I was accepted into all 3 RD but can’t pick one. I love all
Vassar - love the open curriculum and its pretty well known. Not sure about the large LGBTQ community and alternative vibe
Colgate - love the school spirit and campus is so pretty. Is it as well known as vassar? have heard it is extremely white and preppy?
Hamilton - similar to colgate but slightly smaller, can’t really differentiate
I’m an international so visiting will be hard. Any help/ suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Maybe ask yourself why you applied to Vassar if the student body is an issue for you. Now sit down before reading this next sentence. There will be gay kids at Colgate and Hamilton also. I wish you luck but suggest you narrow it down to Colgate or Hamilton (what a fantastic choice to have) and maybe some kid who’s a little more open minded can get off the waitlist at Vassar.
Vassar is the most well known among three, I think. So if you are after the name recognition, go to Vassar.
Do you want to venture into the new experience and people? Do you want to learn new perspective? Then go to Vassar.
Do you want to stay in the more main-stream, non-alternative world? Then go to Colgate or Hamilton.
But like Jon234 said, there will be alternative and/or LGBTQ students at Hamilton and Colgate and there will be plenty preppy kids at Vassar.
Thank you for being honest about your thoughts.
I didn’t take your post as others did. And do not assume you are homophobic or not an lgbtq ally.
But maybe I am reading more into it for you.
I took it as though you asking if Vassar has a more activist vibe or maybe lbgtq is more mainstream than being straight. Perhaps you might be more on the outside looking in from a friend or activity basis?
If that is your question don’t be concerned with Vassar. It’s a little more counter culture and artsy than the other two but it’s a solid mix as most schools. Nearly all colleges and unis lean more left as it is the norm for young adults to question the staus quo and push for change. It’s been happening for all of time.
All three are in the NY state weather zone so what is a usual distinction doesn’t matter here.
Colgate is a bit preppier. Hamilton is a blend of both.
Vassar’s name recognition benefit is very small. It harkens to it’s all women roots and when it was a Harvard and Yale alternative. Today all three are very well known. Hamilton has always had a big reputation. Colgate has more on campus sports like hockey and football. It’s always been great but more of recent mover in the past few decades in the “prestige” perception rat race. Vassar and Hamilton go way back. But today they are equally regarded as excellent.
Vassar
Literary and fine arts veneer laid over a generally strong, intellectual, liberal arts college. Excellent for social sciences as well. New science building supports continuing academic ambitions. Appealing library. Gender imbalance can impact social relationships. Hudson Valley location can connect you atmospherically to the famous 19th century school of painting.
Colgate
Many students pursue popular majors in the social sciences such as those related to government and economics, but excellent programs and facilities in the natural sciences should serve as a strong draw for many as well. Intermediate size may suit the indecisive. D1 athletics and Greek life set a social theme for the school. Receives recognition from the Princeton Review for an active party scene. Authentic countryside location cum village. Beautiful campus, on a hillside. Not a squash powerhouse. Good access to the Finger Lakes.
Hamilton
Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, architectural and spatial dimensions and balance. Adherence to a smaller student body allows for full access to a range of curricular and extracurricular programs and activities. A writers’ college for students who want to enhance this skill – as they should – though similarly strong in quantitative fields such as math and natural sciences. Beautiful campus with Adirondack feel suitable for your inner Buck, though offers easy access to suburban amenities.
just wanted to point if you are unfamiliar with the area. Vassar is in the Hudson valley with easy access to NY and the students DO go into NYC on a regular basis. My son even had an assignment that required a trip to the Metropolitan Museum. Poughkeepsie does have a surprisingly large number of things to do with lots of historic and natural interest areas near by including a number of colleges. Vassar is easy to get to from the airports. Colgate is in a beautiful idyllic countryside absolutely in the middle of nowhere. you will not be going anywhere and you will be snowed in and winter will be cold cold cold. Also My children were both admitted to Colgate and both were turned off by it’s extremely preppy elitist vib. But I did personally find the administration friendly. Also the majority of the students at Vassar are not gay But is you have any problems with the LBGQ community you will probably not be comfortable there. If you are an international I would strongly recommend Vassar since Colgate will feel so isolated and out of touch in a very rural American landscape. I think Hamilton is also fairly isolated and small but not as familiar with it. When my son went to Vassar I loved to go up an visit the area is wonderful. Vassar is not activist as much as iconoclastic, go with the beat of your own drummer, mentality. I am also sure it has a much larger international student presence. But like another posters said if you don’t want to go, there is someone on the wait list who sees it as their dream school.
