Colby College Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Eva

My classmates are super nice, preppy people with superiority issues.

Eddie

Diversity is not one of Colby's biggest assets. Racial diversity has risen slightly the past few years but remains low. The majority of students here are from upper middle class or wealthy households, which is easily noticed by the amount of J.Crew/Polo/Vineyard Vines seen across campus. Students are politically aware and rush to rally around causes. The campus is overwhelmingly liberal, which can be a bit much if you don't share those beliefs.

James

If you go into waterville, you're taking your life in your hands. Everything on campus has very high security, because everything school related is hated by the townsfolk. Kids are okay, lots of preppies, lots of kids from Massachusetts, few minoritites, the handful of granolas.

Cameron

Colby's student body is becoming more diverse every year, and noticeably so. Less that half of students, contrary to popular belief, come from New England, 8{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} are international, and more and more Colby is becoming more racially diverse as well. Colby students wear anything from a suit to a cape to class. But most settle for a t-shirt and jeans, and bundle in jackets come winter. A lot of students are politically active.

Priscilla

We are thought-inspiring, considerate, sharing of backed opinions, willingness to accept new ideas, caring, compassionate, respectful, and carry strong enthusiasm for learning.

Larissa

My classmates are extrememly smart, grounded, and well-rounded students who work extremely hard and challenge themselves intellectually; however, they are not overly competitive with one another and do not obnoxiously showcase their intelligence.

Jordan

colby's student body leaves much to be desired, but it is improving. like its new england contemporaries (middlebury, williams, bates, etc.), racial diversity is severely lacking. however, the college is taking broad steps towards fixing that and definitely recognizes it as a problem. other issues within the student body can be pinpointed in the arenas of a noticeably absent sense of universal political activism (there is an arguably potent portion that does make efforts to raise awareness and make an impact, but they are still only a percentage of the population here), appreciation of the opportunities on campus such as lectures, performances, etc., and the appalling socioeconomic discrepancy among students, which can be traced directly to the fact that colby college does not offer merit-based financial aid (my personal BIGGEST complaint about this school and greatest disappointment in it.)

Karen

Colby kids come in all different shapes and sizes but they all have their special somethings if you take the time to look.

Emily

Smart, studious, irresponsible

naamah

my classmates are kind, competitive, beautiful and active.

Chelsea

My classmates study hard and play hard.

Blake

fun loving, kind, drunken, athletic

Blake

The student body is ok. There is a heavy emphasis on social competition and feels much like an extension of my highschool in MA. Very much divided into different cliques and if you can't find your own little clique you are going to be pretty miserable for 4 years. Most kids just choose to transfer.

Jody

The kind of student who ends up feeling a bit out of place at Colby is one who dwells too much on preformulated conservative values. It's perfectly okay to be politically and culturally conservative, but if that precludes an open mind, Colby might not be the best place for you. Most people wear trackpants to class. Usually accessorized with pearl earrings and a ribbon in your hair. UGs and crocs are the most popular footwear. Northface and LLBean are the brand names of choice. Technically yes, there are 4 tables of students. The football table, the international kids, and usually one other sports team and/or class. But the real truth is that while people do tend to touch base with their "cliques" (for lack of a better word), students do generally interact with different groups. I am one of those blessed international kids and my two best friends and Americans, one of whom lives in the appartments and never makes in down to the dining halls for dinner. The political atmosphere is dominated by the Democrats. The Republicans are a small but surprisingly active group. Debate is rampant on the Digest of Civil Discourse, though not all of it is civil or fair.

Alex

Students are pretty diverse, but not racially. There's a fair amount of social diversity, in that mostly anyone can find a niche. Going to class outfits range from sweatpants and sweatshirts to khakis and sweaters. Most students are from somewhere "20 minutes outside Boston" and are fairly wealthy (upper-middle class). Most students are on the left, although there are many Republicans and those who fall somewhere in the center. I feel as though those on the right do get a fair amount of teasing from their more liberal peers.

Cameron

Most students white, heterosexual, and middle class or higher. It feels like an accepting campus in general, but I'm not sure anyone in the minority would really feel accepted at Colby since the ratios are nothing like an acurrate popluation sample. I think half the kkids went to private schools. People where whatever to class - either something cute and mainstream or just comfy. Not many people get all dressed up - we all wear either jeans or sweatpants most of the time. But I alos think not many people dress as creatively as high school students do. I haven't seen many wiith streaked hair or anything outrageous like that. We do have groups of friends but it's not really a heirarchy of popularity. There are some cliques, but I don't know if it's all teammates and clubmates and such. My friends are all in a group, but we don't really have one thing in common to make us a clique. the campus is mostly left-wing

Ryan

I wouldn't say any type of student would feel uncomfortable at Colby, but then again I am white from a middle class family. However, I do have friends who are of different races, and who are only able to be here off of financial aid. Most students where sweatpants or jeans and a t-shirt to class. Hardly anyone feels the need to look nice for class. Most Colby students are from 20 minutes outside of Boston, but we also have people from all of the US and from many different countries.

