<p>kwoo, kind of sad to see this experience happen to your daughter at Hamilton…</p>
<p>from what I have heard, read and seen, Hamilton seems to show prospective students one of the happiest experiences during the visits.</p>
<p>You are probably correct, Mr. Adams, on the May 31st deadline. As my daughter was accepted off the waitlist, they gave her a couple of extra days to have a chance to visit again, and then to decide. Monday at the midnight hour. Skidsy or Hammy.</p>
<p>oops – what you said JA12, May 1 (not 31)</p>
<p>sarmon, are you saying that Hamilton has already been admitting students from their waiting lists?</p>
<p>
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<p>I am, indeed, JA. My daughter received a call on Wed. 4/28.</p>
<p>Three years ago DD & I visited Skidmore and Hamilton, on one of many college trips. Came away very unimpressed with Skidmore (the guides, the head of admissions, the campus all fell short) and loved Hamilton. </p>
<p>DD applied ED to Ham and has been very happy with her choice, particularly with the academic challenge. She manages to get away to NY, Boston, etc, several times each semester. </p>
<p>Downsides:
it takes a long time to get there from San Francisco
very long winters, different from ski trips to Tahoe</p>
<p>Upsides:
good friends from all over the country
impressive academics</p>
<p>Bottom line? Most kids go through an adjustment in the beginning, and either it works or they transfer. Not convinced that all the anxiety we experience over the “best” choice is warranted.</p>
<p>It’s official – Hamilton 2014 for my darling D. I think she made a very good choice. :)</p>
<p>sarmon, a warm congratulations!</p>
<p>tell us about that last visit to Hamilton that you took.</p>
<p>Hi Sarmom,
Congratulations to your daughter. I think she made a very wise choice because I do believe the academics at Hamilton is better than Skidmore.</p>
<p>Sarmom,</p>
<p>Congratulations on your daughter going to Hamilton! It is wonderful she had such an envious choice to make. Besides the campus, academics, student vibe and overseas study opps, she should feel great making a very personal decision!</p>
<p>Yes, it would be great to hear how her visit was and what ended up convincing her she was the right fit for Hamilton and vice versa…</p>
<p>Just like between various choices such as Harvard-Yale, Stanford-Berkeley, Duke-North Carolina, NYU-Columbia, Colgate-Hamilton, Michigan-Michigan State, Notre Dame-Northwestern, University of Texas-Texas A&M, etc., there no right or wrong answer, except what matters to her toward her future goals, and where she believes she can thrive as a young person.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your kind words. Much appreciated. Basically, we spent Monday at Hamilton, took another tour and my daughter just “knew” it was the right choice for her. I have to say that the campus is really just beautiful. As much as my D loves to have fun and be social, the intellectual/academic life is very important to her. We both felt this was more prevalent at Hamilton. I think she’ll always have a soft spot for Skidmore, though. She’s very content and happy with her decision. What a long and winding road this has been. On to the next phase!</p>
<p>My daughter is also in the midst of making a decision about hamilton vs skidmore – i was wondering what you meant by the ‘dark side of hamilton’ and ‘these types’? are there truly two sectors - artsy folks vs jocks/greeks? can you clarifiy what you mean here? thanks.</p>
<p>There are the two stereotypes, but at least in my experience, it can be a little overblown. I am a second year student and have been on the light side both years, but my friend group lives all over campus. If anything, I think it is beneficial for the school. A lot of the other top liberal arts schools are known to be “preppy” or “woodsy” or “artsy,” whereas at Hamilton we are lucky to really attract a huge mix of people. So while the dark side and light side stereotypes do exist, in the end it just helps to add diversity to the school.</p>
1 Like
<p>Ksteve-</p>
<p>Simplistically, the “dark side” is the name for the side of campus that was built in the 1960’s and tends to attract the more arty types. The “light side” is the original/older part of campus and tends to attract the more preppy types. </p>
<p>As Blondie 08 wrote, students mix on both sides. The wooded glen is on the dark side, the gym is on the light side. </p>
<p>If you go to the Hamilton website and locate a map of campus, you will see that College Hill Rd bisects the campus. The dark side is to the left of that road, the light side is to the right. </p>
<p>It is a very lovely campus.</p>
<p>I noticed on the map that there is also a dorm in the middle near the student union area.</p>
<p>are they called the DarK Light Siders?</p>
<p>ahh this is a good thread becuase i like these two schools too.</p>
<p>I just must say that Saratoga Springs is a really amazing town. :-D</p>
<p>The “dark side” is the side of the campus that was Kirkland College (the women’s college), which bcame part of Hamilton College in 1978 (which was all men until then); the “light side” is the original Hamilton campus.</p>