I am deciding between Bates and Hamilton for my ED admissions. They’re both pretty similar but
I prefer Maine over New York
I want to double major in psychology and history and both colleges have extremely similar departments in both disciplines.
I like Hamilton’s focus on writing and oral presentations and they’re ranked a little better than Bates. Also, they have a lot more racial diversity.
On the other hand, Bates has really anchored me and the people are amazing there.
I am honestly confused and I was hoping someone could lend advice.
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Bates and Hamilton are closely enough in the rankings that I would throw them out as a consideration. Besides, which rankings? USNWR (Hamilton tied for #18, Bates tied for #23), Niche (Bates # 17, Hamilton #20), Forbes (Bates #35, Hamilton #65), WSJ (Hamilton #61, Bates #66) or Money (Bates #10, Hamilton #21)? As you can see they are both consistently highly ranked.
If I were you I’d go with my gut.
Briefly
Bates: Nicely derived from its founding by early abolitionists. Early to educate women. Elements of this distinguished history may persist in campus culture. Strong in fields such as psychology. You’ve visited and report that you like the area and people. “Amazing” will serve as a high standard to exceed pretty much anywhere.
Hamilton: Benefits from the curricular, architectural, spatial and cultural legacy of having been two colleges of contrasting characteristics and attributes. Among the country’s finest writers’ colleges. Adirondack area location, cum charming village of Clinton and suburban access, seems suitable for collegiate pursuits. Psychology department offers a term-length field program near Boston.
Ideally, you should arrange an overnight visit to each of these schools. Regarding rankings, the question has been appropriately asked above, which ones?
They have somewhat different vibes at the edges – for lots of students, they are a solid overlap - so depending on your taste, they may or may not be similar in feel.
I agree that spending a full day (and preferably a night too) would help make this clear. I know that Bates offered this option (overnight ). Not sure about Hamilton but if anyone from your school is there now, you can always do this informally.
It sounds like you are leaning towards Bates but are wondering if Hamilton is “better”. It is not. These are equally excellent schools so it’s a matter of picking the one where you feel the best fit.
I think the racial diversity is pretty even at both schools. Before I read your post, I would have said Bates was more diverse because that is what we observed on visits and they talk a lot about inclusivity. Looking at Common Data Sets, they are fairly even, with Hamilton getting a slight edge because they enroll a bigger number of Asian students
My daughter visited Hamilton and did not apply. She thought it felt too “preppy.” She is at Bates, which was one of her top choices. I do not think of Bates as being preppy, though like all NESCACs, there will be preppy kids.
That’s just the view of one individual, of course. You should not go by rankings in this case, because they aren’t really relevant here. These two colleges are similar in many ways. If you care about access to civilization, you should consider that Bates is only 40 minutes from Portland and 2 hours to Boston. That matters to some people. My daughter is now a junior and is really glad she didn’t end up at the more rural school she was accepted to.
OP,
These are peer institutions. Also, maybe you shouldn’t apply ED if you are torn. ED is binding, and although ED does give an applicant a boost, the applicant must be 100% in love with the school before she applies ED.
That said, you have time to figure things out. Have you visited? Will you be able to visit? That will help tremendously, I think. It sounds like you are a bit more interested in Bates, so if that’s the case, Bates it is!
Finally, don’t worry about the rankings, which evaluate every data point available except the most important one: what actually happens in the classroom. Plus, as an LAC grad, I find that LAC students don’t care that much about brand name and rankings. After all, the average person has never heard of Carleton or Pitzer or Bowdoin or Bates or Grinnell. This should be freeing. Choose the LAC that you love. Those who know will know your school. 
They could almost be 2 branches of the same college. If you prefer Maine over NY, that’s reason enough to select Bates. But apply to both. Maybe the adcoms will help you decide.
Thank you everyone! I really wish I could visit, but I live in India and it’s just impossible. My concern with the rankings is only because I eventually want to end up at an ivy for my PhD and I want to choose the curriculum that would prepare me better for that. Also, yes. I have been completely in love with Bates for quite a while now and met someone who went there. At that point, I wasn’t even serious about Hamilton, but she told me she was stuck between the two before applying ED and then I started thinking about my choice. It comes from a place of indecision and self doubt. So I started wondering if Hamilton is better. But I really appreciate your help and I think I don’t need to doubt myself anymore. Bates it is!
@tk21769 : When you say these schools “could almost be 2 branches of the same college” you suggest, among other aspects, strong statistical similarities. Wouldn’t a 75-point average SAT separation indicate perhaps significantly different levels of academic preparation in the entering student bodies of these two schools? Further, by several other key statistics – endowment, early career earnings, even campus acreage – these colleges register notably differently.
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Two great options! I don’t think there is a “wrong” choice here.
Both have very enthusiastic students, alumni, and parents. Even among liberal arts colleges, the loyalty to these two colleges makes them stand out from their peers. People LOVE them.
It sounds like you are leaning towards Bates, and that is fine. Bates is even a tiny bit easier to get into, by student statistics (scores, etc.), so that is convenient!
Hamilton is in rural upstate New York, so both choices are lovely. Clinton NY is charming, but Lewiston provides good service opportunities. The nearby Adirondack mountains in NY, and the Maine mountains and coast, respectively are short trips away from each college.
