<p>I go to the public school in my town, which is officially the wealthiest town in my state. Therefore, I am sick of wealthy people who judge others based on their clothing and parents' salary. I dress somewhat "hipster." I am an artist. I loved Cornell, where everyone dressed casually, but I don't think I'll receive an acceptance next week. Would I not be well accepted at Hamilton based on clothing and lack of snob-ility? I hear there's a lot of Lilly Pullitzer. </p>
<p>I visited and that wasn’t my impression at all. Mostly, people seemed kind of outdoorsy, but one of the things I liked about the school was that there didn’t seem to be a dominant social type. I visited Trinity and it was preppy overload to the point where it almost felt like a parody of what a preppy school would look like - loafers and Burberry everywhere. At Hamilton, I saw a lot of jeans, flannel, North Face/fleece, rainboots (it was a rainy day). </p>
<p>Also, Hamilton was one of the friendliest schools I visited. I have no doubt that there are a lot of affluent students there as there are at many LACs, but I didn’t get a snobby vibe from anyone I met. I mean, I’m sure there are some people like that, but it seemed like it would be easy to avoid them.</p>
<p>Artisticnative, I don’t know where in the country you are from, but if you were able to visit Cornell, why didn’t you make a stop at Hamilton? I have visited Hamilton twice now, and had the same experience as nnms728. I observed a variety of students, with a variety of dress, most with an outdoorsy emphasis. My son, who is not at all preppy or snobby, is applying there early decision. If he had noticed a totally preppy atmosphere, it would not have seemed like a good fit for him. All of the kids from our hometown who go there are down-to-earth types. My other son, a completely different kind of kid, is currently attending one of the J-Crew U’s, and is very happy. </p>
<p>If you dress hipster, you’ll fit in very well on the Dark Side. Anywhere, really, but the Dark Side has the hipster reputation.</p>
<p>@MrMom62 What is the Dark Side? That is a rude label.</p>
<p>A reference to a popular movie. Refers to the side of campus that was formerly Kirkland College, and indirectly to its neat (and highly livable), brutalist-style architecture. Anyone can live there and everyone will take classes there. The nickmane should never have stuck; If anything, the dorms are bright from natural light – the windows extend from wall to wall and almost from floor to ceiling.</p>
<p>Btw, rude to whom? Darth Vader?</p>
<p>I’d say he had it coming, with the Death Star and all.</p>
<p>@merc81 Haha I thought it was mocking hipster students – I didn’t know the background of its usage. </p>
<p>Sp: nickname. </p>
<p>The “Dark Side” is so-called because, from time to time, the Kirtland side of campus used to lose power, hence, the dark side.
The term originated sometime in the late 80’s</p>
<p>No way? That’s great information. </p>
<p>Yup! </p>
<p>Thanks, you led me to: “Light Versus Dark: Stereotypes About the Two Sides of the Hamilton Campus.” (2004). The study confirms the power-outage origin of the term (The movie is a factor for some survey respondents, as is the architecture), then progresses to social anthroplogy. The author concludes the terms should be discouraged because their usage both shapes and distorts perception. Personally, I’d avoid them because I wouldn’t want to speak in clichés for four years.</p>
<p>The terms are widely used on campus and no one uses them disparagingly. It’s just more fun than North and South. Someone during Parents Weekend, an alumni from the '80s, noted there used to be another set of terms before Dark and Light Side, but it escapes me what they were.</p>
<p>Hamilton’s north side was at one time called Stryker Campus. Winston Smith let that slip through. </p>
As a current student, yes people use light side and dark side in everyday vernacular. Only a freshman would ask about the south side of campus…and truthfully I’d have to think about which was the south side. There are stereotypes that come with living on each side. Sociology majors have a lot of fun studying the different sides of campus. Generally, preppy athletes on the light side and artsy hipster on the dark side…but that’s really not true anymore as res life introduces new all-freshmen housing into the equation. Regardless, I think it speaks to the diversity of the Hamilton campus. Yes, this school is PREPPY. A lot of people like to downplay this, but if you show up in August, you will see a great number of salmon shorts and trout belts (hey, it happens). That being said, most Hamilton students, believe it or not, went to public high schools! No, you don’t have to be preppy to fit in. Yes, the preppy and unpreppy people do mix. Yes, there is tension on campus between overly privileged boarding school kids and those who come from low SES families/backgrounds. We are geographically, socioeconomically, and racially diverse. This does make for interesting conversations among the campus community–it is also one of the best things about Hamilton, as you’ll meet people different than yourself. Lastly, I have yet to meet a Hamilton student who judges another person for what they wear…we have a streaking team. You can literally run around naked and people might not look up from their computer (but we generally do, everyone loves a streaker).
Public/Private School Ratio: 60/40
To be fair, there are many overly privileged kids who attended public school. And every top boarding school has a significant number of students who receive substantial aid.
I was a little surprised that no one in this thread made a distinction between old-school prep and its newer, broader, yuppie-cum-prep-hybrid cousin. Hamilton was fairly famous for its preppiness at a time when preppiness wasn’t a notably obnoxious trait. Yes, old-school prep involves exclusivity to an extent, but also erudition and conservative spending. The newer, conspicuous-consumption type of “prep” is not particularly Hamilton. Though, as at other colleges, it can probably be found there.