<p>I just wanted to find out a little more about Hamilton...I've visited it a lot and am absolutely in love, but I haven't done an overnight yet. I'll probably try for one later in jan when i go for my interview, but I just haven't been able to get my mind off the school. any comments about the students, weather, activities would be appreciated!</p>
<p>i don't know anything about hamilton, but i can say this:</p>
<p>katuga, you are AWESOME!!</p>
<p>Most kids who attend Hamilton tend to love it. Plenty of school sponsored stuff to do (ie. speakers, concerts, parties,etc.), and very active Greek life. Weather is great in fall and spring, but can be bitter in the winter. Regardless, every time I go to get my son for break everyone there seems to be having a blast. PS: Just cause their having fun, doesn't mean that Hamilton is easy. HC is a very competitive school. Everyone works hard during the week and lets loose on the weekend. Also, I like the fact that they do not really have any "majors" which allows its students to explore many different classes that they might not have done in a rigid major program. Wish all of my kids had attended there.</p>
<p>i'm applying to hamilton EDII because i love it, but here's what i've found in my research: some say that the school is full of arrogant, rich, white kids who spend all their free time drinking. however, i've also talked to a lot of people who say that ham kids are the friendliest, nicest, group there is. plus, after talking with a current freshman there, i found out that there is plenty of stuff to do besides go to parties if you're someone who needs more variety in your social scene. i looked at colgate too, mainly because theyre 30 min from eachother, and thought that it was too stuffy for me there. i spoke with a current colgate freshman and he told me that colgate is the sporty hamilton, and hamilton is the artsy colgate. so if you're anything like me, that's a good thing.</p>
<p>There is no question that most of the kids at Hamilton seem to come from upper middle class families. I think you will find that at many competitive, private, liberal arts schools....in many cases, its just a fact of life. Regardless, my experience with the kids that I have met is that they are not arrogant, but full of life. Yes, they do party. However, with five kids, and having visited many different private and public schools along the East Coast, I can tell you that every college parties. The important thing is not whether or not they party, but whether or not you, as the student, knows when to say when. My experience is that most college kids simply have not learned this simple rule yet. Colgate and Hamilton are very similar. In fact, most kids apply to both. Colgate is certainly more atheletically inclined. I would clasify both student bodies as smart and well-rounded. Many of my kids' friends attend Colgate and do well there. I think Hamilton is a little more difficult academically. Everyone I have met at Hamilton is polite, nice, and fun-loving.</p>
<p>Actually, at the beginning of my college search, i had the impression that Colgate was more competitive and had more of a reputation, but now that I'm a bit more well-versed, I can see that Hamilton is undoubtedly just as challenging and prestegious. (Hamilton is especially well known for its writing program). I met with a senior who interviewed me on campus, and he was extremely nice and very artsy (black-framed glasses and all). My tour guide when I visited was a very environmentally-conscious, funny, nice girl, and a girl who is a freshman there who graduated from my school is also extremely nice. All three were really eager to help me with the whole college process; I got an offer to contact a current student who's majoring in a field i'm interested in and an offer to stay for an overnight if I wanted. All of my personal experiences with Hamilton kids have been excellent; the only thing that concerned me was that the Commons (cafeteria) was full of jock-type kids wearing nothing but polos and khakis. However, I was assured by the secretary in the Admissions Office that it was very unusual that those were the only kids in there, she said that there are plenty of artsy kids around campus.</p>
<p>just to add.. the weather, i know, is pretty bad in the winter. apparently that accounts for the amount of drinking and parties, but if you look at all the schools like Hamilton in the northeast, all the students are dealing with the same weather. There's really no way around it, and it's what you make of it. One girl I spoke to said that the weather leads to a lot of sledding for her and her friends, not drinking.</p>
<p>I want to chime in but I have the least experience IRL with both Colgate and Hamilton. (Less than 2 full days at Hamilton and less than a day at Colgate). But for what it's worth, I concur that Hamilton feels a bit artier, a bit edgier, Colgate a bit preppier but we are talking matters of degree. Hamilton has the funky non-uniformity of style, and the bizarreness of Kirkland campus, while Colgate is nearly perfect architecturally. The town of Hamilton has has a bit more happening than Clinton.</p>
<p>I truly love them both for what the other is not. LOL. 75% of Hamilton would be at home at Colgate . 75% of Colgate would like Hamilton just as well. If you think that Hamilton has just barely enough artsy black rimmed enviro's , you'll hate Colgate. If you think Hamilton has almost too many, you'll love Colgate. </p>
