Colby College

Private · Elite · ME

Photo: Tichnor Brothers, Publisher (Public Domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationME · Northeast

SettingRural

Undergrads2,407

Student:faculty9:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate75.3%

6-yr grad rate88.8%

Drop-out rate6.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$70k

Out-of-state tuition$70k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity45.1%

Gender diversity51.2%

International11.2%

Identity—

Overview

Colby is a liberal-arts college in Waterville, Maine, known for environmental studies, government, and economics, and for a distinctive January "Jan Plan" term of short, intensive courses that breaks up the standard two-semester calendar. The college has invested heavily in downtown Waterville in recent years, building new facilities and student housing that extend campus life beyond the traditional quad and into the town itself.

Academics

Government, economics, and environmental studies draw particular strength, aided by Maine's outdoor laboratory right outside the classroom door and by a faculty that leans toward close undergraduate mentorship. Jan Plan lets students take a single focused course, pursue an internship, or do independent research in January, a format that genuinely differentiates Colby's curriculum from a standard two-semester calendar and gives students a low-stakes month to try something unrelated to their major.

Campus & student life

Outdoor life is woven into student culture, with skiing, hiking, and Maine's lakes all easily reachable from a campus built on a hill overlooking Waterville. The Colby College Museum of Art is one of the larger campus art museums in the country, with a collection that punches well above what a school of Colby's size would typically host. The college's investment in downtown Waterville has added restaurants, housing, and gathering spaces that students actually use, changing the town-gown relationship from what it was a decade ago.

Getting in

Colby's process is holistic, and the college has been an active test-optional participant for years rather than a recent convert to the practice. Essays and demonstrated community engagement carry real weight alongside academics, and the admissions office has emphasized access and geographic diversity as explicit, stated priorities in building each incoming class.

After graduation

Graduates go on strongly into environmental and policy work, finance, and law, with a number continuing directly into research or graduate study in the sciences. The alumni network is smaller than a university's but notably tight, and Colby's career office leans on that closeness for internship and job connections in Maine, Boston, and beyond.

Worth knowing

Colby's Jan Plan is a genuine curricular fixture, not a token add-on, and its downtown Waterville investment has meaningfully changed daily life for students who once had few options beyond campus. The college's rural Maine setting is a real trade-off for students who want an urban backdrop.

colby.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate7.1%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1460–1550 · ACT 32–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early decisionNov 15

Regular decisionJan 4

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Early decision IIJan 4

Financial aid formsJan 15

Early Decision I and Early Decision II are both binding, with Early Decision II sharing its January deadline with Regular Decision.

Interviews: Colby does not offer interviews as part of the application process.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