Around this time last year, Colgate University made higher education headlines because they saw a 102% increase in application volume and this year they seem to have broken another record with a 20.6% increase over last year. They attributed this growth to a number of factors, including the move to test-optional admissions, a new "no loans" policy for families with incomes up to $125,000 (since increased to $150,000), and their new partnership with Questbridge, an organization that assists high performing low-income students in enrolling in college.
In case you aren't familiar, Colgate is a 200-year-old liberal arts college located amidst the rolling hills of Hamilton, NY. With just over 3,200 undergraduate students, Colgate's average class size is 18. Colgate prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, which "introduces students to the power of rigorous discourse, intellectual curiosity, and the energetic pursuit of knowledge." Colgate has 25 NCAA Division I teams, hundreds of student organizations, and Greek life comprised of five fraternities and three sororities.
Here are 5 fun facts about Colgate University:
1) If you are interested in Outdoor Education, you can kickstart your Colgate experience with the Wildnerness Adventure program or take advantage of resources throughout your time at Colgate like the climbing wall; the low ropes course and yurt at the Beattie Reserve; renting canoes, kayaks, or paddleboards at Lake Moraine; or renting climbing, cooking and sleeping gear for your own outdoor adventure.
2) Colgate students can choose from over 20 different study groups domestically and internationally. Students are accompanied by Colgate faculty and span academic areas of interest. Students interested in biology, chemistry or neuroscience may explore the semester-long study group in Bethesda, MD at the National Institutes of Health. Economic students may head to London and students interested in Japanese language and culture may go to Kyoto, Japan.
3) Colgate students can take a class from a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and professor in Humanities, Peter Balakian.
4) Colgate's gold LEED certified Trudy Fitness Center features state-of-the-art Precor fitness equipment - Paul Byrne, former Precor CEO, is a Colgate alumnus and was one of the people who contributed to the creation of the fitness center back in 2011.
5) Colgate's Career Services just announced the launch of a four-year career development program to ensure that all Colgate students can effectively transition their liberal arts education to professional success upon college graduation.
Colgate offers Early Decision I, II and Regular Decision application plans. Students can apply via the Common App, the Coalition App, or Questbridge.