<p>Colgate is more well known in Texas which means one in ten educated people have heard of it (edit: let's change "educated" to "college degreed". LOL. ). Hamilton will have opportunities for my D to play intercollegiate basketball. I prefer Hamilton's seclusion and space but Colgate ain't exactly cramped.</p>
<p>As you might expect, my kid applied to both. She preferred both to all other Northeastern LAC's we visited and she has only applied to one other somewhat similar but reachier school - Amherst. As a parent I was impressed with both schools immensely and both made her feel welcome and wanted and both have done a good job keeping in touch. </p>
<p>If she is lucky enough to be admitted at both, $ and whether she decides bball is a necessity will probably rule the day. After I pronounce the $ doable, I won't get a vote and don't know which one I'd pick anyway.</p>
<p>Hamilton sounds really awesome! I was really surprised the first time I visited the campus because I had never heard of it before, which is surprising because it is so competitive. And no one down here in MD has heard of it either. I'm glad you say Hamilton has more artsy people, that's the impression I got when I visited--artsy or else really nice athletic people, who aren't super hardcore or anything. </p>
<p>I went to Colgate this summer for a camp thing, and was surprised that to like it as much as I did. When i visited it before, I got the impression that it was very austere and cold. Maybe it was just meeting the students and staying on campus, but I decided I liked the school enough to apply there RD. The two schools are so close, is there any rivalry between them? or do students from one school hang out with students from the other on weekends or anything?</p>
<p>While Colgate and Hamilton are near each other, there really isn't any rivalry between the two. Colgate plays Div I sports; Hamilton Div III. The only "rivalry" I've heard of is the annual beer run between the two track teams. </p>
<p>I also don't think the two campuses mix socially very much - maybe if you have a high school friend at the other school you might visit or if there's a big event like a concert or when Clinton spoke at Hamilton, but otherwise the two schools are pretty independent. The Hamilton streaking team did make an appearance at Colgate a couple of years ago, but after being arrested by Colgate security I don't think they'll be back soon.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say there's no rivalry. My father is a Hamilton alumnus and wouldn't let me apply to Colgate.</p>
<p>Kidding...but he did joke about it, and does make cracks about Colgate whenever it's mentioned. And I didn't apply to Colgate - mostly because it's larger and, as people have said, more athletic...I'm not really into that. We drove through the town on the way home from a visit to Hamilton last summer and I didn't feel the need to get out of the car.</p>
<p>yea i'd say i def prefer the hamilton atmosphere. i actually took a tour at colgate and didn't really feel like sticking around much afterward. at hamilton i didn't want to go home, but colgate just didn't click with me. it's a great school though, just not my crowd of people.</p>
<p>As a current Colgate student, we do not view Hamilton as a rival at all. When I think of our rivials, I think of the other Patriot League schools, and the Ivy league schools that we normally play in football and hockey(ie: Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown). Hamilton would be towards the bottom of the list. I get the feeling that the "rivalry" is mainly a Hamilton thing.</p>
<p>As far as mixing socially, it really doesn't happen. I've only met 2 Hamilton kids the whole time I've been here, and they weren't "mixing socially". They were walking along a road because no one would let them into a party. If you are deciding between the two school, don't base your decision on being able to go to the other on weekends. It really doesn't happen. </p>
<p>Also, I disagree that most people apply to both. I know that my roommates and myself never considered Hamilton. Out of all my friends at Colgate, I can only think of a few that apply to Hamilton. Most considered the schools that I listed above.</p>
<p>In terms of reputation, I feel that Colgate is better known. This may be from Colgate's richer sports history and its connection to the Ivy League. Despite what US News says, it also seems to be harder to get into Colgate than Hamilton. Hamilton people think their school is equal to Colgate, and Colgate people think that it is not.</p>
<p>I completely agree that colgate has a larger reputation. i just wanted to add that while hamilton's rep is small, it is excellent. the schools might appear to be sort of similar, but i really agree that you get different kids at each-- most people i know love one and cant picture themselves at the other. colgate's rep, as mentioned, is probably due to its sports and connection with other institutions. hamilton seems a bit more introverted in that way, but it is just a different school. while ive heard a lot of people say that colgate is better, i would never say that hamilton is the lesser of the two. i think a lot of it has to do with hamilton just not being heard of and being extremely tiny. it will still give you more than an amazing education, its just a different education of probably equal value.</p>