Hi! I was finally settled with Lafayette (email registered, classes picked, roommate found) when Hamilton let me know that I got off of their waitlist. I have 48 hours to decide. I am going for Neuroscience/Psychology on the pre-med track. They both offered me similar financial aid. Lafayette is 3 hours from me while Hamilton is 5. I can’t seem to pick.
Can someone let me know major differences they have (academics, social life, etc). I am aware of different rankings (Hamiltons is slightly higher) but how important is that TRULY in the long run? Thanks!
Did you have a preference between the two, before the decisions came back? It’s one thing if you preferred Hamilton all along - quite another thing if the school that “played hard to get” with a waitlist offer is feeling more desirable just because they kept you in suspense.
Hamilton is known for its open curriculum; is that important to you? (Premed requirements will be what they are wherever you go, but some other requirements may differ.) Do you prefer one location over the other? (A shorter drive is nice, but it’s not like you’re commuting that frequently - 3 hrs and 5 are both pretty doable.)
You’ve already got your roommate and your classes lined up at Lafayette - do you have a clear enough preference for Hamilton to chuck all that and start over? I don’t think the difference in ranking is big enough to be meaningful.
As a student who will be on the premed track, you may want to consider which school you will be better matched for academically. As an indicator for this, Hamilton’s reported median SAT score (1490) is 90 points higher than Lafayette’s (1400) and its median ACT score (34) is 3 points higher than Lafayette’s (31). On these forums, it is sometimes suggested that students with an interest in premed exceed the 75th percentiles of the colleges they attend. The current test-optional environment may make this type of evaluation more challenging, however (at Hamilton, 55% of attending students reported standardized scores; at Lafayette, 53% reported standardized scores). More generally, Hamilton’s admission yield (41%) is much higher than Lafayette’s (21%), which indicates that students admitted to Hamilton are much more likely to attend Hamilton than students admitted to Lafayette are likely to attend Lafayette, should you want to consider this.
For full disclosure my D graduated from Lafayette (BS in Psych) and had a fantastic experience at the school. For her, Lafayette had the right balance of academic rigor with ample time to pursue fun things with new friends, EC activities, research with professors etc. That said, a friend of hers loved his time Hamilton as well.
When we looked at LACs we felt each had a particular “vibe.” Some my D gravitated to and others she dismissed almost immediately. Given that the cost is the same, I’d go to whichever school you feel is the better fit (if distance from home is part of your equation that is fine).
Keep in mind that your post-graduation success will have much more to do with what you accomplish at college rather than which one of these fine LACs you decide to attend.
Hamilton is ranked higher (15 v 40ish) and has a much lower acceptance rate (14 v 40) if those things are important to you. Many people choose Hamilton for the open curriculum. The application process is need-blind which can say something about the makeup and/or quality of the student pool as well as the support of the graduate donor community.
Your goal of attending medical school could be seriously compromised after just two or three semesters if you were to choose a college for which you are poorly matched. This, I believe, relates to the most important aspect to be considered in making your decision. More specifically, it’s important to understand where you would fit in as a student at these schools before considering aspects such as their social scenes and their distances from your home.
Only if you believe that ranking differences for elite LAC’s represent truly significant differences between the teens and the forties - as opposed to fetishizing minute (and variable) gradations for the purposes of driving sales (USNWR), applicant volumes (SLAC’s), and bragging rights (all of us on CC).
I have close connections to a LAC in the 12-15 rank range and one in the 28-32 range and believe there to be a discernible difference in quality. I think either one would be a fine experience (and there are students who fit better at each) but I see why one is ranked higher.
I believe you can express your viewpoint without saying you know what I believe. My advice in this topic has been specific to the OP’s interest in a medical school trajectory. General rankings have not influenced my opinion to any degree, although Common Data Sets have. Moreover, the OP would be advised to choose a school suitable for her goals. I can barely imagine what this topic has to do with “bragging rights” for third parties.
sorry for confusion, I was not replying to your post! I was replying to an earlier post, but it showed up below yours! And meant to be playful, minimizing over-fixation on ranking differences. Your points about med school seemed quite useful.
In hindsight, my use of the generic third person “you believe” would have been better served by using its partner, “one believes.”
It occurred to me that you had replied to my comment inadvertently, but, unfortunately, not until after I’d written a reply to you. Please disregard any portion of my comments that were unfairly directed toward you, either specifically or in spirit.
Edited to add that I see now you had replied to someone else entirely!