Justin

A lot of eating goes on at Colby. Its cold and we have nothing better to do. So it seems that it would be the best way to assess our campus culture. Student-Athletes often eat at Dana (football, basketball and all of the other sports that we are terrible at). Other people eat there too, but mostly those who identify themselves with sports culture. The Average Hardworking People eat at Bobs, more formally Roberts. These kids LOVE Colby and its new aesthetic (Pulver Pavillion, our website, etc.) and finally The Hippes, The International Kids, and The Crunchy eat at Foss. If you like to eat granola for breakfast lunch and dinner (with organic, homegrown milk of course) or like international cuisine then Foss is for you. Of course this cross-sectional study highlights the stereotypes of our own dining halls just as most people would tell you that we're all a bunch of kids from Boston. Both not true, entirely. People are generally very nice pretty accepting of others (one reputation well deserved). We have a very proud and visible LGBT group on campus called The Bridge and many of my friends are international students. People are even accepting of the one or two republicans who happen to reside on campus. I think they are rarely seen in Foss because ninety percent of the people who eat there have copies of The Communist Manifesto on their nightstands. Bottom line, everyone has a place here.

Devin

Most of my friends are white, upper/middle class. It seems like Colby has to work hard to attract diversity. The best thing about Colby though is that I feel like I can sit down at nearly any table in the dining halls. People weren't that friendly in high school so that has been a great change. Colby students are really open to meeting other students, no matter what.

Andy

For a small college in central Maine, Colby's pretty diverse, and there are clubs representing different ethnic groups, the LGBT community, different religious denominations, and so on, but from time to time there are tensions. Most of the time these are overwhelmingly outweighed by pride, fortunately. More importantly, in most social situations, I personally find differences of this sort to be interesting but less than relevant. Interests make more friends than sexual orientation or skin color. Clique-wise, some people certainly stick to "their type of people," but there's also a lot of mingling and most people have a ton of acquaintances from different groups. It's my impression that some students think they're more political than they are, but that scene's still pretty active. Most Colby folks lean left at least a little, although there's a vocal conservative minority and a large chunk of relatively quiet people in the middle or on the fringes.

Kelsey

i think any student that is considered 'abnormal' would feel out of place. i, myself, am a bit quirky and oftentimes feel disconnected from the campus. i think colby can foster abnormalities at time, since there are a lot of big personalities. a large portion of the population is very... homogenized. girls wear uggs, boys wear polos and tims. that's the way it is.

Piper

there are those groups on campus, but most are not very vocal which would be helpful for those that are kind of floundering with those issues.

Loretta

-i honestly don't have many friends who are mixed race. well, i have asian and african-american friends, but basically all of them have lived in the US. i also have friends who identify with the LGBT group. -a person who doesn't have big dreams would feel out of place at colby. -most students wear jeans and a shirt/sweater, but some wear sweat pants, skirts, or leggings. -different types of students do not have that much interaction. -one table is the football team, one table is foreign exchange students, one is a group of loud freshmen girls, and the other is "crunchy" type kids. -most colby students are from suburbs of boston, or connecticut -most students come from upper middle class families -students are very politically active, and are predominantly left.

Michelle

I do not have much experience with different types of groups at Colby. Many of my friends are similar to myself in background and socio-economic groups. I think a more radical student may feel out of place at Colby. Most students wear jeans and a t-shirt to class. The four different tables would be the jocks, the pretty girls, the hippies, and the Colby Outing Club. I do not know what financial backgrounds are most prevalent because I do not discuss money with many people. Nobody really talks about salaries in their futures.

Emily

you would feel out of place if you didnt like colby as much as everyone else. most students wear jeans to class. lots of students wear slippers around campus, until theres a bilzzard then you bust out the snow boots and winter jackets. and you have got to love the snow because so many of us ski ( i dont know what you do in the middle of maine winter if you dont ski). and as soon as the snow melts and the first day of spring arrives everyone lies out on the lawns doing work, tossing a frisbee, playing campus golf, and enjoying the sun that we have missed all winter. you get the best of both worlds, a beautiful fall, snow filled winter, and warm sunny spring. you gotta love seasons. four dining hall tables. well we have 3 dining halls which kinda automatically divides up some of the students. so there is the table for the football players, they always sit in the same place, and noone else would ever thing to sit there. how this came about i have no idea. but no one really cares cuz all anyone wants is to sit with their friends. there might be a table for the woodsman team after one of their events, and its always fun to watch them because they are loud and crazy. the other two tables would be pretty much the same, just different groups of friend eating a meal together. a lot of colby kids are from mass... the ISL has a big population at colby, and coming from the isl it was weird to realize how many people i had mutual friends with. my two roommates freshmen year were from north carolina and middle of nowhere new york state, and both knew no one and had know idea how i kind of knew or had something to talk about with so many people. so yes mass, new england in general. and then there are more than estimated that come from all over the country .

