I’ve applied regular decision to both Hamilton and Colgate, and I was wondering if anyone had any insight on the differences between the two in terms of athletics, academics, student body, social atmosphere, etc? Thanks!
I’m a high school senior who has visited both schools… After my visits, I decided to apply to Colgate and not apply to Hamilton. Here’s my take: In terms of athletics, Colgate has the upper hand as it is a DI school whose hockey team garners a lot of attention. Hamilton’s sports scene is smaller and less competitive as Hamilton is a DIII school.
Academically, the two schools are pretty much on par (in terms of rankings). Colgate is more pre-professional in my opinion, and Hamilton’s curriculum (which I should note that Hamilton has an open curriculum and Colgate has a pretty stringent core curriculum) is more writing focused. The student bodies at both school were somewhat similar, with Colgate students seeming more “preppy” than Hamilton students. Greek life is present on both campuses, although the administrations of both schools have tightened their hold on the Greek organizations in the last few years.
Both schools have pretty campuses that are isolated (rural), but I personally preferred Colgate’s. If you are accepted at both schools, visiting will help you to understand which school would be a better fit. I thought I would like Hamilton better, but I found Colgate to be more of a match for my interests. Hope this post was somewhat helpful!
rangers19,
You don’t say if you have visited the campuses and I hope that you do so before long. The look and feel are very different and you can see where they sit with you after some reflection in their admissions offices, libraries, dining halls, classroom buildings, lab, sports/fitness facilities- once you engage their students and faculty.
One obvious aspect of difference is size and scope: Colgate has 2927 students and 294 faculty versus 1850 and 190
at Hamilton. They have the same student:faculty ratio and number of majors.
Within the next 2 years Colgate will open a new $38+ million athletic center for ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse, a new $10+ million career center and a $20+ million arts center. These are exciting times for Colgate alumni and friends who have been engaged in the planning, funding and execution of these projects. I hope that will learn more about what they deliver to the campus soon.
Go 'gate!
“One obvious difference is size and scope … They have the same … number of majors.”
I understand the difference in size (as measured by the number of students), but I’m not sure in what sense you have shown that these colleges’ (presumably academic) scopes are different.
Btw, the OP on this thread is either a high school senior who has applied to several colleges, or still a sophomore and preparing for the ACT. Or maybe neither. It’s hard to say.
Merc81,
Size and scope are comprehensive and inclusive- as far as what I meant to convey. So for academics Colgate would logically have more depth department by department given that there are 100+ more faculty. Then there is the physical plant that includes the sciences (I am keen on the rather unique Ho Visualization Center), Case Geyer Library and Info Tech Center (top 20 in US according to Princeton Review), the new Residential Life Program and the off campus study groups for 2/3 of Colgate’s 1000+ additional students.
Regarding the extracurricular side of things I can readily and easily point to staff, programs and facilities supporting the Division 1, club and intramural sports programs. It’s a different world.
About student:alumni engagement, Colgate is justly proud of its programs on and off campus: institutes fostering engagement and participation and over 300 alumni club events per year world-wide, second highest among top LACs.
The window to Colgate is colgate.edu. It’s qualitatively superior- check it out! Colgate.edu affords insight into that size, scope, depth and ambition for the future. I particularly like to keep abreast of its daily news and social feed updates on the left and right sides of the front page. I also enjoy updates about “outcomes”, the depth and breadth of personal and career experiences of my fellow alumni, which no doubt inform, inspire and guide our undergraduates.
I leave it to each applicant to perform his/own comparisons and evaluations. Of course there is no subsitute for campus visits and discussions with alumni and parents of Colgate students.
Good luck with your college search!
In addition to markham’s comment, Colgate is currently trying very hard to improve their dining services, which to me is the only thing that Hamilton has the upper edger over. Go Gate !
