Colgate University

Date: Feb 03 2005
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm a freshman at Colgate University and thinking of transferring. I actually feel really bad about this because the school could be so much more. First of all, everything about the campus, including its facilities, is gorgeous. Classes have either been unbearably awful or some of the best experiences of my life, so I can't really complain about the academics. However, when it comes to social life and quality of life in general, the school is lacking. First of all, about 35% of the whole student body is in the Greek system, which doesn't seem like that much, until you realize that you can't rush until sophomore year which means that it's more than 50% instead. This would be OK if Greek parties weren't the same every weekend, if the frats didn't have a reputation for slipping drugs into drinks, and if the parties weren't exclusive. This isn't the case. Any night life not involving the Greek life, three tiny bars, and a 30 by 30 foot club that hundreds of people cram into every night, is nonexistent. Hamilton is quaint and sweet in the daytime, but dead at night except for the pizza place. This is fun for a while but gets old really fast. People are in general pretty obsessed with looks and wealth here, which was complete culture shock. A good portion of the tiny minority representation in general is snubbed or separates themselves from the rest of the student body by living all together in certain houses and buildings that other students don't feel entitled to live in. The snow is great because you get to go sledding and skiing, etc., but when it comes to going downtown at night and it's -30 outside the only thing keeping people warm is alcohol and North Face jackets. The college is buying the Greek houses and no one will stop complaining about that, and a lot of the other residence halls are really shabby- which actually is partly the fault of bratty rich kids who think it's OK to deface the place they live because they're bored and drunk. Colgate is great in many ways, and I've met plenty of wonderful people. But I'm not sure if I can spend four years in beautiful, but unhealthy isolation. Stay overnight before you come, and pay attention to how far the school is from everything when you're driving here.