<p>OK, I narrowed my choices down to Hamilton, Bates, and Colby. Its VERY hard to draw distinctions between them. From my visits, it seems like the frats at Hamilton dominate, which I dont know if I like or not. The security at Colby seemed really bad (in terms of alcohol enforcement) while the Bates security seemed liberal. I think Colby is known for its Environmental Science program, Bates for econ, and Hamilton for churning out good writers and speakers.</p>
<p>Can anybody confirm this? I'm looking for more opinons on all these colleges because the few I have heard have had some significant discrepancies.</p>
<p>These schools are very similar in both academic reputation, size, and relatively rural campus feel. It's actually kind of refreshing to see some focus as opposed to the many posts on this board wanting to get comparisons of Colgate vs. Penn vs. Notre Dame vs. Claremont McKenna type of questions. Anyway, from what I have seen Hamilton and Colby are a little more pre-professional with Bates being a little more artsy (the most like Weslyan or Vassar of these three). I get the impression that people at Bates are the most likely to end up getting a PhD of the three. Hamilton is probably the most known for writing, but that overall probably Bates or Colby is considered slightly more prestigious, or, at least, a little more well known. These three schools may be 1,2,3 in the country for its students coming in the highest %s from prep schools. That is a tough choice as I don't think I've ever seen a post comparing such similar schools on a variety of attributes. You may want to check out this study that was posted somewhere on CC, which will give you a better understanding of the relative strengths of each of the schools starting around p. 30.</p>
<p>Personally, I like Hamilton because it produces well spoken graduates. </p>
<p>As for the others, the town that Bates is in is quite industrial. Colby is very outdoorsy. Hamilton and Colby are a bit more similar to each other than Bates. Bates tends to be a bit more liberal but not in a bad way. All three are preppy, but Bates is less so. As for prestige, they are about equal. Hamilton, BTW, has a semester or year in New York (they own apartments and have profs there, so it is kinda neat).</p>
<p>As for grad school numbers, they are all pretty good. I'd go with the one that is the best fit for you.</p>
<p>If I had to make a choice, I'd go with Hamilton, then Colby, then Bates.</p>
<p>Sje786, the frats dominate the social life at Hamilton only if you let them. They are known to throw several parties on campus, but they are by no means the social life. People who are not on the frats or sororities throw parties that are just as good. The social life can get a bit repetitive at Hamilton, though. </p>
<p>I do not know much about the other schools, but can say that you will get a superb education at Hamilton if you put the effort in. Moreover, our alumni network is very strong. Our motto is, "We like to take care of our own." </p>
<p>Hamilton does produce well spoken graduates. If you are looking to go to graduate school, you will find that a very low percentage of Hamiltonians go straight to grad school after Hamilton. Lots of students land great jobs, do fellowship programs, or travel the world. </p>
<p>Indeed, Hamilton does have the NYC and Washington, D.C. Programs = hell of a semester. </p>