I also visited both schools and they are both great schools. I thought that Colgate had a prettier (more picturesque) campus but the facilities and dorms were in much better condition at Hamilton. The food service was also much higher quality at Hamilton. One nice feature of Colgate is they have regular shuttle service to NYC. Although Colgate has a third more students Hamilton’s endowment is greater $930 million versus $800 million. On a per student basis Hamilton’s endowment is $465,000 and Colgate’s endowment is $265,000. Also classes at Hamilton are smaller. If you are really into sports and the party scene Colgate is a better fit. If you are more into academics then Hamilton is a better option. Regardless which you choose, you cant go wrong. Although close in proximity the feel at both campuses is very different. You should definitely visit both when classes are in session.
An online search for Colgate’s endowment as of 31 Dec., 2014 will show that the endowment was $856 million, not $800 million.
Go 'gate!
Akin67,
Where did you get those endowment numbers? A difference of $130 million?
A search for Hamiton endowment shows as of end 2014 it is almost identical to that of Colgate.
Go 'gate!
Here are some endowment per student numbers. You can extrapolate to total endowment and adjust for recent fluctuations. I added some regional or comparable schools for perspective.
Hamilton: $410,000.
Duke: 370,000.
Brown: 350,000.
Vassar: 340,000.
Columbia: 320,000.
Middlebury: 300,000.
Colgate: 260,000.
U. Penn: 230,000.
Cornell: 220,000.
Wesleyan: 200,000.
Tufts: 140,000.
Bates: 120,000.
Georgetown: 80,000.
(The New York Times; Graphic: The Most Economically Diverse Top Colleges; 9/8/14.)
^ extrapolate s/b infer.
Hamilton’s endowment is $931 million (see link below), which works out to about $502,000 per student when divided into their current enrollment of 1,850 students. So on a per student basis it is about 90% more than Colgate’s or close to double.
https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/hechinger-report-features-interview-with-president-stewart
I am not knocking Colgate, it is an excellent school. However, according to every metric (except sports and frats), Hamilton is just a little better. Compare any of the following: Avg SAT scores, graduation rates, percent of returning students, percent that donate to their alma matter, avg class size, % in top 10%… every metric. Don’t take my word for it, go check it out.
Also, Hamilton is only one of 46 colleges and universities in the nation that has a need-blind admissions policy and they meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated need. Colgate aspires to be but is not there yet. It is the larger endowment that makes this possible.
Lastly, Hamilton is ranked #15 whereas Colgate is ranked #22 in the most recent US News & World Report rankings of national liberal arts colleges.
The athletic model at Colgate – in respect to D1 athletics and the reliance on scholarship athletes – is evidently a popular one. But since no one thus far on this thread has chosen to challenge the concept of which school has “better” sports, it might be time to do so.
In my opinion, Hamilton’s athletics are better because they are more strongly integrated with the intellectual goals of the College. Hamilton’s D3 athletics are supported as being, in and of themselves, for the educational benefit of those participating in them. And at a school of Hamilton’s size, the opportunities are open fairly wide to students who want to actively engage in the wide array of sports the College offers.
For true student-athletes – as well for non-athletes who don’t want to experience a divide on campus – I think the Hamilton athletic model is more appealing.
That’s a good link, @akin67. Thanks for posting it. Strange, though, that the reporter in the underlying story seemed insistent on make a link between Sweet Briar College and Hamilton – a stretch of almost comic proportions.
Not sure about the assertion that Hamilton’s DIII choice vs Colgate’s DI profile somehow benefits the educational mission and/or opportunities for enjoyment of one school’s constituents more/over that of another.
Colgate is D! and the level of competition, quality of the supporting staff and facilities and “front porch” aspect for local townspeople, staff, alumni, faculty and students creates terrific enjoyment for all and, of course, the several hundred student-athletes (and their families) as well. And the commitment is real: Colgate was in the Final of the ECAC in men’s ice hockey and several teams were/are at the top of the Patriot League this year. It is fourth in NCAA DI graduation rates.
But remember that there is a whole world alongside, using virtually all of these same facilities (except the Buttitta Varsity Weight Room), for Club and Intramural sports and the Outing Club, with more than 2/3 of students actively engaged.
There is no conflict of mixed message. Colgate does a great job delivering opportunity to all its students, faculty and staff.
http://www.colgate.edu/campus-life/sports-and-recreation
Go 'gate!