Different poster here, but just curious, what safeties would you recommend for someone who loves Hamilton? My son has not been able to fall in love with another school the way he did Hamilton (top recruited athlete who didn’t pass pre-read). Liked Lafayette but could never get coach interest), strongly dislikes F&M, rejecting offer there last spring. It does just seem very hard to find anything with that Hamilton feel. It’s the beautiful campus, open curriculum, outdoorsy feel, and supportive environment that he likes. Thanks for the great insight.
For a few somewhat varied ideas, look into Connecticut College (see information on its arboretum below), St. Lawrence, Wheaton (MA) and Denison. For a school perhaps more similar to Lafayette, look into Richmond.
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Skidmore, Connecticut College, Gettysburg, Colorado College; not sure if “safety” in any case though as that depends on stats and achievements you have not shared. Asking for open curriculum is probably too much as very few LACs have that. What did he dislike so much about F&M?
Bard.
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Daughter really loved Hamilton but didn’t apply because she doesn’t love the cold. Chose Washington College in Maryland instead . It has all the items you listed (beautiful campus, academic enviro, outdoorsy/next to chester river and big enviro center, very active professors, and their D2 sports are great. I don’t know if it is an open curriculum, but I do know they highly recommend their students doing me major across wide majors, so they are flexible with class scheduling. What sport and what major?
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Dickinson? Hobart?
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Hobart, St. Lawrence, Gettysburg, Union
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This site may be of interest, especially if you will be looking nationally (e.g., Whitman, Puget Sound):
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Kenyon? It doesn’t have an open curriculum but checks some other boxes.
Davidson College. Great athletics, too! Plus the weather is better.
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Not that Gettysburg would be a safety without knowing academic stats, but I agree it might be a school to check out. It has a nice, spread out campus where you will always see students hanging out outside on nice weather days. I thought the campus was very nice when we visited. Being very familiar with Hamilton (have a kid there now), I’d say there is a slightly different vibe between the student bodies, but not in a bad way. I think maybe a slightly more “athletic” presence (at GBurg) if that makes sense, but students came across as very friendly at both schools when we toured. Students also showed pride in the school - saw a lot of Gettysburg shirts being worn.
Also, GBurg is somewhat remote but not quite as remote as Hamilton. Baltimore is a little over an hour away. Surrounding town is very quaint with several restaurants and shops. Probably a little more to do there in town as compared to Clinton in NY. Then of course there is the Battlefield which is very unique.
Nice thing about GBurg is that there is the chance for merit money. That was a huge sell for us for our 2nd kid. Of course we absolutely love Hamilton and totally agree that it is a special place, but we got a very good feel for GBurg after visiting. It was a school that we never thought to consider initially but then moved to the top of DS’ list after our visit.
Hope this helps!
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What sport?
Aren’t many of the colleges suggested here too competitive for an athlete unable to pass the pre-read at Hamilton?
I do think Connecticut College might be an easier pass than Hamilton. What about University of Vermont? It seems to be a popular safety for those looking at outdoorsy LACs.
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St Lawrence sounds like would check a lot of boxes.
(Also, be careful about Denison as a match/safety as acceptance rate was 22% this past year).
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Gettysburg might not be. Hamilton is extremely competitive to get into at about 14% acceptance rate for 2021 class. Gettysburg is typically somewhere around 45%. I’d say if the coach submitted the preread at Hamilton then academically they’d probably have a decent shot at Gettysburg. The coach would not have asked for the preread if they didn’t think there was a chance.
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To determine this, I believe you can consider academic characteristics. Denison’s SAT and ACT middle ranges (1250–1410, 28–32), for example, do not overlap with Hamilton’s (1440–1520, 33–35).
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Thanks for all this feedback. My student and the college counseling office at his rigorous independent school was surprised he didn’t pass. He was on the bubble for Hamilton for sure, but was assured as the #1 recruit, it would probably be fine because of the coach support. The coach was disappointed too. He is actually applying anyway, as the AO told the school counselor that in many respects the pre-read is more stringent than the actual admissions because the pre-read is less holistic. In other words, my son has not the highest grades from a very difficult school, the rigor of his school can be taken into account during regular cycle, but not pre-read. They also took his scores that, while well in the range for all the schools mentioned here, are on the low side for Hamilton. He can go TO in the regular cycle. Hamilton is one of the very most selective schools there is, we learned the hard way.
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Re: Institutional Research & Assessment - Peer Group - Hamilton College
Most colleges will list as their “peers” other colleges that are similarly or more selective, so Hamilton’s self-described “peers” are unlikely to include too many that could be a safety for someone reaching for Hamilton.
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Hamilton’s list may represent an exception to this, in that several of the schools it includes appear to be significantly less selective than Hamilton. Considering the list in its entirety, it seems closer to a true peer list than an “aspirational” list.