Shawn

As the president of the Colby Muslim Group this year I found that it is quite difficult to practice our religion on a majority Christian campus. Halal foods are not provided in the dining hall, and the fact that there is no Muslim religious leader advising the Muslim Group (though there is a Catholic Priest and a Protestant Priest and a Rabbi) makes it complicated to practice our religion on campus without having to sacrifice some practices. The types of students that would feel out of place at Colby would include minority students from urban areas and religious students whether they be Muslim, Christian, Catholic or Jewish mainly because religion is not of importance to the majority of the students on campus.

April

I am from New Jersey and attended a high school that was only about 65{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white, but I have a MUCH more diverse group of friends here at Colby. For my first two years at Colby, my best friends were a poor, Mormon Dominican and and a reasonably affluent, atheist Korean. Racists and other varieties of bigot would feel out of place at Colby. We had a comedian perform a show here a few years ago who made racist jokes, and absolutely no one laughed. Prejudice is the greatest taboo at Colby. Students, for the most part, do not dress up at Colby. It's too damn cold! Sweatshirts, jeans, and boots are the clothing articles of choice for most of the year.

Caroline

Most Colby kids are from Massachusetts or somewhere in New England; surprisingly there is a pretty large contingent from the Washington, DC area as well. Most kids are pretty normal college students- kind of preppy, but will also wear sweatpants to class, and there are a number of more eccentric kids too. Colby is less preppy than my high school, but I went to a prep school in Massachusetts and my friends from public school and from other parts of the country felt the opposite. There are small groups of people who are very outspoken at Colby and they are very visible, but I think the average Colby kid is pretty apathetic. That's not to say that people don't know about world issues because many kids read the newspaper (just look around at breakfast), but when it comes to taking action there aren't tons of people. There is a lot of dialogue on campus about environmental issues, though, as one might expect.

Evan

the kids are really nice, except for the chem-free contingent. they seem to be withdrawn from the rest of the student body and unwilling to make friends with drinkers and often are seen as very judgemental of the rest of us, which leads to a strained relationship on campus.

Dale

I think most students feel welcome at Colby. They don't really dress up for class, maybe a t-shirt and jeans, but your really free to where whatever you want. Different students defiantly interact. Most students are from Mass., but we have students from all over the world. Students don't talk about how much they're earn. Students are generally democrats, and they are politically active.

Christine

There are racial, religious, and LGBT student organizations available on campus, but they're not prevalent in student life by any means. They're the kind of organizations that the typical student gets an email about in the General Digest and simply deletes. Colby attire is an interesting blend of brand names and high-end outdoor-wear since the school is in such a cold environment. There's a lot of noticeable brand sporting for girls with Seven or True Religion jeans, and Longchamp or Herve Chapelier book bags. However, for the most part it's about the outdoor-wear. Lots of LL Bean, Patagonia, North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot. Different types of students definitely interact, another benefit of the small class sizes. My discussion-based classes have given me the opportunity to meet people on this campus that I might not have otherwise talked to. Income or financial background isn't discussed that much between students outside of class, and I don't think the financial situation is tense at Colby. People are, for the most part, open-minded, receptive, and nice to one another. The most tense clash of hometowns I've witnessed was an argument over whether a drinking game was called "beirut" or "beer pong." Your typical Colby student is informed and politically aware.

Anuj

Colby's student body is diverse. We have multi-cultural housing, clubs, and programs. We are also a liberal campus, and very accepting of any demographic. I cant imagine anyone feeling out of place here. Students wear whatever they feel comfortable in. On the weekends, most people dress up a little more. Unless a sports team is eating, you can find all different types of students sitting together at meals, talking about anything, the importance of certain vegetables, or elections.

Jake

There are most definitely LGBT people on campus that make sure everyone is treated fairly, although some people can tend to be less PC and cautious about their words than others. I don't see this as a bad thing, however, because people aren't constantly watching what they say to make sure they don't offend this person or that. People in general are pretty comfortable with themselves and act accordingly. Many Colby students are form Mass. but there is also a large population of foreign students who are integrated quite nicely into the school's population. Many students are politically active. One event that comes to mind is the other day, for the Democratic Caucus, one of my friends couldn't make it because of work, and kept saying how bad he felt that he could not practice his voting privilege.