Hamilton College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How strong is this college? Is it truly intellectual and for serious students? Is the social vibe preppy/Greek, sporty, progressive or nerdy?

These subjective comments appeared in another forum in 2024:

Hamilton, in Brief

Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, spatial and architectural dimensions and balance. Access to suburban amenities, proximity to Adirondacks. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and math and social sciences. Rarefied student profile. I know some people who don’t like snow, but I’m not sure I trust them — find your inner Buck. Surrounding area of ~10,000 residents among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This response from a current professor, when interviewed, touches on your questions:

"As a grad student I taught at a big research institution, Stanford, and there are very smart students there as well, but they weren’t the ideal I had in mind, which was the engaged, enthusiastic liberal arts student who’s in it for the ideas, for the love of knowledge . . . I also found that there are different varieties of liberal arts students; there are the ones who are more academically inclined, the ones who are more athletically inclined, the ones who are more counterculture, and the ones who are more mainstream. So far, I’ve found Hamilton students to be a similar variety and disposition to the ones at my undergrad school, so I think I was lucky in that respect."

Meet the New Faculty: Jason Cieply, Russian Studies - News - Hamilton College https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/faculty-jason-cieply-russian-studies

So which variation is the dominant culture at Hamilton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my family’s personal experience - it the school kids from top boarding schools go to when no one else will accept them. This is true both academically and athletically.

Especially sad for J term admits.

[Anonymous]

Great place to spend $90,000 plus a year on a STEM degree and then end up making $65,000 a year getting chewed up teaching at an inner city charter school. Not exactly med school pipeline for all.

[Anonymous]

My high school sophomore honors English teacher was educated at Hamilton. He inspired a love of literature in me that I didn’t realize possible, and I went into his course a constant reader from the moment I learned.

I still see the world largely by the lens I started developing in his class, reading some of the seminal works of American literature and others from across the canon that he suggested for my extracurricular reading - like Anna Karenina which I read the summer I was 14 going into junior year.

I would have gone there if I’d had the chance. I’m sure it’s not the same place it was when he went decades ago, but it sounds like it’s still a great school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL Hamilton is no Stanford. It's probably the weakest of the half dozen or so LACs tied for 13th in US News

Yet if you talked to them you’d find that the students are largely indistinguishable.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

The sad part is that you somehow believe that they are different when they most definitely are not. Hamilton in the top half of the NESCAC academically and for the top 5 the academic profiles are virtually identical except for the tails. Many of the students in these schools were shooting for the Ivies but didn't win the lottery, they are completely indistinguishable for the typical student at any Ivy league school which also makes them no different than a typical Stanford student.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of kids who have gone there. They are consistently smart, sociable, hard-working, friendly, easy to be around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My high school sophomore honors English teacher was educated at Hamilton. He inspired a love of literature in me that I didn’t realize possible, and I went into his course a constant reader from the moment I learned.

I still see the world largely by the lens I started developing in his class, reading some of the seminal works of American literature and others from across the canon that he suggested for my extracurricular reading - like Anna Karenina which I read the summer I was 14 going into junior year.

I would have gone there if I’d had the chance. I’m sure it’s not the same place it was when he went decades ago, but it sounds like it’s still a great school.

If he's responsible for your over the top, flowery and pretentious writing style, well . . . no thanks.

[Anonymous]

It has a bit of culty vibe with all the "we're a 'Hamily'" chatter. But other than that we liked the school a lot. It had a good balance of preppy and artsy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great place to spend $90,000 plus a year on a STEM degree and then end up making $65,000 a year getting chewed up teaching at an inner city charter school. Not exactly med school pipeline for all.

The inner city dog whistle sounds a little racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To add- DC is being recruited to both and trying to determine which is better academically and what the vibes are socially.

To both ? What other school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL Hamilton is no Stanford. It's probably the weakest of the half dozen or so LACs tied for 13th in US News

Yet if you talked to them you’d find that the students are largely indistinguishable.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

The sad part is that you somehow believe that they are different when they most definitely are not. Hamilton in the top half of the NESCAC academically and for the top 5 the academic profiles are virtually identical except for the tails. Many of the students in these schools were shooting for the Ivies but didn't win the lottery, they are completely indistinguishable for the typical student at any Ivy league school which also makes them no different than a typical Stanford student.

Philosophically I want to believe this but I know a couple recent Hamilton grads and this is not the case for them. Have you met kids at Stanford recently? They're insanely accomplished.

[Anonymous]

From my family’s personal experience - it the school kids from top boarding schools go to when no one else will accept them. This is true both academically and athletically.

Your personal experience contrasts with the several experiences of kids and adults (including my neighbor) I know who attended Hamilton. The people I know went on to do investment banking in NY (the head of Goldman is a Hamilton grad, as are a large handful of senior executives at Deutsche Bank and both firms hire out of Ham), attend med or law school, or work in media. Every one of these people is smart, though some more intellectually curious than others. I personally know two kids from one of the coveted private schools discussed in DCUM who applied ED and were not accepted - so no, it’s not where kids from boarding schools go when they can’t go elsewhere.

Athletically, one of (or the?) top female runner in the NESCAC last year was a Hamilton student. The hockey/crew/soccer/basketball teams have all been at or near the top of the NESCAC at one time or another in recent years.

It’s not the right school for all kids, but your statement is just wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL Hamilton is no Stanford. It's probably the weakest of the half dozen or so LACs tied for 13th in US News

Yet if you talked to them you’d find that the students are largely indistinguishable.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

Funny. I have no connection whatsoever to Hamilton but did attend a comparable SLAC.

Then I went on to the top doctoral program in the country in my field and also grabbed a T4 law degree while I was there. Interacted with plenty of HYPS folks. Not much difference between them and my LAC peers.

So that’s the basis for my opinion. Now show me yours.

You'd think that getting a PhD and law degree from a "T4" school would be enough for you to get over your insecurity for having not attended HYPS undergrad. Guess not.

This prominent figure's "greatest regret" was choosing Harvard over Hamilton:

Charlie Baker takes the Proust Questionnaire - The Boston Globe https://share.google/eRUU5F6wvfIU4HE49

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL Hamilton is no Stanford. It's probably the weakest of the half dozen or so LACs tied for 13th in US News

Yet if you talked to them you’d find that the students are largely indistinguishable.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

The sad part is that you somehow believe that they are different when they most definitely are not. Hamilton in the top half of the NESCAC academically and for the top 5 the academic profiles are virtually identical except for the tails. Many of the students in these schools were shooting for the Ivies but didn't win the lottery, they are completely indistinguishable for the typical student at any Ivy league school which also makes them no different than a typical Stanford student.

Philosophically I want to believe this but I know a couple recent Hamilton grads and this is not the case for them. Have you met kids at Stanford recently? They're insanely accomplished.

I am Bay Area and I know lots of Stanford kids. My neighbor goes there, a close friends daughter went there, and our school sends several every year. All smart talented kids but nothing exceptional about any of them. One kid had a very neat EC because he worked in the kitchen of a Michelin 3 star for years but that’s it. Another is legacy but the family isn’t wealthy.