Colorado College Top Questions

One of the great things about CC is that kids come from all over the country. There are a lot from Maine, from Minnesota or Wisconsin, or from the Boston area in particular, but there are literally people from all over. Probably less than a third of the students come from Colorado, and to meet a local is relatively rare. CC is not very cliquey; there are not really very defined classes within the student body. Two groups that might be singled out as different are the sororities and fraternities, the hockey players, and then the very studious, serious students who don't party. As far as ambition, the occasional student is very entrepreneural and tries to work ahead in his career while at CC, but for the most part intensive internships or jobs are left for the summers away from CC, and students try to prolong being dependent and a student for as long as possible. Most students are politically left, came from hippie-turned-successful parents, and come from wealthier families. The international population is growing but is still very small, and most of these come from the top social class of their home country. Although proclaiming tolerance, the school does still have problems with homophobia and even the rare race incident. However, I would feel most ostracized and threatened at the school if I were a Christian or a Conservative.

EVERYONE is so smart! you don't get any duds in your group projects. People here have done such amazing stuff in their young lives. At most schools, students spend their free time tanning, of playing video games. Here people travel the world, climb mountains. Everyone is so ambitious and active and wants to save the world!

Students interact with everyone. There aren't clear lines. Its not like high school. I'm not a hippie but I have some friends that are. You don't have to be super politically active to be here, but there are some students who are. Generally, we're a hodge-podge of students with different views and we all get a long. Nothing like that has ever been a problem. CC students are from all over the country, various ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds. Many students are on financial aide, but money isn't really discussed.

The students and professors are intelligent and interesting. The students are generally super hip, outgoing, beautiful and free-spirited with enough money to allow them to pursue any of their passions. When I first got here, I was shocked at how little racial diversity there was, but as I approached senior year, I realized the diversity was in the students' interests and backgrounds. Unfortunately, as liberal as our campus claims to be, there is a lot of racism and prejudice that seeps through and there is little political activism even though everyone claims to be Obama's #1 fan. If you don't wear funky, vintage, neon sunglasses, this is not the place for you.

Alot of students are from the North East, Minnesota, and Oregon.

Most of the students fall into 3 categories: jocks, preps, and hippies, but no matter what group you're in, you're accepted in whatever clique. There aren't many minorities and there are hardly any Christians on campus, which strongly contrasts to the Colorado Springs area where Hispanic and Christian communities thrive.

There are lots of different activities to get involved in. The student body tries to delve into issues that affect the school on a daily basis.

People are pretty accepting of all types of people, but cliques form early on in the freshman dorms. There is some tension between minority and activist students and the self-entitled rich kids.

colorado college has a huge socio economic gap. there are a lot of really wealthy family's here, but there is also a fair amount of people who simply could not afford to be here had the college not payed for 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of their schooling. from my small scope of things here at CC i gather that people generally hang out with people who come from the same socio economic background. this is of course a very general statement but i think there is some truth in it. but perhaps my view is skewed. its hard to tell. what kind of student would feel out of place at CC? i have a friend who came to this school thinking it was highly intelligent, hard working and quirky place. this is true to some extent. people here are very intelligent but most people do not work that hard instead they rely on their intelligence to get them through class. i would say that the quirk of CC greatly depends on the friend group you make. people here dont really seek out weirdness like at reed for example but i have found something strange about almost every one i have met here at CC. i feel like if a student were expecting these qualities out of any given CC student they would be disappointed and feel out of place.

The sterotype about Colorado College is that its full of either very very rich kids or hippies. There are rich snobs and barefeet slaklining hippies everywhere here! If your not a rich kid, or a hippie your either an athlete or a minority.

Unfortunately for future students, the student body is beginning to change at CC. As a result of administration policies that are trying to boost the college's ranking, different types of students are starting to make up the majority of the class. What once was a unique liberal arts college with earth-loving, thrift-store loving, and astonishing apt and knowledgeable student body is beginning to look more like an eastern prep school than liberal mountain college. Each new class seems to be more preppy than hippie, and I think its a shame.