Hamilton has fraternities, though they are nonresidential. Bates does not.
Hamilton has an open curriculum. Bates has more requirements.
Our family loved both colleges when we visited. A hard choice, but it sounds like you have a preference, so go for it!
Go where you feel the best fit.
@merc81 , Bates is well-known for being one of the very first test-optional colleges. Test scores are de-emphasized and many applicants do not even submit scores. Yes, Hamilton’s SAT/ACT averages are higher. I don’t think Bates students are less intellectually-inclined. The fact that they both have similar retention rates and similar acceptance rates to med school means they are more similar than they are different. As per both schools’ websites, anywhere from 75%- to 100% of Bates’ applicants are accepted to med school, and for Hamilton the rate is 73%- to 93%. The percentages of students from both colleges who enroll in grad school is almost identical: 10% vs. 10.5%. These are peer schools, no question.
Among the top 40 or so LACs, I see more similarity than among the top 40 or so research universities. At virtually all the top LACs, you get more-or-less consistently small classes, total focus on undergrads (except at a couple LACs with graduate programs), few or no pre-professional majors, and enrollments of about 1500-3000. Many of them are in small rural towns but attract students from all over the USA. The Greek scene usually is understated (if it exists at all); sports programs typically are D3 and attract relatively little national attention. Many of these colleges were founded before the Civil War. They typically have many old buildings in collegiate gothic or other traditional design, surrounding tree-lined quads, arranged along a grid of streets (with a ~central “College Avenue” or some such). Most of them are well endowed and claim to cover 100% of demonstrated financial need (or close to it). They employ professors with PhDs often from the same top graduate programs. In admissions, they must be competing for pretty much the same pool of students.
Hamilton and Bates are both NESCAC colleges located relatively far from major cities. Their admission rates are similar. Hamilton’s average test scores are higher, but not by so much that I’d expect to see a big difference in, say, the pace of instruction.
Hamilton does have a much larger endowment. That might have important ramifications.
There may be relatively strong and weak majors at each school, as well as differences in the quality of some facilities (libraries, laboratories; dining, athletic, dormitory facilities; etc.) On balance, maybe those differences favor Hamilton. Some students are sensitive to differences that others might consider subtle. So if you’re trying to choose between them, an overnight campus visit might be in order.
@Lindagaf, @tk21769: I had wanted to see what some people were basing their opinions on, so thank you both for your responses. In my case, I often see what I regard as significant differences between various colleges that will make me less inclined to categorize them as especially similar. (Or, conversely, more inclined to group other, relatively disparate, colleges.) To choose another school as an example, Haverford reports student profile figures (96% from the top 10% of their HS classes and stratospheric SAT scores) that at least seem different from many schools that might otherwise be considered its peers. At some point, statistical attributes, since they link with academics generally, tend to appear in the college classroom. In the case of Bates and Hamilton, I thought some statistical aspects should at least be acknowledged. Based on acceptance rates, though, Bates benefits from the luxury of choosing the applicants that will most engage with and contribute to the school. In this sense, Bates has few peers.
Regarding civilization, @Lindagaf, I recommend you view the Thomas Coles in Utica. I’m sure you would enjoy them.
@merc81 , I am well aware of Thomas Cole, the famous Hudson River School painter. I volunteered for many years at a historic site which houses some of his paintings. But if I find myself in Utica, I will be sure to see the exhibit.
Re endowment at Bates, (I make no attempt to hide my favoritism), it is true their endowment is small. This is mainly due to the fact that from the start, Bates educated people who were under-represented in higher education at the time: working people, women, and URMs. Those grads tended to go into less high-flying careers than their peers at Hamilton and similar. Thus, those grads didn’t have as much money to be generous with. In addition, Hamilton is considerably older, and must have also absorbed whatever endowment Kirkland College had. Having been to both Hamilton and Bates, I can honestly say I don’t see any difference in terms of “obvious wealth” on campus. Both are beautiful, but Hamilton is certainly more sprawling. Bates is indeed compact in size, which is one reason why it only needs one main dining hall. (An interesting side note about the dining hall is that Bates students have consistently voted to have only one dining all, in keeping with Bates’ idea of inclusiveness.)
My sense is that Bates would be the better ED choice for the OP. However, the initial purpose of the thread appeared to be one of inquiry. In terms of my opinion, I think the process got shut down too quickly, and largely before we knew much about @renaissance2206.
I’d thought you either would be familiar with or interested in Cole, Linda. When I make a recommendation, I make it sincerely.
In terms of a rating that can be added to those posted by @Sue22, Bates places a notable 16th across all colleges nationally in this new meta-ranking:
https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-colleges/
Hamilton further represents liberal arts colleges at 24th.
I can’t speak to Bates, so I don’t know how helpful this will be. My son is a soph at Hamilton. What seems to set Hamilton apart is its focus on outcomes. Already he has participated in programs related to finding internships, preparing resumes, networking, shadowing alums, thinking deeply about future career options. Given how expensive a LAC education is, I appreciate Hamilton’s attention to preparing students for the future and being goal-oriented in their education.
Regarding outcomes, and at the risk of emphasizing financial aspects, Hamilton places, by early career salaries, at the top of the rarefied group that comprises the ten NESCAC LACs. For some prospective students, this might serve as a measurable aspect that would distinguish Hamilton.