Colgate University Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Gene

Somewhat. It depends who you hang out with. The people I associate with are not.

Susan

Yes. Majority of the student body is JCrew, Ugg boot wearing students. Most people dress nice to class, but there are those who wear sweats and jeans daily. Lots and lots of kids from the east coast, some private some public. However, we are not a school of dentistry.

Gene

pretty much yes

Grant

I don't find any to be true except the diversity

Laura

Sometimes on the outside, but Colgate students come from many places, believe many things, and are ready to have fun with anyone and everyone

Mike

For the most part these stereotypes are true. Everyone studies really hard and then goes out at night and drinks hard.

Tyler

Often times, yes.

Andy

Absolutely. There is plenty of time to go to bed early on Sundays and Tuesdays; other than that, do your work until 9 and then get a beer in your hand. And no, I didn't know that they made that shade of green or red pants either.

Michael

yes

Chris

For the most part.

Corey

Somewhat

Harper

Not everyone falls into these categories...there are mild alcoholics here as well! Seriously though, not everyone is a party animal/drunkard. It's not accurate to stereotype the entire campus population by the actions/behavior of the more publicly seen partygoers ( although it's understandable why one would). But...the stereotypes do exist for a reason... And there is always something going on at Colgate... even too many at times. However, at times it would be nice to have a larger variety of consistent options for food, entertainment, shopping, or just a change of scenery -there's definitely a benefit to being in/near to a city.

Devin

So true

Alex

I wouldn't say so. Colgate can be many different things for many different types of people. It isn't just a school for rich kids, although there are certainly many here. What you see at Colgate is really determined by what group you join; I'd say there's really a little bit of everything here.

Nikki

I actually think a lot of these stereotypes are accurate. I am in the greek system and I consider most of the students I am surrounded by to be very similar to me. Most kids dress preppy, from the tri state area, love to have a good time, but also care a lot about their grades. The combination of smart, conscientious and fun makes for a really great environment.

Michael

Closer inspection of the student body reveals a largely talented, enthusiastic and capable student body with wildly diverse talents and interests. While it's easy to peg some Colgate students at first glance into one specific mold, almost every stereotype will start to fall away under any real scrutiny. Colgate's strength lies in the way in which different types of people can and do coexist and work together to broaden the horizon's and enrich the college experience for every other student.

Kirsten

Yes and no. Freshman year I was pretty caught up in everything and blinded to them, but recently the stereotypes seem to be gaining legitimacy. There are a lot of wealthy students, but most are not good looking and there's a tendency to wear J.Crew but a lot branch out to Ralph Lauren and Lacoste. There are a lot of high noses and a strong sense of entitlement in many students. Diversity is scarce, and it's definitely possible to have fun without drinking, but in order to have fun without being surrounded by alcohol, you need to be creative. That being said, that's mostly "main-stream Colgate", and although it seems to dominate the school, it's only a small minority. These legitimized stereotypes were merely a loud minority and there are many many insanely amazing people at Colgate who don't define themselves with brand names and cars.

Andrew

Although the majority of students are well-off, white, and have polos, very few flaunt their money and there is no pressure to dress or look a certain way.

Jason

Looking around campus you can very easily see that these stereotypes are founded in reality. Looking deeper into the student body, however, and really putting yourself out there, can reward you with some genuine and nice people.

Kathlin

Yes and no. There are those who fit the stereotype, and like all other colleges and universities, there are those who party more than the average student and those that don't party at all.

Alex

While there are rich white jocks from the Northeast at Colgate, they do not comprise the entire student body, which is more diverse than people give it credit for. Also, Colgate is an academic school first and a party school second.

Lauren

Somewhat. There is certainly a small percentage of students wherein the concentration of the stereotypes' accuracy is frighteningly high.

Matthew

This stereotype is true for some people but not a significant portion of the student population.

Doug

In a sense, yes, the campus has a large majority of Caucasian students, but there are a lot of differences between them. My prior experience has not necessarily included the most diverse of populations, but after four years I have still learned to understand how to deal with major differences in people. The students are, in fact, a pretty stylish bunch... and yes, we are all overachievers. That's partly why Colgate alumni LOVE to hire other Colgate grads. They work hard and they're smart people with broad capabilities.