CC has a pretty diverse religious life as it is a liberal arts school attracting lots of agnostic/buddhist/spiritual as well as atheist types from the north-east, but at the same time, it attracts lots of locals from the Colorado Springs area, these students tend to either come from right-wing evangelical backgrounds or ascribe to those beliefs themselves, this creates an interesting dynamic in all religious relations. On the other hand the racial diversity is pathetic, there are very few black students who tend to stick together, and maybe one or two "native americans" who easily pass for white. There are lots of lesbians, but very few gay men...not quite sure why. CC, for obvious reasons, lacks a middle class. Wealthy people predominate but there is no shortage of scholarship students as CC offers incredibly generous scholarships, most people are either on full scholarship or pay full tuition, its hard to find anyone inbetween, and those that are have difficulty participating in the full "CC experience" which involves taking classes around the country and around the world as well as taking extravegant block break trips.

the socio-economic balance is nearly non-existent... there is a good amount of interaction between social groups though, and i feel comfortable with nearly everyone.

While CC's student body is not very racially or economically diverse, I believe we are quite diverse in the sense of our interests, personalities, and childhood backgrounds. There is definitely a sense of white guilt on our campus: we have had a number of incidents on campus that our administration has blown out of proportion to be misconstrued as racist or sexist. To be honest, the politically correct mindset at CC is the one thing that irks me about the school.

People like to believe that CC is very excepting but with rises in tuition and lack of ethnic diversity the school is very homogeneous. It is rich, white and at times, like this past year closed minded. There were a number of very offensive events that occurred that crossed all lines, race, gender and sexual orientation. But for the most part people are not like this, they are tolerant and open to try to understand things.

I have not heard about people talking about how much they'll earn. No, definitely not. Students are politically aware and pretty active, but not everyone. The campus, and faculty, too, generally lean left. However the conservative voice on campus is not silent, either. People here are generally accepting towards different groups of people. There have been some issues with homophobic graffiti on campus this year that is troubling, but there was a strong student response against that issue. Students are pretty relaxed about what they wear to class. There's a lot of plaid and flannel and Carhartts and Chacos and garments purchased at thrift stores. In general, the campus is pretty white and privileged. There is a big push from the student body to become more racially diverse, though.

Most students seem to be from more privileged white families. I'm not sure about sexual orientation, but racial and socioeconomically the school does not seem ot be very diverse. Mostly liberal, mostly from the east coast and west coast, very few southern students, or midwest.

the different social groups mix alot for the most part... although there aren too many disticnt groups.... some groups you dont even see but you know exist like the d.1 hockey team here... i know they are around somewhere and i know where the hockey house is but most kids have never seen them (or dont know if they have because they have never seen them, most kids dont even know one) latley there have been some anti homosexual, bisexual gender stuff going on around campus but its not common.. 95-97{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of campus is really acepting of all types of people the international kids tend to stick together but are friendly. students are really casual here, jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts, hats are all normal to see around campus some of the girls get more dressed up sometimes but its not a big deal. i would say since cc is not need blind a lot of kids here have money. and you can tell most of the time. not that people here are snotty at all.... you can just sort of tell at the same time its pretty liberal here kids never talk really about how much they will earn because most of them have no idea what they want to do and artn that interested in jobs just because they make lots of money

CC is predominately white, and we are incredibly politically correct. Not many people would feel out of place at CC, expect dumb people. Students wear whatever the hell they want to class. Different types of students always interact. One table has a group of hippies, another table has a group of sports players, another table has a few close friends sitting together, and another table has people playing board and card games. CC students are from all over the US. Most students seem to be upper-middle class suburbia, but I am lower-middle class rural. Students are predominately to the left, and relatively politically aware. Students do not talk about how much money they hope to make in the future.

