<p>Hello. Right now I'm deciding between going to UC Berkeley next year, or Hamilton. I know Hamilton isn't as "prestigious" as Cal, but do people somewhat know about it there? My family and I have all lived on the West Coast our entire lives.</p>
<p>I've been having such a difficult time figuring out which school to go to, they are polar opposites. The main thing that was pulling me towards Hamilton was the individualized attention, writing focus, and ability to network easier. Cal has a great cultural atmosphere and is known as a top university.</p>
<p>This has just been the most difficult thing in the world.</p>
<p>Haha. I’d choose Hamilton, ANY DAY. But that’s because I’m a completely Liberal Arts College, kind of person
And I also because I’ve been waitlisted there :(</p>
<p>I’m from the Bay Area and am a current Hamilton student. About 60 people from my high school went to Cal (as did my father), so I am pretty familiar with the school. Hamilton will be better academically if you want individualized attention, and its a great college if you want to improve your writing (something that will be a lot more difficult at a large uni like Cal). As for networking, Hamilton has a really strong alumni network that is primarily located in New York, Boston, and DC. For me, 4 years on the East Coast will be enough and I plan on going back to San Francisco after college. There are alums on the West Coast, but its nothing like the East Coast network. </p>
<p>Berkeley was a school I considered, and even now I wonder how my life would have been different had I gone to Berkeley. I don’t think I would have been as challenged academically, but it would have been an easier adjustment. There are a lot of opportunities you are going to find at a large, somewhat urban school that simply won’t exist at a small rural school, but at the same time the competition for obtaining these opportunities is a lot more fierce. </p>
<p>Best of luck in your decision making process, and I’m sure in the long run, you’ll be happy with either school!</p>
<p>I’m sorry TradingYesterday. I just got plan rejected from my top 3 schools.
Thanks Blondie for the input, hopefully you don’t mind, but I’ve PMed you a few questions.</p>
<p>Hamilton is not that well known on the East Coast. Most people do not know much about it until they start to reseacrh schools and then they realize it is a good school. Vassar, Bates, Swarthnore, Haverford, Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, etc are much better known. Just on name recognition, most people around here (Connecticut/ New England and even NY) would be very impressed with Berekely and would not know much about Hamilton. Thats not to say it’s not a very good school, it is. Its just that its a tier down from the other schools I mentioned and not that well known.</p>
I just got plan rejected from my top 3 schools.![http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/custom/cic/collect/cic-hcap/index/assoc/p757.dir/Campus%20(aerial%20view),%20Hamilton%20College-large.jpg[/url]](http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/custom/cic/collect/cic-hcap/index/assoc/p757.dir/Campus%20(aerial%20view),%20Hamilton%20College-large.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
,%20Hamilton%20College-large.jpg</a></p>){kind=link}