With respect to campus aesthetics, you should find these articles interesting, particularly since you will see all three of your choices included:
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-25-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america
https://www.bestdegreeprograms.org/best-beautiful-small-college-campuses-america
For an international student, hands down Vassar. Mainly because the other two schools feel isolated and snowed in. Vassar has easy access to NYC, museums, culture, the arts and students there are often actively involved in some way with NYC–working as actors for example. Poughkeepsie has a surprising number of internship and work possibilities. Hudson Valley is quite beautiful.
Vassar is a live-and-let-live place. If you don’t like something X person does, you can just ignore it and go about your business. The campus is large enough that you can make your own way there. The students there are fairly urbane and worldly, which might suit an international student.
Vassar is considered by outsiders to be an arty school, as described above, but its sciences are quite strong. If OP is interested in the sciences he/she will be able to participate almost immediately in research.
Vassar has no frat culture (has no Greek life at all) and is not a party school–which doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun and that there are no parties. It’s not straight-laced by any measure as its founder was a brewer. But Greek life doesn’t exist there. I believe that the Greek party culture is fairly strong at Colgate. It might be less so at Hamilton, but it exists – partly because of the isolation.
if I were to rank the schools, while Hamilton has gotten more popular recently (Hamilton fans are super excited by the bump in applications this year), and while Colgate is a strong school, Vassar has more prestige overall, I would say. It has more panache and style.
Not sure, but I believe (unexpectedly) that Colgate has the highest percentage and highest number of international students. Nonetheless it is largely white & preppy & athletic. Colgate has a strong reputation in the finance industry in the Northeast US.
Vassar is as you describe it.
Hamilton College is in the middle in terms of preppiness & alternative type students.
All three are excellent schools with beautiful campuses.
Really- “Gender imbalance can impact social relationships” If your going to a great LAC there is gender imbalance. Just for the record Hamilton 53/47 F/M Colgate 55/45 Vassar 56/44( all depending on the specific source you reference) . That s a difference of about 25 Kids at Colgate and 54 at Hamilton in the whole school, but since there are only 1800 at Hamilton and 2500 at Vassar there are actually about 250 more young men at Vassar . At Colgate there are about 350 more men than at Vassar and 600 more than at Hamilton. I pity the child where any of this is an issue.
Regarding gender distributions, I researched my earlier post with the same source for each college:
Hamilton: 53% F / 47% M
Colgate: 55% F / 45% M
Vassar: 59% F / 41% M
More importantly, the OP should be allowed to consider distinguishing aspects such as this at her own discretion.
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Hamilton&s=all&id=191515#enrolmt
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Colgate&s=all&id=190099#enrolmt
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Vassar&s=all&id=197133#enrolmt
I agree with many of the descriptions of each of the colleges above, so I won’t add my own. But I will address one of your concerns a bit.
Students of all sexual identities and preferences will find a welcoming environment at all three of those colleges. The cultural beliefs of smart kids attending elite northeastern colleges have shifted through the years to be very welcoming in this regard.
With @privatebanker, I am assuming that your concerns have to do with your own dating and social opportunities, rather than with what other people on campus may be doing.
Cisgendered heterosexual students are still a majority at all three colleges. At each college, there is a wide variety of students and identities and dating preferences, just like there is a wide variety of backgrounds in other ways, and a wide variety of academic passions as well as hobbies/ clubs/ sports/ arts/ talents. You most likely will find friends who share your interests.
I disagree with the poster who pitied people who care about male-female ratios. Wanting good dating opportunities, as indicated by a large available dating pool of people to whom you might be attracted, is a very normal and healthy consideration. One of the most important and wonderful things in all of life is finding your lifelong partner. And college is a great time to do so, or at least to start the process of learning about relationships which someday will lead to your happiness with your lifelong partner.
