another thread on Hamilton Hamilton vs. Haverford vs. Carleton - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums
@purplemama is a current Amherst parent whoâs always helpful.
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@RuralCityMom I donât know either school that well, other than by reputation. But it sounds like your child feels more confident about making friends at Hamilton and you feel like you can trust the financial aid office. Why would you imagine that the academic advisement piece at Hamilton would be lacking? Iâm sure your daughter would have support there.
You might be interested in a book called How College Works which was written by two sociologists, one of whom is employed at Hamilton. It used Hamilton as a case study to figure out how and why students felt they had a good college experience. Most of what they described are attributes that could be developed anywhere but that LACs are especially good at. The focus was on developing friendships, finding at least one faculty mentor, and getting involved in at least one structured group activity on campus. They also talked about the importance of traditional dorms where students have built in opportunities to run into people in hallways and having dining halls where most of the student population eats together. Of course, your child can do all of this at either Amherst or Hamilton. But given that Hamilton seems âfriendlierâ to you and your child, that is worth considering.
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I learned not to go by the âfriendlinessâ when colleges have accepted you and want you to attend. I would imagine Hamilton has more worry about yield than Amherst.
There are pros and cons, obviously, for all schools but I always liked that Amherst was in an area with lots of schools and also part of the consortium. And not that far from Boston.
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@RuralCityMom You mentioned that your daughter spent time designing fashion after school. I think going to Columbia and living in NYC would be amazing for a kid that has designing clothes as a hobby.
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Agree with @compmom Keep in mind that once your child starts college she will have nothing further to do with the Admissions office.
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In an example of a major of potential interest, neuroscience, Amherst requires 13 courses, and Hamilton requires 12. With respect to curricular structure, these colleges appear quite similar.
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My daughter just graduated from Wellesley and she had a fantastic experience. She studied neuroscience and they have a terrific program. There is a brand new science center and students can take classes at MIT and Olin College of Engineering. But academics are top notch across the board, so if she finds a new interest, she will be fine. The student body has an amazing sense of community and there is a lot of diversity. It isnât a big party school and most students are like your daughter - committed, driven to succeed, participatory. There are great sports for those who want to play and the arts are strong. Resources out the wazoo, lots of loyal and famous alumnae who really support the college. A gorgeous campus that is close to Boston. An incredible president who is a world renowed doctor and scholar of public health, which has been perfect for this crazy time. Wellesley is a special place and I encourage your daughter to consider it.
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Trust me when I say that the women at Wellesley are smart and driven to succeed. They are there because they are seeking top academics in a supportive environment. Based on my daughterâs experience, I disagree with the poster who called it a high pressure environment. It is more supportive than competitive. There are lots of social activities, there are men who attend these events, students can go to MIT and Harvard very easily, so there is social life with men, if she wants that.
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Sorry Iâve been MIA. End of the semester is always crazy with stacks of papers to grade.
I didnât have time to read through the entire thread, but @inthegarden tagged me for my thoughts on Hamilton soâŠ
D20 has loved her first year at Hamilton. Throughout the threads this year you will hear numerous posters comment that itâs impossible for students to have enjoyed this COVID year with all the restrictions, but Hamilton did a great job creating a bubble. All class years were invited back, they had a 3-day orientation (in person) for first years, dining has been open from the beginning, 6 of her 8 courses this academic year were in person, the jitney has been running into Utica, and they even had spring arts productions in person (with masks, of course). She has made a lot of friends even with the initial restrictions, has formed a bond with one of her professors already, and participated in a spring arts production. She continually mentions how much she loves her school and itâs the perfect fit.
We are from MA and D wanted to leave the state, so we never looked at Amherst or Williams. BC was on her list for a while, but eventually fell off as well. She applied to Hamilton EDI, and planned on Bowdoin for EDII (she is a legacy there) if Hamilton deferred or rejected her.
