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Excerpts of a few examples
from parents on the state of Colgate’s academics
August 25, 2005
Our own discontentment is two-fold: Our daughter chose Colgate on the
strength of the promise that science majors were given ample opportunity
to participate in research work. Now a senior, our daughter has yet to
be invited or involved in any kind of research. This can only hurt her
graduate school prospects and would have gone a long way in helping her
establish her future interests.
That aside, her parents also took comfort early on in sending their
child to a school touted to be more even-handed in its political mood
on campus. As conservatives, we asked only that our daughter be taught
how to think, not what to think. Instead, she came home far more well
versed in a liberal viewpoint than having been guided on how to weigh
both sides of any issue. She will graduate from Colgate in the spring
with a hefty student loan to repay, and while a Colgate diploma SOUNDS
good, the reality of her experience has made all of us wish we
could have a "do-over."
Over the last three years, I've volunteered to contact local students
who are heading to Colgate to answer any questions they or their parents
have. It's become increasingly difficult to muster enthusiasm when my
own child's experience has fallen short of expectations. And there you
have it. When a college experience is at least 50% of what a student
brings to the experience, it would be difficult to prove in a court of
law that the other 50% was less than what was expected. Our daughter
will take her diploma and run. And I'm not sure what else we can do about
disappointments.
Susi Szeremy
Littleton, CO
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December 31, 2004
Dear Mr. Sanford:
We are proud parents of a 2004 graduate of Colgate University. But at
commencement last spring, our son, Andy, gave us a very telling response
to the question, "Are you sorry to leave?" He replied, "My
friends, yes; school, not particularly."
But despite the considerable tuition investment referenced in your letter,
we plead guilty to not having invested much interest in the culture at
Colgate. Excuses: we perhaps trusted the school's sterling reputation
too much to question what is now happening there politically, socially,
and ultimately, academically; or, we believed it was Andy's situation
to deal with, not ours. After all, effectively confronting adversity
is as much a test of maturity as any exam offered in college. In retrospect,
we probably could have- and should have- assumed a more active and vocal
role in our son's education at Colgate.
Why? This fall, Andy found himself deferred from a graduate program in
general education because he had taken no math or science courses at
Colgate which satisfied very minimum requisites at the University of
Southern Maine. Our $150,000+, decent grades, a degree from a
prestigious school like Colgate, and scoring at or near the top on an
entrance exam couldn't get him into a local branch of a state university? This
was a real eye-opener for us. So, it's more undergrad courses this fall-
to finish the job that we believe Colgate's core curriculum should have
accomplished. This begs your question, "What exactly is Colgate
preparing a student for?"
Warmest regards,
Jim Rowe
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
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