Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine with about 2,000 students total. Their most popular majors include economics, political science, and psychology, so it’s definitely a liberal arts school. They’re also a pretty athletic school, with 1/3rd of the campus competing in at least one (if not more!) varsity sport. Colby is part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and competes in D3 sports with Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Tufts, Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams. They’re also part of the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium, which is some weird micro-athletic conference made up of all the maine colleges in Maine. We are so good at puns. Moving on!
If you play a classic sport like volleyball, tennis, or track, or a more niche sport like nordic skiing or squash and want to get a top-notch education, you might be thinking about getting recruited to Colby. You might even think your athletic achievement could give you a leg up while your application is under review. Not necessarily!
Colby is an NCAA D3 school, which means you’re going to be even more focused on the student part of student-athlete. D3 teams operate with smaller budgets, shorter seasons, and without athletic scholarships. It's worth noting that D3 schools are not necessarily inferior in terms of sports. Keep in mind that fewer than 3% of high school athletes go on to play at any college level, let alone D3. Only a select few have the talent to make it to the next level, even if that level is D3. If you have that talent (and all the other things we'll discuss shortly), being a student-athlete could be the difference between deferred and accepted.
Colby offers 30 varsity sports, 15 men’s and 15 women’s (equality!), that include everything from the aforementioned Nordic skiing and squash to lacrosse and football. It's important to note that every sport has its own unique set of guidelines and regulations for recruiting, including restrictions on who can initiate contact through email, phone calls, or in-person approaches, as well as limitations on when communication can start during your high school years. It's crucial to familiarize yourself with the regulations that apply to your specific sport, including registering with the NCAA Clearing House, seek guidance from the governing body of your sport, and educate yourself on the relevant rules and regulations. By doing so, you'll be better equipped to navigate the recruiting process and avoid any potential missteps.
So, you believe you have the athletic talent to be a Mule (terrible mascot). However, the question is whether you can actually get into Colby. Just because a coach puts in a good word for you doesn't mean it will offset bad grades and scores or a lack of extracurricular development. To be recruited, you must meet Colby's admission requirements on your own. It's worth noting that NESCAC schools like Colby prioritize the student part of being a student-athlete far more than the athlete part.
“All NESCAC member colleges enroll students who will enhance and enjoy the intellectual, social, and extracurricular communities our campuses provide. We seek students who are interested in the wide range of rigorous intellectual experiences offered, and value the role that extra-curricular activities, such as music, debate, theater, political action, and athletics, play on campus.”
If you want to compete for a liberal arts school, you’ve gotta be a liberal arts student. We’ve outlined a few things below that should help you figure out your priorities if you’re trying to get into Colby.
Grades
Like many of their fellow NESCAC schools, Colby doesn’t want to tell us the average GPA of their admitted students. We do know, however, that Colby boasts a 6% acceptance rate. Yeesh. Knowing this, plus their average test scores (see below), we think you should have as close to a 4.0 as humanly possible. A lot of 3rd party sites estimate their average GPA between a 3.86 and a 3.98. Colby does tell us that 92% of the Class of 2027 is expected to graduate in the top 10% of their graduating class. If you’re looking to impress, you need to get the best grades possible in the hardest classes your school offers you.
Scores
Since it is acceptance season, we have the hottest, freshest data from Colby. The Class of 2027 had a median SAT of 1510 and a median ACT of 34. Those numbers have only gotten larger since last year. Colby is test-optional but doesn’t publish how many admitted students submitted test scores. If they follow the trend of other NESCAC schools, we estimate between 50-60% of admitted students sent in their scores. We also know that the majority of students accepted to Colby were accepted during Early Decision. Now, to synthesize all this data for you, this means you need to have near-perfect scores in order to be competitive. But that’s not all you need.
Extracurriculars
You’ve also gotta have an impressive list of extracurriculars to go along with those grades and scores. We know you are busy being an athletic all-star, but if athletics are the only thing on your resume, you’re probably not cut out for Colby. We talk all the time about creating a niche, which means figuring out what you’re interested in and doing the work to prove you’re interested in that thing. Doing debate isn’t enough to prove you’re a future lawyer – you should add things like clerkships, internships at law firms, summer programs with the ACLU, etc. Your application should be full of evidence that points to your prospective path.
A Stellar Essay
Your Common App essay needs to be top-notch. We help students with these all the time, and we like essays that are personal stories that offer the admissions committee a glimpse into your life and your values. We always recommend choosing an essay of your own design instead of one of the prompts. Our kids have written about cooking eggs, their daily commute, buying a hedgehog, and trying a hot dog. Don’t go wide with it, don’t talk about how inspirational your grandma was (we are certain that she was, it’s just a cliche topic), and please, please, please don’t write about your sport.
Colby doesn’t have a supplement, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Sorry! Look, it’s a 6% acceptance rate, so you gotta do what you gotta do to stand out.
Athletic Talent
This one's a biggie when it comes to recruiting: you've got to have the goods. Be real with yourself. If you don't have the talent and skills required for your sport, we suggest that you gracefully bow out and redirect your time into other pursuits. Maybe you could try building robots in your garage or developing a new biomedical device or running the social media for a city council member or starting a business.
Colby is a "Little Ivy" for a reason. It's a highly selective, academically rigorous, and top-notch college that won't compromise its standards just because you happen to be an excellent swimmer. However, if you genuinely believe that you have what it takes to meet both the academic and athletic demands of the school, then we wholeheartedly encourage you to give it your best shot.
If you need help strategizing for college admissions, navigating the process, or writing your essays, reach out to us today.