What is most interesting is Hamilton was not on her original list of 15. We both thought it would be too rural for her. Over spring break we planned an upstate NY tour, and Colgate was initially high on the list. After our tour I insisted on stopping by Hamilton because it was only 30 mins. away. She fought me on this, but I won (I was driving!) and we were both floored by how much we loved the college. Itâs true that there was (and is) a very friendly vibe among the students. We are a racial minority so this is especially important for us to consider when looking at a PWI. We noticed students of different races and ethnicities hanging out together (which we did not see at a lot of colleges), and when we talked to other BIPOC students they confirmed students were generally friendly. D loved the open curriculum, the emphasis on writing, the âlight and dark sidesâ existing on one campus, the Econ department, etc. She fell in love. Another visit and an interview, and she was sure she wanted to apply EDI (much to my Hâs disappointment as a Bowdoin alum! 
)
Now that she is at the end of her first year, she confirms everything she thought was true. She has a lot of friends from different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation, religions, etc. Some are athletes, others are in a theater group, and others are entrenched in the sciences. In other wordsâlots of friends with different interests.
The open curriculum is a strength and not a weakness. Her advisor is attentive and offers guidance on courses while still encouraging lots of exploration. D is an Econ major, but is going to double in Creative Writing/Theater/ENV/GovâŠit changes regularly because she is enjoying her courses so much. (The Creative Writing program was a major draw for her so I think she will stick with that as her double in the end.) She is thinking about the âHamilton in NYCâ program for Junior year, but admits study abroad appeals as well. The campus is beautiful, and the rural aspect hasnât been an issueâthough it may be different when the pandemic is over.
Full disclosure: her courses are demanding and she works HARD. This spring was particularly stressful for a while because she was involved in an extracurricular event for 2-3 hours each weekday on top of her coursework. In the end she thought it was worth it, and we were thrilled they pulled off an in-person production during the pandemic without any problems! The courses are rigorous, but that will be the case at all the schools on your list.
Final thought:
Hamiltonâs motto is âKnow thyself,â and their slogan is âStudy what you love. Be who you are. Find your future.â For my D that has been 100% true and we could not be happier with her experience.
@RuralCityMom feel free to PM me with any other questions. (Did I leave anything out? 
)
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This seems to be precisely the area Amherst is struggling with. If thatâs a big deal for your daughter, the choice is madeâŠ
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Thanks for your personal story, Wellesley was on the top of my daughterâs list. She got very scared when she was told about grade deflation. She is someone who has never gotten less then an A in her life. She knows college is different and is bracing for that first non-A, but she is very used classes even if difficult that have a path to an A. I was also shocked at how strict they were with that PE requirement. They were the only school that would not budge on PE. In high school my daughter did a modified PE online program and this was at the request of the high school because she has a condition that if she was injured it could be much more serious then the average person. I just could not believe out of the many things you plan and research about a college , that Wellesley would not budge on PE and said everyone has to take the 8 classes no exceptions at all. My daughter was in a minor accident a few years ago and it took months for her to walk normally again so she and our whole famiuly does not want to worry about taking PE every semester and putting her at risk when she is healthy and does her PT everyday at home.
The financial aid office was by far one of the best to work with. The rest of our contacts just were not as positive. There are not many people who attend from our state and the few stories we did hear were not being accpted by other students(this was not just a Wellseley issue it was a few other schools) This is my biggest fear how my daughter will be treated. I am confident she could do well academically anywhere she got in (some places might be more challenging or competetive ). We are from what is labelled a pretty conservative area. My daughter is not conservative poltically at all, in fact she really does not care about politics just getting an education.
It made me sad because Wellesley is a beautful campus and a great location and I know the reputation. In fact one of my daughterâs favorite teachers got in years ago and was not allowed to attend by her parents and I thought what a great truibute it would be but my daughter worried about the grading, the alumni that were closest to our area had stories that worried us and then the PE issue, dropped it down on the list.
I have also wondered how much does having one student from every state matter to these colleges? I know I have only listed some of the schools my daughter got into, some did not have good finanacial aid and some were saftey schools. At least 5 of the schools have no one from our state and some seem to only accept 1 or 2 and waitlist 1 or 2 ?
