D21 and I flew accross the country and visited Hamilton over the weekend. We had time to kill before heading to the airport, so drove over to take a look at Colgate. The buildings are beautiful and we liked the campus. Thought about you guys while we were there. I think it’s a great decision.
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Aw thanks! Hope you had a good Hamilton visit!
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We did. D was admitted there ED1 without visiting. She just ‘had a feeling’ and a connection. The issue I’m seeing is that she wants to be at Hamilton NOW! Not in August. She is so DONE with high school. Here, schools go until mid-June, so she’s got an entire quarter of her senior year left.
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Colgate and Hamilton families tend to overlap quite a bit in their travels, with hotels in New Hartford and Utica being popular with both groups (as well as with visiting sports teams). For students at either college, cross-registration might be an option for an interesting elective or two:
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My D21 journey began in earnest in the fall of 2019 as a rising junior and we were able to have official visits at a number of great schools. University of Miami, College of Charleston, Duke, Wake, UNC, UVA, Northwestern, William and Mary, and Wash U. As much as they ran together and were similar in format a we were able to knock a couple off of the “priority” list. Miami and Charleston were pleasant surprises. Northwestern (as double alums) was disappointing in presentation and tour. Wake and Wash U the same. Duke and UNC were outstanding but being from OOS and the occasional B most likely put her out of consideration. W&M was special and went to the top of the list. Then Covid hit. Virtual tours and drive around campuses. Vandy, Northeastern, UIUC, Madison, Mi of OH, Tulane and the UCs. Davis, Berkeley, LA, SB and SD. Lots of essays and apps and here we are.
Accepted
U of Miami
Miami of OH
UIUC
Madison
NE
UC Davis
UC SB
UC SD
W&M
Charleston
Waitlist
Tulane will decline
UCLA will stay on the list
Denied
NU
Berkeley
Vandy
Deposit paid:
William and Mary
The decision was made while leaving stunningly beautiful UCSB. She said she wanted to study with pants on. You have to see Isla Vista to understand. The one thing we’ve learned is that the school has to feel right most of all. If she got into UCLA right away, there may have been a much harder decision. W&M felt right from the first day she walked on campus. She’s over the moon.
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Congratulations to D21! As the parent of a Colgate freshman who has thrived during a bizarre college year, I hope she’ll have an even better experience come fall.
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Thx @scoop85! Maybe we will see you around! Glad your D is making the most of this year. 
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Thank you—we’re looking forward to going to parents’ weekend next fall, since we missed out this past year (also FYI I have a son not a daughter at Colgate). Hope to run into you in Hamilton!
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Congratulations! I knew it! Well, I knew it after I was wrong about Davidson, haha! Hope she has a wonderful experience.
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Congratulations, and thank you for taking us all on this journey. Colgate sounds like a wonderful match for her, and it was interesting to see the way she thought through her priorities and how much visiting campuses and talking to non-admissions-office students helped with the decision (even during COVID times).
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Congrats, I voted BC! good luck to your daughter there.
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I heard Colgate sent pizza??
Is for students studying remotely this semester
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Someone much earlier in this thread asked where our Richmond friend is trying to transfer to. We did not know where she was applying at that point.
We just found out she’s transferring to Northwestern this fall. So, a bigger school with the nice town of Evanston attached (unlike URichmond that does not have a town that is walkable from campus), likely a more liberal vibe and easily accessible via public transport to Chicago. Definitely a way different experience than Richmond. Chicago and Illinois way different than Richmond and Virginia. This student is from the midwest.
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Interesting. I know two other women transferring from Richmond….another going to NU, one to Vandy.
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It’s anecdotal but it does seem like, when kids transfer out of an LAC, it’s always to a bigger school. That’s understandable. LACs can seem stifling if the fit isn’t there. It’s pretty important to sniff out vibe if the student is interested in smaller schools.
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Definitely….and all that was more difficult during the pandemic. Who knows if those three gals would have transferred if their first year was normal?
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It would be interesting to know why the 3 transfer students attended the Univ. of Richmond initially as admissions standards for Northwestern & Vanderbilt are much higher.
The student I know applied to Richmond ED. Had visited and thought campus was beautiful. Knew kids who graduated from there and knew they were highly employable. To me, it didn’t sound like the family did their due diligence on the vibe. The student was a strong high school student and her school does send kids to NU. I’m not surprised she got in as a transfer.
The family also thought Richmond ED was a slam dunk and wanted to be done with the process early so she went that route.
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A big school can feel small but a small school never feels big.
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