All groups mingle at CC. Your two best friends might be the gay, Tolkien-loving, hippie from a poor family, and the rich, well-put together soccer player who also happens to be a professional rock climber. People do not make fun of other people for being of a different lifestyle or socioeconomic background. I think that everyone appreciates that if that person is at CC, they obviously have something in common either socially, personally, or academically. CC covers the gauntlet from rich to poor, though the trend seems to be your private-schooled white kid from somewhere outside of Portland or Boston. CC seems to draw most of its student body There is more racial diversity on campus than I expected; some of my best friends are foreign students, though again the student body is primarily white. The main thing is that everyone hangs out together. People are not mean at Colorado College, so even if someone isn’t your best friend, they’ll almost always give you a friendly Hi or a “pound” on their way out the door. I have been at CC for almost six months, know more or less everyone in my year, and cannot think of a single person that I honestly dislike on campus. The type of student who would feel out of place at CC is either your cutthroat, unabashedly rich socialite who wants nothing but to be rich in life and to order others around, as you might get at some Ivy league or state schools. The stereotypical shallow partying state university fraternity or sorority type would feel out of place also. I myself am in a fraternity. The greek scene is fairly small on campus, and everyone at least in my frat is friendly, driven, respectful, and not an out of control partier. The laid-back mindset of CC’s student body means that people go to class in whatever they want. Want to look put together? Go in a blazer and nice jeans. Just rolled out of bed? Go in your pajamas! Chances are someone else in your class will be wearing them too. The North Face, Marmot, Mountain Hardware, and REI lines are pretty big on campus too, but you’ll see girls in everything from flannel pajama bottoms to leggings and Uggs with huge sunglasses. Most kids are coming from money, but that being said, people don’t talk about their economic background or how much money they’ll make in the future, unless its about dealing pot or selling their skis. People are politically aware but a majority are not necessarily politically active. Most care about the issues, know their issues and current events, but will not always do something about it. This is not true of everyone, but I’ve noticed it. As I said earlier, CC is a very left leaning campus especially in terms of social rights issues and the environment, but you are likely to meet a conservative uber-Christian somewhere on campus also.

As an LGBT student, I would caution other LGBT students to think twice before deciding on CC. We are a minority that the administration doesn't pay much attention to. The population is very very small, especially for males. Attitudes towards homosexuality on campus are liberal but there isn't much community among LGBT students. Dating can be difficult as there isn't much in terms of "townies" and dating on campus can be "incestuous" due to the small size of the community.

Diverse groups: not much diversity at all. Out of place?: very religious christians, very conservative people, and perhaps minorities might feel intimidated (b/c while we are accepting and open, we're almost all white). What do we wear to class?: Jeans and a t-shirt. flannel is a big part of the CC identity. no one ever looks like a slob, but everyone is pretty casual and relaxed. Four tables: There's a big group of the ORC kids, another table of kids that basically look like they could be ORC kids, a table of clean looking freshmen, a table of jocks...i don't know all table look the same for the most part but there are a couple that are obviously the foot ball players, or the ORC kids that are way tight, etc. Where are we from?: At least in my year, there are a TON from Oregon, a ton from the NE (like CT, MA, ME, DC area), the Seattle area, Northern Cali, a pocket from Chicago, and a good number from Minnesota. Financials: Most are middle to upper middle class. Politics: very aware and pretty active; mostly liberal. Earnings: not at all, sometimes people joke around that they're going to be poor and bum around b/c what ever it is they want to do isn't about money

CC has a great student population, but the location and Block Plan do draw a specific kind of person. The student body is largely white and middle class and this is not surprising considering the two favorite pastimes are hockey and skiing. There are minorities and international kids, but they are not a strong presence on campus. A disappointing statistic is that 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my class is not on any sort of scholarship or financial aid. However, this does not mean that the students are closed-minded. Diversity, though sparse, is celebrated. Many students are more than willing to learn and experience new things and people; the asian studies department is extremely popular. There is much more diversity now then in the past, but the school as a whole is demanding the administration to reach out more. Most students herald from the Northwest, the Bay Area, LA, Austin, Chicago, and Boston. However there is a surprising and noticeable group from Hawaii and, internationally, Sweden. There is also a rapidly growing population of NESCAC-burnt-out New Englanders, myself included. Southerners are a rarity. CC kids are all about learning and experiencing. People do things to learn more about themselves, the world, and humanity as a whole. Dick Celeste, our President, was once the head of the Peace Corps and that is a popular route for many and says a lot about the campus philosophy on the future in general.

Most people are very tolerant and accepting of all people. They are mostly very open about religious beliefs and sexual-orientation. I think a business-minded, right-winged, conservative, and money-obsessed student would feel out of place here. There is an overwhelming amount of tie-dye and sweat pants worn to class. Everyone is nice and inclusive of everyone else. One table is jocks, and the rest are all mixtures. There are many students actually from Colorado, and many from the Northeast. Most students are from middle to upper-middle class families. Political awareness is huge at CC, and almost everyone is very left. There is not a lot of discussion of money at all on campus.