Swarthmore or Hamilton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Swat draws significantly better students. I am influenced by two recent Hamilton grads I know. Very nice kids but seem a little adrift. Un- or underemployed at present.

Anonymous wrote:This, really.

The best possible case you can make is that Swat students on the whole have marginally better stats than Hamilton students on the whole. But in no ordinary sense of the words are Swat students "significantly better." And, I shouldn't have to tell you this, but it's preposterous to base any such opinion on a sample size of two.

Again, my DS didn't apply to Hamilton and is considering Swat. I have no reason to support Hamilton other than a distaste for DCUM hyperbole and prestige-bootlicking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please ignore the comments indicating that Swat or Amherst are "better," "more prestigious," or "more well known" than Hamilton. It's all shorthand for the fact Swat and Amherst have been consistently ranked a little higher by USNWR than Hamilton. But they will all have the same approximate quality of students, faculty, and educational quality.

Also, any of these those schools will provide the same opportunity for your kid to get into a great law school. Law schools don't care where you went for undergrad; they care about what you did there. My co-clerks for an extremely selective judge went to HLS and YLS and both went to state schools outside the top 75.

In short, I'd wouldn't make the decision based on foggy notions or prestige or law school prospects. I'd make it based on things like fit, desired curriculum, and money.

As an attorney, I like Hamilton because of its emphasis on writing. They may not help your kid get into law school, but it will definitely help them in law school and afterward. I think Swat probably has a similar emphasis, but I'm not sure about Amherst. My DS didn't apply to Hamilton for other reasons, but it sure seems like kids and parents love that school.

As for Swat, my DS was admitted and is very seriously considering it. I too was concerned about its reputation for unhappy grinders, but I'm growing more and more convinced that its an echo chamber effect mostly from people who have no affiliation. The first and secondhand account indicate that while it's not a party school, kids can still have a lot of fun. For us, I think it'll come down to DS's experience at Swat's admitted students' day.

Wow, very nicely put.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

Yes please, please keep your judgmental family away from Swarthmore because of this rare situation of two 21-year-olds getting married, harming no one, which has bothered you so deeply.

-swat alum who, like most of my college friends, married in my thirties

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

Yes please, please keep your judgmental family away from Swarthmore because of this rare situation of two 21-year-olds getting married, harming no one, which has bothered you so deeply.

-swat alum who, like most of my college friends, married in my thirties

Are you that sensitive? Is freedom of thought a problem there?

Odd reaction to a simple observation. I didn’t ask for the personal information. He volunteered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

Yes please, please keep your judgmental family away from Swarthmore because of this rare situation of two 21-year-olds getting married, harming no one, which has bothered you so deeply.

-swat alum who, like most of my college friends, married in my thirties

Are you that sensitive? Is freedom of thought a problem there?

Odd reaction to a simple observation. I didn’t ask for the personal information. He volunteered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

Yes please, please keep your judgmental family away from Swarthmore because of this rare situation of two 21-year-olds getting married, harming no one, which has bothered you so deeply.

-swat alum who, like most of my college friends, married in my thirties

Are you that sensitive? Is freedom of thought a problem there?

Odd reaction to a simple observation. I didn’t ask for the personal information. He volunteered.

Your observation was that them getting married wasn't "nice". You're mocking a specific college kid - who could easily be identified as the only Swat tourguide who's married - as weird. You're being a jerk. I think taking cheap shots at the tourguides generally for their personal choices should be off limits. But hey, it takes all kinds...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore's campus is a nationally registered arboretum, and many of the buildings are gorgeous. There aren't many campuses I'd rather wander for four years. The little town is very nice, too, and access to the big city is worth a lot.

Also, I assume they still have a consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. If this is so and you're willing to do a little traveling, it opens up a much wider curriculum and group of activities.

The Quaker influence is nice, too.

The student who led our tour was a senior, 21 years old, and married to another senior. They got married between their junior and senior year and got an exemption from on campus housing as a result.

I suppose if that is what you call nice, well, it takes all kinds to make a world…

Yes please, please keep your judgmental family away from Swarthmore because of this rare situation of two 21-year-olds getting married, harming no one, which has bothered you so deeply.

-swat alum who, like most of my college friends, married in my thirties

Are you that sensitive? Is freedom of thought a problem there?

Odd reaction to a simple observation. I didn’t ask for the personal information. He volunteered.

Your observation was that them getting married wasn't "nice". You're mocking a specific college kid - who could easily be identified as the only Swat tourguide who's married - as weird. You're being a jerk. I think taking cheap shots at the tourguides generally for their personal choices should be off limits. But hey, it takes all kinds...

Actually, since you struggle with reading comprehension, I was teasing the poster who referred to the Quaker influence as “nice”.

As is most of America, I confess I am not Quaker so I have no idea what else the poster could be referring to.

[Anonymous]

I actually thought Swarthmore is quaint. It’s a SLAC. Isn’t that what they are going for?

To get this thread back on topic, potato-potato, OP. You can’t make a wrong choice here. Do consider the region, as living anywhere for four years is a considerable factor in anyone’s college experience. Philly is vastly different from Clinton.

[Anonymous]

NP: you said "i suppose if that's what you call nice."
Not too hard to read that!
Good luck to your kid getting into Swarthmore!

[Anonymous]

My DC attended Hamilton and I never once heard any complaints about cold winters. They plan breaks well so go back mid January and have the two middle weeks of March off, then school is done in early May. The community is close. The education was fantastic, and many, many kids go on to law school. DC would meet professors and former professors for coffee, email them for any reason, etc. The setting is beautiful. In recent years Hamilton has had an acceptance rate of 12-15%, so it is full of strong students doing impressive things. Many Ham grads go into investment banking in NY, and the school's alumni network at places like Goldman (head of firm is a Ham alum and on the school's board) and DeutscheBank is excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP: you said "i suppose if that's what you call nice."
Not too hard to read that!
Good luck to your kid getting into Swarthmore!

NP. Riiiiiiiight.

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard mostly miserable things about Amherst. Yes, the kids are smart and the education is great, but half the students are athletes and it’s all very cliquey.


Speaking as someone who works with both of these schools, what you wrote describes Hamilton very well, not Amherst.

NP. My DC played a sport at a different NESCAC, and had friends that were students and athletes at several other NESCAC schools. What PP said is absolutely accurate - friend at Amherst told my DC that he would never want to be a "NARP" (non-athlete regular person) at Amherst, because there is such a divide between the athletes and non-athletes with very little mixing in. I believe Amherst has the highest percentage of student-athletes of all NESCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC attended Hamilton and I never once heard any complaints about cold winters. They plan breaks well so go back mid January and have the two middle weeks of March off, then school is done in early May. The community is close. The education was fantastic, and many, many kids go on to law school. DC would meet professors and former professors for coffee, email them for any reason, etc. The setting is beautiful. In recent years Hamilton has had an acceptance rate of 12-15%, so it is full of strong students doing impressive things. Many Ham grads go into investment banking in NY, and the school's alumni network at places like Goldman (head of firm is a Ham alum and on the school's board) and DeutscheBank is excellent.

If your child wants to go into business, I’d probably go with Amherst or Swarthmore. Management Consulting firms formally recruit from both and I’m sure the investment banks do as well.

That said Hamilton seems great too and the campus is gorgeous. I’m not surprised at all that they have a great network on Wall Street.

[Anonymous]

Hamilton is known to produce great writers by graduation - that is a necessary skill for lawyers.