So that others don’t further infer more than intended, I’ll note that I see standardized scoring as a visible aspect that remains after more important academic aspects have been considered during the selection process. Colleges do not need to place a strong emphasis on the scoring attributes of its individual applicants in order for the resultant profiles measured across student populations to offer an indication of academic preparation. To use an example, one reason we can be pretty confident in the academic level of the students at a school such as Reed – irrespective of its bogus U.S. News ranking – is through a look at its notably high standardized scoring profile.
There’s a difference between emphasizing an aspect and having mentioned one. In the case of these two colleges, the OP should know that, to use larger school examples, Bates is offset (lower) by half a point in its ACT profile from the University of Rochester, while Hamilton is offset (lower) by half a point from Princeton. All four from this group are excellent schools, so no one should take offense to the comparisons. However, they are not identical. If some people hold the opinion that these colleges are close enough so that statistics don’t matter, that’s fine too!
In regard to Bates and their Environmental Studies program, the Association of American Colleges & Universities fairly recently highlighted their program as innovative and a model for others: https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2017/Fall
The Fiske Guide also notes that Environmental Studies is one of the colleges strongest programs, along with Psychology. The guide also lists Psychology as one of Hamilton’s strongest majors. Both Bates and Hamilton receive 4.5 stars for academics (out of 5, which is extremely high) and they both have excellent reputations.
My son is completing his freshman year at Bates and has declared ES as one of his majors. He has been extremely impressed with the department and has thoroughly loved his freshman year. He is also actively involved in the Bates Outing Club and community-related outreach and he views Lewiston and the relationship with the college to be a big net plus of his collegiate experience.
I would imagine that your undergraduate experience at either Bates or Hamilton would be great. Ultimately you should follow your heart and go wherever you feel you fit best. This is the metric that matters most.