Middlebury vs Hamilton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamiliton freshman dorm has no AC. Child with bad allergies went elsewhere. Recruited swimmer.

Middlebury has a new freshman dorm under construction. The upcoming class is getting a brand new space.

https://www.middlebury.edu/alumni-and-families/stories/new-residence-hall-construction

How do gender neutral bathrooms work?

I’m pretty sure that they work the same as the gender neutral bathrooms in your home.

Not even remotely close to the same thing. Imagine having a big, explosive diarrhea bubbling up from a bad dining hall meal, making into the "gender neutral" community bathroom seconds before your sphincter bursts, and seeing your massive crush from down the hall brushing her teeth at the sink. She shoots you a big smile, clearly oblivious to what's brewing in your colon. You now have two options: 1) scurry into a stall, close the door, sit on the pot and proceed to blow your crush right out of the bathroom with an 8.9 on the Rectum Scale, or 2) turn around and sprint toward the bathroom at the other end of the hall, knowing your efforts are futile, as you can already feel the first few yellowish-brown liquid droplets seeping out. You end up diarrhea'ing your pants right in front of a mixed-group of hallmates who are getting off the elevator. They smell it first, then see it running down your leg. There's no denying what just happened. By dinner, it'll be all over the dorm.

All of this as a college freshman still adjusting to your new life away from home and trying to establish your position in a new social pecking order. And all of it could have been avoided if the bathrooms were simply single-gender and you didn't have to make a split-second decision about blowing a diarrhea in front of an attractive member of the opposite sex.

Fwiw I am in my mid-50s and had gender neutral bathrooms as a freshman at Penn a hundred years ago. (Of course we didn't call it gender neutral back then.) Somehow we all managed to survive the many indignities that transpire in shared living situations without long-term physical or psychological damage. My oldest kid is at another New England SLAC and has lived in several smaller dorms (more like houses) with shared bathrooms and he too does not appear to have suffered as a result. I'm sure the kids at Middlebury will navigate this treacherous situation successfully. Go troll somewhere else.

Amen. Also, all those "indignities" could happen in a same sex bathroom. Gender neutral bathrooms are in many schools and have been for ages. It's fine.

[Anonymous]

My dd goes to Hamilton and has had a great experience. I will say that the midd ski hill is pretty darn nice though. I’ve even heard of kids getting up early to skin up the hill, ski down and then head to breakfast before going to class. If that’s your thing, midd it is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamiliton freshman dorm has no AC. Child with bad allergies went elsewhere. Recruited swimmer.

Middlebury has a new freshman dorm under construction. The upcoming class is getting a brand new space.

https://www.middlebury.edu/alumni-and-families/stories/new-residence-hall-construction

How do gender neutral bathrooms work?

I’m pretty sure that they work the same as the gender neutral bathrooms in your home.

Not even remotely close to the same thing. Imagine having a big, explosive diarrhea bubbling up from a bad dining hall meal, making into the "gender neutral" community bathroom seconds before your sphincter bursts, and seeing your massive crush from down the hall brushing her teeth at the sink. She shoots you a big smile, clearly oblivious to what's brewing in your colon. You now have two options: 1) scurry into a stall, close the door, sit on the pot and proceed to blow your crush right out of the bathroom with an 8.9 on the Rectum Scale, or 2) turn around and sprint toward the bathroom at the other end of the hall, knowing your efforts are futile, as you can already feel the first few yellowish-brown liquid droplets seeping out. You end up diarrhea'ing your pants right in front of a mixed-group of hallmates who are getting off the elevator. They smell it first, then see it running down your leg. There's no denying what just happened. By dinner, it'll be all over the dorm.

All of this as a college freshman still adjusting to your new life away from home and trying to establish your position in a new social pecking order. And all of it could have been avoided if the bathrooms were simply single-gender and you didn't have to make a split-second decision about blowing a diarrhea in front of an attractive member of the opposite sex.

Fwiw I am in my mid-50s and had gender neutral bathrooms as a freshman at Penn a hundred years ago. (Of course we didn't call it gender neutral back then.) Somehow we all managed to survive the many indignities that transpire in shared living situations without long-term physical or psychological damage. My oldest kid is at another New England SLAC and has lived in several smaller dorms (more like houses) with shared bathrooms and he too does not appear to have suffered as a result. I'm sure the kids at Middlebury will navigate this treacherous situation successfully. Go troll somewhere else.

Amen. Also, all those "indignities" could happen in a same sex bathroom. Gender neutral bathrooms are in many schools and have been for ages. It's fine.

No they couldn't. If the dorm in the hypothetical example had had same sex bathrooms, the guy's crush wouldn't have been in there brushing her teeth. She would have been in the women's bathroom. He could have done his business in peace with no self-consciousness, and the embarrassments that befell him afterwards in both choose-your-own-adventure paths would have been prevented.

