as a pancake, and pancakes are not very diverse. The students are all very accepting though, and the students of racial minority have just as good of a Colgate experience as anyone else.

Drug Scene

Colgate makes it very easy to do drugs, especially pot. I cannot count the number of times I have seen people walk into the woods at night to smoke. But I have found that almost all the students can handle smoking and getting all their work done.

Facilities

Everything is amazing—the library, campus center, science center, other halls—except for the gym. The gym looks great from the outside but is in need of renovation. It is a small blip of insignificance on an otherwise overwhelmingly beautiful campus.

Greek Life

It doesn’t dominate, but it is a prominent option. All Greek events are open to the campus and are very welcoming. Unfortunately, the school has been in a battle with the Greek houses. The school wishes to acquire the houses completely, while the fraternities prefer a lease option that will assure their continued existence in houses they built, in most cases, over 80 years ago. This conflict will be heating up over the next year.

Guys & Girls

The guys are very nice and always play the ‘I can take you home to Mom role’ like champs—even if they aren’t really the best guys. When I was studying abroad last semester, I met a guy from George Washington, and when I told him I was from Colgate, he said, ‘Wow, you are the first girl I met from Colgate who doesn’t wear pearls.’ So, I guess we have a reputation, too!

Local Atmosphere

There is a clear division in Hamilton, between the traditionally preppy, wealthy Colgate students and the ‘townies’ in the Hamilton area. Possibly because a large portion of Colgate students come from an affluent background, there is an underlying sense that the residents of Hamilton may resent the presence and prevalence of Colgate students. On the other hand, many Colgate students go to great lengths to establish successful community service-related projects in the town of Hamilton. There are certainly many Hamilton residents who interact regularly with these hard-working, generous Colgate students, and consequently think very highly of the University.

Nightlife

There are only three bars in the town of Hamilton. As an underclassman especially, the social scene revolves around heavy drinking, and can become redundant quickly. I would be concerned about the social options available for incoming freshmen.

Off-Campus Dining

I’m a big fan of Sushi Blues. The sushi is very high quality, and they have lots of choices on the menu. They’ll even deliver to your dorm. There are two good places to have your parents take you to when they visit—The Tap Room at the Colgate Inn, and Nichols and Beal.

Off-Campus Housing

Nope, it's not worth it. After freshman year, sophomore-year housing is disgusting. Either you're stuck in a dungeon of a complex or you have a tiny room somewhere else. Upperclassman housing is farther away from the academic halls, and it takes at least 15 minutes to walk anywhere.

Overall Experience

So far, I have really enjoyed my time at Colgate. I have experienced some of the best times of my life, and some of the toughest. While I never thought Colgate would be the quasi-elitist party school that it is, it has given me the opportunity to experience a life that I have never encountered before in southern New Jersey. If college is the time in your life to have fun, party, and put in only as much effort as you like, then Colgate is the perfect place. However, I have noticed over the past two years thatI am much more inquisitive and intelligent now than I was before I arrived in Hamilton, New York. I have thus far received an excellent education and met some of the greatest people I have ever known, and would not trade this experience for any Ivy League institution or state institution closer to a major city.

Parking

Most freshmen don't bring cars because they have to park it in the freshman lot down the hill, which is a major trek. Really, you can't park up the hill unless you like tickets. There's nowhere really to go, Colgate's in the middle of nowhere. So, why would you need one?

Safety & Security

Our Campus Safety touts itself as a well-oiled, efficient, and powerful crime-prevention machine. Maybe this is all true—the officers drive new vehicles, the ubiquitous blue rape-lights promise sanctuary, and parking is carefully monitored. However, I think the purported excellence of the campus security force is most directly related to the fact that Colgate students don’t often murder, assault, or violently rape one another. The most frequent assignment of a Campus Safety officer on call, the official jargon and 10-4ing notwithstanding, is letting students into their locked dorm rooms.

Transportation

Let's just say that one should never use the Colgate Cruiser for a reliable source of transportation. Although it does run, it is never on time! This is really terrible when fall and winter come, which is like most of the year at Colgate.

Weather

Bring lots of cold weather gear, comfortable pajamas that you can wear while you stroll the halls or attend class, shoes that aren’t hard to put on, waterproof coats that are nice and warm, and two pairs of sneakers, so that you can actually wear clean shoes in the gym. Jeans, T-shirts, and sweaters will be your friend. Bring anything that stays clean easily and you don’t mind wearing for more than a week. Of course, bring the nice duds, too, when you want to be a big pimp at the party. Dress nice on occasion, and hell, bring a suit, too, because you never know when you have to look nice at a formal.