<p>I'm trying to decide which one of these I'm applying to. They seem extremely similar, both being isolated NY LACs. I get the impression that sports and frats are bigger at Colgate than at Hamilton, but only slightly. Is this true? Which is the more liberal of the two? Are academics pretty much equal?</p>
<p>Why not apply to both? They are similar in many ways but Colgate is larger, which might make for a more varied social scene and more varied class offerings. It is also in my opinion a more impressive campus with some really outstanding new buildings and some lovely old ones.</p>
<p>Hamilton's in a slightly bigger town and is closer to a mall. The students at Hamilton are reputed to be slightly more artsy while 'gaters are more jockish.</p>
<p>Colgate is a notch tougher to get into than Hamilton. Fine academics, although I suspect Hamilton has them, too. Colgate has a core curriculum (one course each semester for the first four semesters) and 6 distribution requirements (many choices on those). I believe that Hamilton has neither core nor distribution requirements. You can probably verify that on the web. Colgate's faculty is quite liberal, and the student body is moderate. My daughter is politically liberal, and she is comfortable there.</p>
<p>when i visited colgate and hamilton i can difinatly say that i liked colgate better. first off, i thought colgates campus was much prettier, and when i stepped on the campus it just felt "right". i also liked that colgate had a slightly larger student body and D1 athletics. the towns both colleges are in are very similar- both small but cute. i dont really know what else it is but i just loved colgate!!</p>