The loyalty to the college seemed incredible , and I was told that was true even of those who'd left without graduating. Everyone I talked to spoke with evident interest in their projects and their plans for now and for after graduation. They also seemed more mature than most, which is not surprising because the average age here is a little higher than at most colleges. These are people interested in ideas, so while they may come expecting to study religion or theater or whatever, they may wind up going to graduate school in philosophy or Russian studies, or even graduate schools of business. The experience has helped them find themselves.
Students also become self-sufficient socially.
Marlboro is not even a hamlet. So a Saturday evening's entertainment may evolve from someone's bringing music to the student center to an impromptu party with dancing. The college also has a full schedule of imported concerts and lectures by noted people. In the summer it is the scene of the Marlboro Music Festival. It is not just a conceit that causes Marlboro to use many pages in its catalog to describe individual faculty members as people with many interests in addition to their scholarly ones.