I just did not know how much having that one person matters? but then there are schools like WPI that I believe has no one from our state and they just were so much less on aid. If they had offered us about 10k more a year my daughter would have likely said yes, but 40k more in debt she felt was not worth it. While 10k sounds like a lot to me, two other schools she was accpted to raised their offers by more .
The whole reason I came and posted here was I just felt like I could not trust the perfect admissions videos and answers.
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I would not worry whether there are others at the college from your own state. Part of going away to college, and particularly at very selective colleges, is mixing with people from all over the country and the world.
Further, what does it matter if your state is conservative, when your D is not? People will get to know your D for who SHE is and not judge what state she comes from, if they even know which state.
Iâd consider fit of the college first and foremost, not where your D comes from. She has chosen to leave her home area for college, applying to many in the East, and so this seems like a non-issue and is not the difference between college X and Y.
If your D has narrowed it down to Amherst and Hamilton, they both have the open curriculum in common, which contrasts with Columbiaâs core. Iâm surprised that if your D likes open curriculum schools, why she has ruled out her acceptance at Vassar.
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OP- this is from the Wellesley website:
- Students with medical conditions that require modified physical activity. Students with medical restrictions will develop their programs with Niki Rybko, in partnership with Health Services and Accessibility and Disability Resources. Students applying for medical independent study must include medical documentation noting that they are unable to participate in physical activity due to medical restriction/s. This documentation can be from your physician overseeing your care or can be from Health Services.
Iâve known women at Wellesley who have taken ballroom dancing, golf (mainly learning to swing and putt), bowling, and leisurely gliding down the Charles River in a kayak or canoe. PE does not mean weight lifting and distance running-- unless thatâs what youâre in to.
I also think the grade deflation is not the issue you seem to think it is. EVERYONE at W is used to getting Aâs! Thatâs what college is for- learning to stretch, accepting a B if in fact your work was inferior, being challenged for its own sake without racking up brownie points.
I cannot imagine a college within your Dâs academic âZoneâ where she is going to be a straight A student. And if thatâs the goal- she needs to ratchet down her list of target schools! I flunked a class freshman year- might be the best thing that has ever happened to me.
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The Hamilton emphasis on research in their neuroscience program seems like a perfect match with your daughterâs interests.
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I know grads of both Amherst and Hamilton who had great experiences. Both have nice campuses, excellent profs, smart and friendly students, lots of resources, and dedicated alumni networks.
Spending a little time on Niche and each collegeâs social media presences (Twitter, Insta, FB) will give this student better insight to the vibe. At his point, fit might be the way to go.
I personally prefer the location of Amherst to that of Hamilton. The consortium isnât perfect, but is a big advantage. My opinion of Amherst, not based on personal experience is that itâs a little more lively and has a better overall mix of students.
My Dâs good friend came out as a transgendered person while at Amherst. (For privacy, Iâll refer to this person as they.) It was a place they felt comfortable enough to do that. They had a wonderful experience and loved the school, which fostered an environment of acceptance. I also think Amherst is a little more diverse overall, both with students and professors, which might be conducive to a more comfortable climate for this student.
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I hope I can address the worry about being the only one from a certain state. (I understand the concernâI have all kinds of worries about my S24 who is not your typical teenager.)
My D19 frequently tells us about a new friend on campus. I used to say, âWhere is he/she from?â just out of curiosity and to make conversation. D19 would never know the answer! She has no idea where people are fromâeven people she went on a weekend hiking trip with. So, now I ask, âWhat is he/she involved in on campus?â Or I ask about what they are studying. She knows the answers to these thingsđ.
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As a way to understand Hamiltonâs potential for career development, it probably should be considered that its graduates earn more in their early careers than those from any of the other NESCAC LACs (information in U.S. News). Though the difference isnât great between Hamilton and Amherst ($2,000 annually), it appears sufficient to indicate that Hamiltonâs environment supports its students and alumni in reaching their professional goals.
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@123France has a son who is a junior at Hamilton. My D is only a first year so she may have more insight based on her Sâs experience.
Any thoughts, @123France ?