Hamilton College

[Anonymous]

Well, yes

[Anonymous]

Hamilton is a great school. The classes are small, the students are generally engaged and interested in an intellectual life, and the town (Clinton) is pretty and close to the Adirondacks, which are beautiful. It has a strong Outdoor Education program, like the larger D1 Colgate, which is about 25 minutes away. They did away with Greek life about 25 years ago. The party culture is average. IMHO if your kid likes the tour and the coach, and wants to be in a small town, you can't go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Athletically, one of (or the?) top female runner in the NESCAC last year was a Hamilton student.

She only wound up at Hamilton because she didn't start running until junior year of HS (was a soccer player) and thus was not heavily recruited. She basically fell in Hamilton's lap. And she left Hamilton after her first year and is looking to transfer.

[Anonymous]

The only school tour where my DC asked to leave in the middle of the tour. To this day my DC has a visceral reaction to this school when mentioned. DC hated the vibe. Gorgeous campus, but very, very remote.

[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?

I’d say the social vibe is a bit preppy, but not snobby. There is a heavy emphasis on writing across the curriculum. 30-40% athletes, but there are club sports available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I agree. People have to stop observing things; it only leads to trouble.

[Anonymous]

This article offers some perspective on Clinton, along with a nice photo:

Under-the-Radar New York Towns You Have to Visit this Fall https://share.google/1K6GzTpevy7i34MVm

The village is compared to Stars Hollow, for those of you familiar with that town.

[Anonymous]

MY DC just passed on an offer to play their sport there. I really like the campus, the focus on writing and research, and I have a close friend whose DC is a student there and very happy, getting a great education and summer internships through the Hamilton network. But my DC just couldn't get over how remote the school is, and the town is barely much of one. DC said they would rather go to college in a city and play their sport at the club level than spend four years isolated there.

[Anonymous]

Hamilton is within six miles of typical suburban stuff. I hope people commenting on the area are sufficiently familiar with it to be reliable sources of information. However, as far as I can tell, some came in through a rural route (or the nearest Thruway exit) and have judged the area from a limited perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hamilton is within six miles of typical suburban stuff. I hope people commenting on the area are sufficiently familiar with it to be reliable sources of information. However, as far as I can tell, some came in through a rural route (or the nearest Thruway exit) and have judged the area from a limited perspective.

Six miles is far though when you don’t have a car.

[Anonymous]

It is very strong academically, with small class sizes and an emphasis on writing, but it is very isolated and cold. The campus is your social life - is that what your kid wants? Lots of athletes, notable athlete-non-athlete divide, lots of rich kids, notable rich kid-MC and lower divide. Attending Hamilton in the 2005 era, I knew multiple kids who carried their parents' AmEx black cards... I imagine that as wealth divisions in the US have widened, this has become a bigger issue between the haves and have-nots. It has a lot of kids who want Hamilton, or were recruited, and it was an easier admit, but also many kids who were aiming for Ivy League or higher-ranked NESCAC and did not get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamilton is within six miles of typical suburban stuff. I hope people commenting on the area are sufficiently familiar with it to be reliable sources of information. However, as far as I can tell, some came in through a rural route (or the nearest Thruway exit) and have judged the area from a limited perspective.

Six miles is far though when you don’t have a car.

Hamilton operates a Jitney service, which runs hourly to suburban areas and weekly into the city of Utica:

The Jitney - The Jitney - Hamilton College https://share.google/iSYZXCDMXmwDl1xAf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamilton is within six miles of typical suburban stuff. I hope people commenting on the area are sufficiently familiar with it to be reliable sources of information. However, as far as I can tell, some came in through a rural route (or the nearest Thruway exit) and have judged the area from a limited perspective.

Six miles is far though when you don’t have a car.

Hamilton operates a Jitney service, which runs hourly to suburban areas and weekly into the city of Utica:

The Jitney - The Jitney - Hamilton College https://share.google/iSYZXCDMXmwDl1xAf

Utica is super depressed and the fact that they call it the jitney (as in reference to the Hamptons jitney) could be an issue for some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MY DC just passed on an offer to play their sport there. I really like the campus, the focus on writing and research, and I have a close friend whose DC is a student there and very happy, getting a great education and summer internships through the Hamilton network. But my DC just couldn't get over how remote the school is, and the town is barely much of one. DC said they would rather go to college in a city and play their sport at the club level than spend four years isolated there.

That’s what my kid chose instead. They wanted a more urban environment —or even if not full on city a mix of both

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that struck us on the tour is that they provide 2 advisors from day one: one for academics, one for helping to develop professional goals. That could be a good thing or too pre-professional, depending on your point of view. They also are one of the few undergrads with a policy major (Pomona is another).

Huh? Almost every school my kids applied to had a policy (public and/or international policy) Major. Both kids are doing it an Ivy.