@Lindagaf is right about the diversity. The numbers for racial and ethnic diversity at Amherst are much higher than Hamilton. In fact, Amherst replaced Wesleyan as the #2 most racially and ethnically diverse among the NESCACs a couple years ago. (Bowdoin usually takes the top spot in that category.) Of course, you need to be clear what you count as “diversity.” Colleges often include international students in their numbers to boost the appearance of being inclusive. I always drill down by the actual group identification when looking at percentages. “Diversity” is a relative term depending on your background and where you live. Still, Amherst has Hamilton beat in that consideration.
ETA: I just saw @Tigerle’s comment about groups not mingling. Diversity in numbers may not matter if students are not comfortable interacting with people outside their group.
I love Amherst and wanted D20 to consider it, but she was determined no schools in the state. Since we live in MA that cut out a lot of great colleges. I honestly don’t think your D can go wrong with either choice.
And the location is certainly a factor to consider. The Five College area is better than upstate NY (imho). For D, the location was outweighed by everything else she loved about Hamilton. That may not be the case for other students.
Kids are so funny with what they pay attention to. I seem to always ask my S19 about where his friends are from and he always knows (generally acquaintances too)! But there are so many other things he doesn’t focus on. My D17 would be better at knowing what people are into.
Grade deflation is not used in all courses and isn’t a big deal in post-grad life. LOTS of W students go to top law, medical, grad schools. And, as others have said, your daughter needs to be prepared for the reality that she is very unlikely to get all As in college. No matter where she goes, if she is challenged, she needs to be prepared for what might come.
My D is a Wellesley grad. She was from a midwest flyover state; her classmates who went to college mostly stayed in-state. We lived in a small city in a very rural state.
Wellesley’s financial aid office was great to work with; glad that’s still true. Their meet full-need aid made it less costly than her in-state options. She was not able to visit ahead of time due to finances.
I believe she took ballet for PE? And the website does talk about the process for students with medical conditions who require modified physical activity to come up with an independent study option. PE options include fitness walking and flexibility/stretching, but if those are not feasible then the independent study would be the way to go.
I know Wellesley’s generous aid applied to study abroad - that’s something I would investigate with the schools your D is considering. They also provided grants that enabled her to accept unpaid summer internships, as the grant paid for her living expenses.
If she’s already ruled it out, that’s fine, but it was a life-changing experience for my D. She was a bit if a loner in HS, and she found “her people” at Wellesley and made amazing friends. She did become best friends with her first year roommate. Our D now lives/works in Europe, but frequently comes back to the US for her classmates’ weddings (and to see us).
I’ve heard great things about Amherst and Hamilton (your D has amazing choices) but just had to put a word in for Wellesley.
As far as the friendliness of Admissions at Hamilton, that has been our universal experience at Hamilton almost without exception. As a Freshman my son flew in alone from far away, and the Dean of Students personally communicated with us about making sure he had a ride to campus. He has warm and friendly contact with teachers, staff, and administrators. Possibly the only area that lacked understanding was the acceptance of transfer credits from his study abroad during covid. They are sticklers on academic regulation, and the classes are definitely quite challenging. They have run things during this year of covid with so much forethought, hardwork, and determination - I can’t say enough good things. Of course, I have no basis for comparison with Amherst, other than visiting there. The schools have a lot in common so I think your student will be both happy and well-educated at both! Good luck!
Because most viewers of this topic won’t research this, it should be pointed out the difference in yield between these schools was 2.6 percentage points last year (information from Common Data Sets).
Glad you clarified that. Acceptance rate in the chart below at Amherst was 11.3% and Hamilton 16.4% but that doesn’t have any implication for yield, and those rates are pretty close. In fact, the two schools are a lot closer than I thought on several metrics in this chart. Amherst has slightly higher hs GPA’s and Hamilton has slightly higher standardized test scores: Compare Amherst College vs. Hamilton College (collegesimply.com)
I get a 28% yield among RD applicants at Amherst vs 21% at Hamilton. I used 2019 as a reference due to COVID making 2020 atypical and am assuming nearly all ED admits attend.
Amherst Yield – Overall: 39%, Just RD: 28%
Hamilton Yield – Overall: 35%, Just RD: 21%
None of the above numbers surprises me. Yield is largely a function of selectivity, use of restrictive early admission, and uniqueness of the college. 20 something RD yields may not sound high, but only a small handful of LACs have notably higher yields, such as Pomona. Most kids who are admitted to all of these schools RD have a lot of good options, like the OP.
Most selective private colleges have “yield events” for admits and make a good effort to encourage admits to attend, regardless of how high/low their yield is. There isn’t any yield threshold for which selective privates tend to care or not care. However, relevant some differences between the schools are Hamilton admits a larger portion of the class ED (slightly over half of class ED at Hamilton vs ~39% Amherst). And Hamilton says they consider demonstrated interest, while Amherst says they do not.
To clarify for those reading through, the 2.6 percentage point difference posted earlier reflects a comparison of overall yields for the most recent year available, 2020.
TBH, it would be hard for me to pick Hamilton over Amherst; I’ve followed both over many years; I have a fondness for both. But, let’s face it, I’ve lived through close to 30 years of seeing Amherst and Williams at the top of every USNews survey. But, with COVID-19 upending the tables in so many ways (widespread test-optional admissions; differing Fall 2020 on-campus experiences) perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the playing field:
First of all, I love what Hamilton has done architecturally over the years; it has bridged the dark side/light side divide so seamlessly since when I was a young summer employee there, that I almost wish their supporters wouyld stop referring to it. You have a very nice eclectically built campus; you don’t have to sell it.
Amherst is a very wealthy college, but it is also a college that carries a lot of debt and for some strange reason has an obsession with how it looks; it has thrown half a billion dollars into tearing down every single mid-century modern building it has ever erected and it hasn’t finished yet.
The Feds have their eye on Amherst; it is one of a handful of colleges and universities that get their capital gains income taxed because they are deemed too rich.
Hamilton is in the middle of nowhere. But, for a lot of people, an insular campus is a happy campus. I discovered that the summer I spent in Clinton teaching underprivileged kids. Everyone depended on each other for company; one of the best summers I remember ever spending away from home.
At this point the OP has made a choice. No more debate about the schools is needed. I’m leaving this open hoping that the OP will let us know the decision.
I really hope the OP returns to share the decision too. I think when someone posts for advice and there has been lots of discussion and suggestions, it behooves the original poster to return with a follow-up.
It strikes me that the OP is in some ways a very private person. She might not want it known where her daughter is going to college. As curious as I am, I respect that and wish her and her daughter well at whatever college she has opted for.