Rory

people do go out a lot

Allyssa

To an extent - people are really smart and do mostly put their academics before their social life. However, the social scene is definitly thriving and very often used as a stress relief.

Maddy

Somewhat

Jeff

Largely, yes. But it's not as bad as you might imagine.

Blake

Most of the stereotypes are correct.

Ryan

I will need more time to figure that out

Rory

Most of the people who fit one of these stereotypes tend to fit all of them, and they tend to be a really active part of the Greek System. There's a crowd of about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus who does go out every chance they get, but that group of 300 kids all know only each other, which is how the stereotype that EVERYONE gets drunk every day came about.

Lindsay

There are a lot of the popped-collar, plaid-shorts-wearing type on campus--but that's not all we have! Any private college will have those types (even Ivies, ever heard of a legacy?) and so it matters a lot which extra-curriculars you're involved in...that's where you'll meet people who are into your kind of thing

Jesse

Most people here aren't really snobby but the other stereotypes are very true.

Sarah

Sort of. On the surface they are accurate, and there is not that much racial diversity, however Colgate does a very good job of choosing interesting people who have the energy to try new things and to participate in events and activities. This energy and willingness to become a member of the community is what makes Colgate special. Colgate provides people with plenty of opportunities for interesting events/activities and I think that the students live up to the standard of reciprocating with the school by participating in these events.

Elise

I do not think that these stereotypes are accurate. The student body is actually pretty diverse, especially for a school in such a rural area. There are many minority students as well as many international students. If you chose not to drink, there are many other options available. Just because Colgate is in a rural area does not mean there is nothing to do. Colgate has a very active campus and things are constantly happening.

Becky

not as preppy/waspy as you would think. a good amount of the campus drinks A LOT. and not just casually, i know many people who drink to get black-out drunk.. Sometimes I find it hard to believe how good looking our campus is. The boys here are so good looking it hurts some times. A lot of people are into working out and there are athletes every where.

Eric

Yup!

Eileen

Partly. The student body IS largely comprised of those from upper-middle class backgrounds. There's also preppy vibe on campus, but it's not overwhelming. Hamilton is small and in the middle of nowhere, but there's so much to do on campus that you forget you're in central New York. If you're the type of person who likes to go out, you'll fit in perfectly here, but if not, there's enough offered for the small minority that doesn't party.

Lauren

While we do work really hard, many students also participate in a variety of extracurricular activities, and so everyone's social life does not boil down to studying and drinking. Yet, there is truth to the stereotype, and students do like to kickback on the weekends and some weekdays as well. Students like to have fun, it's college, and we know how to relax when we can. It's really easy to participate in the social scene most nights, and so it's best to find a balance between work and play, and some students are better at this than others. There are a lot of preppy dressed kids at Colgate. You see a lot of j-crew catalogs in the mail room and a lot of j-crew clothing on campus. But, this stereotype has become less prevalent over my four years. I don't know if this is because it has actually lessened or because I have become exposed to lots of different people and different styles through my extracurriculars.

Katrina

Yes. Def.

Cody

Um...NO! While plenty of people are in fraternities and sorities, they're only one of 10 other things that people participate in. Sure, they're a social outlet, but they aren't THE social outlet. Our lives do not revolve around drinking. Plenty of people don't drink, and we work really hard. And yes, it's cold. But we make the most of the cold. (It's isn't like we have to shovel it).

Mark

To an extent, yes. However, I come from a background that is about as different from the stereotype as possible (middle class, Idaho, public school)and I have had no trouble making friends or fitting into the social scene.

Charlie

The negative ones aren't, in my opinion. A glance around shows just as many "normal" people as "preps," there only seem like so many because guys wearing pink pants tend to stand out a lot. I have a lot of friends that aren't well off, and there's a lot more people on financial aid than most people think - I hate that these stereotypes discourage kids from coming because they think they aren't the right type - there's hundreds of "types" here, and everyone will find their own niche. People are really friendly and motivated, but just because around 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of people are involved in sports doesn't mean everyone has to be. Aside from varsity athletes, it's really not a big defining characteristic for most people.