[Anonymous]

Ok folks let’s get back to the regularly scheduled program here. Any more relevant thought on ham v midd???
Hadn’t thought about the ski hill

[Anonymous]

Back in the day, I attended an accepted student reception (or something) at Hamilton. At the end of the class/meeting, I was met with a lovely lady telling me that my father was in the hospital. He thought he was having a heart attack; turns out, panic attack for me getting ready to go to college, and, because he thought Hamilton was way too remote and Utica (the nearest major city) too depressing. I ended up attending a different school. Fast forward, and I still find Utica depressing. BUT, Hamilton is a great school. For my DD, she wouldn't look at Hamilton and much preferred Middlebury and Colby to Hamilton. This is why: Middlebury is just that much bigger that it didn't feel that small. She found Burlington much nicer than Utica. She liked that Colby was near the water. In the end, she decided that all NESCAC schools are too remote and shifted gears and is going to a school near a city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, I attended an accepted student reception (or something) at Hamilton. At the end of the class/meeting, I was met with a lovely lady telling me that my father was in the hospital. He thought he was having a heart attack; turns out, panic attack for me getting ready to go to college, and, because he thought Hamilton was way too remote and Utica (the nearest major city) too depressing. I ended up attending a different school. Fast forward, and I still find Utica depressing. BUT, Hamilton is a great school. For my DD, she wouldn't look at Hamilton and much preferred Middlebury and Colby to Hamilton. This is why: Middlebury is just that much bigger that it didn't feel that small. She found Burlington much nicer than Utica. She liked that Colby was near the water. In the end, she decided that all NESCAC schools are too remote and shifted gears and is going to a school near a city.

Isn't Colby like an hour from the coast?

[Anonymous]

They are both in fairly remote locations. I have several friends who went to Middlebury and really loved it.

[Anonymous]

Flip a coin. Do you prefer gray stone or more brownish stone?

[Anonymous]

I had to choose between these two schools and chose Hamilton - I felt a better rapport with the kids there and thought Hamilton's stationary on the acceptance letter was nicer?! (I was 18)... still happy with my decision, they are both great schools. Hamilton has alot of links to preferred equity, etc.. not just IB. Very strong economics program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flip a coin. Do you prefer gray stone or more brownish stone?

I agree, my kid really like both even though they were quite different. There isn't a wrong answer here, you can get anywhere from either. Go with the one that feels right is the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to choose between these two schools and chose Hamilton - I felt a better rapport with the kids there and thought Hamilton's stationary on the acceptance letter was nicer?! (I was 18)... still happy with my decision, they are both great schools. Hamilton has alot of links to preferred equity, etc.. not just IB. Very strong economics program.

I had to choose too and chose Middlebury. It’s a much much better location and the skiing was a plus. Back then there was a clear hierarchy of choices for a certain type of kid
Dartmouth->Midd/Bowdoin ->Hamiliton/Colgate->Trintiy/St Lawrence/Conn

But yes, more similar than different.

[Anonymous]

This post on Hamilton appeared in another discussion forum:

In Brief

Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics manifests in enhanced academic, architectural and social dimensions and balance. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and mathematics and social sciences. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill. Rarefied student profile. Beautiful, spatially luxuriant campus. Surrounding area among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year. Nicely offset from the Northeast megalopolis, with proximity to authentically rural countryside, a quaint village, suburban amenities, a small city and the Adirondacks. Winter snow suitable for the adventurous — find your inner Buck. Grads earn the most in their early careers from those of the 10 NESCAC LACs based on information in U.S. News. Alumni include preeminent figures in the artistic movement known as imagism (Pound) and the prominent branch of psychology known as behaviorism (Skinner) and an instrumental activitist in the civil rights movement (Moses) — to name a few — as well as Nobel laureates. Historical cultural reference in Wilder’s Our Town. If you like film, you might want to watch The Sterile Cuckoo for a visual introduction to “Harrisonville” College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post on Hamilton appeared in another discussion forum:

In Brief

Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics manifests in enhanced academic, architectural and social dimensions and balance. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and mathematics and social sciences. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill. Rarefied student profile. Beautiful, spatially luxuriant campus. Surrounding area among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year. Nicely offset from the Northeast megalopolis, with proximity to authentically rural countryside, a quaint village, suburban amenities, a small city and the Adirondacks. Winter snow suitable for the adventurous — find your inner Buck. Grads earn the most in their early careers from those of the 10 NESCAC LACs based on information in U.S. News. Alumni include preeminent figures in the artistic movement known as imagism (Pound) and the prominent branch of psychology known as behaviorism (Skinner) and an instrumental activitist in the civil rights movement (Moses) — to name a few — as well as Nobel laureates. Historical cultural reference in Wilder’s Our Town. If you like film, you might want to watch The Sterile Cuckoo for a visual introduction to “Harrisonville” College.

Hamilton is a great school, Middlebury is a great school. You cannot go wrong in your choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post on Hamilton appeared in another discussion forum:

In Brief

Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics manifests in enhanced academic, architectural and social dimensions and balance. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and mathematics and social sciences. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill. Rarefied student profile. Beautiful, spatially luxuriant campus. Surrounding area among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year. Nicely offset from the Northeast megalopolis, with proximity to authentically rural countryside, a quaint village, suburban amenities, a small city and the Adirondacks. Winter snow suitable for the adventurous — find your inner Buck. Grads earn the most in their early careers from those of the 10 NESCAC LACs based on information in U.S. News. Alumni include preeminent figures in the artistic movement known as imagism (Pound) and the prominent branch of psychology known as behaviorism (Skinner) and an instrumental activitist in the civil rights movement (Moses) — to name a few — as well as Nobel laureates. Historical cultural reference in Wilder’s Our Town. If you like film, you might want to watch The Sterile Cuckoo for a visual introduction to “Harrisonville” College.

The Hamilton side of campus is charming. The Kirkland side of campus is awful.

[Anonymous]

For a statistical perspective on post-graduation prospects, this WalletHub site offers a column for "Career Outcomes Rank":

https://wallethub.com/edu/e/college-rankings/40750