Rest assured that these opportunities will be available to you at any of these three fine colleges.
As a mainstream, somewhat pop-cultural indicator of the overall quality of your options, this Forbes article would be worth a look: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/.
Best known popular culture reference for each:
Vassar - The alma mater of a group of women featured in a landmark novel of Americana called, “The Group”, written by Mary McCarthy.
Hamilton - featured in a line from “Our Town”, written by Thornton Wilder: MR. WEBB: I’ve just returned from Hamilton College where the undergraduates’ ears have nearly all frozen off.
Colgate - probably best known as the butt of many jokes about its name and that of a popular toothpaste brand.
Unless you are super informed about LACs or a regular at College Confidential, people have no idea what Colgate and Hamilton are on the west coast. People think they are a toothpaste and a popular musical.
Though Charles Webb, Grovers Corners’ newspaper editor, did indeed attend Hamilton College, I’d say The Sterile Cuckoo, whether the novel or the movie, would represent a more substantial cultural connection to the school. I’d recommend that all prospective students view the film for its visual aspects.
Umm so more recent cultural connections for Hamilton College than Thornton Wilder! The bestselling author Sarah Maas, Throne of Glass series, graduated in 2008. Paul Lieberstein, writer, actor, and showrunner of The Office, graduated in 1989. Just sayin…
@HiToWaMom: With the colleges on this thread, though, the student SAT/ACT profiles commonly surpass all West Coast public universities, including the nine UCs. If Californians or other West Coast residents – myself included, at times – haven’t heard of them, we didn’t look very hard.
I think the best cultural reference to Vassar is in the Simpsons in the episode about the seven sisters. But Vassar has more references in movies and pop culture then any other 5 schools combined. there is a web site out there that list them and it is dozens of pages long http://vassarmedia.blogspot.com/
(Disclaimer: I’m not a grad or anyone in my family ever.)
Come on folks. You’re being mean to Colgate. Just because they have a great hockey team. They have creative chops too. They can skate and draw at the same time up there.
How about the creator of “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”. Very few shows has more connectivity to my childhood. I almost became a Dentist because of the elf.
“The Addams Family” is pretty creative. Another grad.
Here’s a few more -a small segment from various cultural and artistic pursuits including music and opera, art, movies, writing, acting, producing and food…
Ralph Arlyck (1962), documentary filmmaker who has won many awards at film festivals including Sundance and Cannes
Ivy Austin (1979), television and radio actress (A Prairie Home Companion, Sesame Street)
Ken Baker (1992), E! Chief News Correspondent, Author
Joe Berlinger (1983), producer (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2; documentary Brother’s Keeper)
Jackie Oshry (2014), Host of The Morning Toast
Jay Chandrasekhar (1991), director (Super Troopers, Arrested Development, Club Dread, The Babymakers)
Jonathan Glatzer (1991), television writer (Bloodline, Better Call Saul, Succession)
Ted Griffin (1993), film writer (Ocean’s Eleven, Matchstick Men)
Lisa Heller (2018), alternative pop artist and songwriter
Barnet Kellman (1969), producer and director of film and television (Murphy Brown, Mad About You) and multiple Emmy and DGA Award winner
R. J. Kern (2000), artist and photographer
Brent Maddock (1972), screenwriter (Short Circuit, Tremors)
Paul Mariani, American poet and a professor at Boston College
Chris Paine (1983), documentary filmmaker (Who Killed the Electric Car?)
Peter Rowan, bluegrass musician, songwriter (“Panama Red”)
David Rosengarten, chef, author and host of the Food Network show Taste
Todd Rosenthal, Tony Award-winning scenic designer
Jeffrey Sharp (1989), producer (Boys Don’t Cry, You Can Count On Me, Proof)
Gillian Vigman (1994), actor/comedian (Sons and Daughters, MADtv)
Francesca Zambello (1978), Director of the Glimmerglass Opera and the Washington National Opera