Having trouble deciding between Emory, Hamilton, and Colorado College

Hey all,

I’m planning to transfer for this upcoming spring semester and have currently gotten into Emory and Colorado College. I’ll hear back from Hamilton on the 30th, but it’s definitely one of my top choices. If I do get into Hamilton, then the choice becomes even harder…My main criteria for transferring was that I wanted a nice, non-urban campus, more challenging academics, and a variety of clubs (all things that my current school, Emerson College, doesn’t have). I’d be studying English/Creative Writing, and all three schools seem to be pretty similar in terms of academic rigor and the like.

I guess what’s worrying me is that I’ll choose a school that won’t be any different from where I’m coming from. I was talking to a friend at Hamilton and from what she described, it seemed like a harder Emerson with a much nicer campus (meaning they are both small, artsy liberal arts schools, and I guess, have a similar feel to them). Colorado College seems to also have that same feel (I was excited about the block periods at first, but after researching a bit more, I’m feeling iffy…). I’m a pretty quiet, shy guy, so I’ve always thought I’d prefer smaller colleges, but I’m not sure anymore. Maybe a school the size of Emory isn’t so bad.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Think about geographic preferences, preferences for urban/non-urban, access to outdoor pursuits if that is of interest. Some people love CC’s block plan and calendar, others don’t.

You’ll have challenging academics and nice campuses at all 3 schools so think about what other criteria is important to you.

All three schools would be excellent for your academic interests:

http://contently.net/2014/11/06/resources/10-best-colleges-creative-writers/

http://college.usatoday.com/the-10-best-american-colleges-for-writers/

http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america

Hope for choice – you applied to these schools for a reason.

Hamilton would be too balanced to be described as generally artsy (the school’s most popular majors are in math and the social sciences). However, the creative and progressive aspects of Hamilton seem essential to its identity, as described by one “caption” of the College I have seen:

A unified, coeducational, liberal arts college that is the product of a traditional, historic, men’s college and an adjacent, progressively oriented college for women. To this day, Hamilton benefits from the curricular, architectural and spatial legacy of this history.

Beyond that, Hamilton’s campus has been recognized for its beauty:

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-25-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america

The above said, of the schools at which you have already been accepted – congratulations! – my pick would be CC. Should you want to blend into the background more at times because of your personal characteristics, look to Emory.

Thanks! Yeah, I actually visited Hamilton over the summer. The campus really is beautiful. But like I said, I’m worried it really won’t be that different from Emerson in terms of student body. The same goes for CC (perhaps it’s the idea of that hippy-nature-loving stereotype stuck in my head…).

May I ask why you would choose CC over Emory?

Statistically you would be entering new territory with your potential transfer schools:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9

Think as well beyond your interests in creative writing to courses in fields such as classics, philosophy, religious studies, government, history, astronomy and geosciences. At this level, the differences inherent in your transfer options should become even more apparent.

Regarding CC/Emory, the former would offer you a purely undergraduate-focused environment that you wouldn’t be in position to experience again, even if you were to continue your education (and which your current school wouldn’t appear to offer fully either).

@Elvisgp

I believe you would find significant differences between Hamilton and Emerson. While Emerson is fully devoted to the study of communication and performing arts, Hamilton is among the most well rounded LACs in the country. Literature and writing are strengths there, but so are many other departments within humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.

You stated that you are looking for “a variety of clubs.” Check out Hamilton’s activities and club offerings, and you will see there is something to fill virtually any interest:

https://www.hamilton.edu/campuslife/what-to-do

All three of your potential transfer schools will offer at least some of the differences you seek. Best wishes to you as you make your choice.

Hamilton has a huge emphasis on writing across all of their departments. It is rural with a liberal, artsy student body. I will say there is a stereotype that part of the student body is artsy, while the otherside is preppy, which, after visiting, is at least somewhat true. Emory is probably the more prestigious university, but if you’re going into writing and want to go on to graduate school Hamilton will prepare you well and is well known by elite graduate progams. For what you’re majoring in, I’d say head to Hamilton.

I can’t comment on Hamilton or CC, but am familiar with Emerson. My D is a senior at Emory, double majoring in English/Creative Writing and Spanish. Emory’s coursework is challenging; their Creative Writing dept. was one of the reasons our D decided to attend Emory (we live in the NE.) A visiting writer for a fiction class was brutally honest with his students about his expectations (only gave 3 A’s that semester.) Prominent authors such as Natasha Trelawney (Poet Laureate) and Salman Rushdie have been on faculty and visit frequently.

The Creative Writing dept. annually awards a no. of prizes for creative writing and urges students to submit work. Emory requires that all students take a certain no. of writing courses as part of their general curriculum credits. Before my D was accepted for the CW major, the English dept. liked a paper she did for a children’s literature class and asked her to submit it for publication, so the professors are encouraging that way.

The class of 2017 has 1,300? students but class sizes for writing courses have been under 20. Emory has a huge no. of clubs and community service organizations; our D is somewhat introverted but hasn’t had any problems making friends. It is also quite diverse for a private university, which our D liked.

Emory is consistently ranked among the most beautiful campuses in the US; within the last few years all the dorms have undergone renovations. Most upperclassmen live on or near Claremont Campus, which has a regular shuttle to the main campus.

Re #6:

As opinion, this should be left to stand. However, the Hamilton student profile lands in a zone in which Emory does not appear:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10

With respect to artsy, Hamilton fields 29 varsity teams, more than many much larger schools. Though athletic does not preclude artsy, Hamilton’s strictly artsy elements exist within a greater student body with a range of academic and extracurricular interests. In terms of academic programs, Hamilton enrolls math majors at ten times the national rate.

Thanks everyone.

My brother went to Wash U in St. Louis, so I’ve been there a bunch of times and enjoy its general atmosphere/campus. From reading around on these forums and such, it seems that Emory has a similar feel to Wash U.

Regarding political matters, one of the other reasons why I’m leaving Emerson is because the political environment here is a bit cutthroat: i.e. most of the students are overwhelmingly liberal and won’t really accept any other political views. I know Emory, Hamilton, and CC are all primarily liberal, but I’m also wondering if they are as intense as Emerson is. Perhaps with a school the size of Emory, it doesn’t feel as overwhelming/forceful.

WUStL and Emory would tend to be pretty similar.

Most of the classroom experience at Hamilton or CC would tend not to be politicized.

Emory certainly leans liberal but there is an active Student Republican group, my D said.

The prestige claim should probably be countered by specific numerical factors:

Middle ACT Score Ranges

Hamilton: 31-33
Emory: 29-32
Colorado College: 28-32

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/college-profiles-new-sat/

merc81 mentioned that Hamilton/CC are not politicized in the classroom.

There are a few college guide books that mention how politically balanced the student body and faculty (as well as the overall English coursework and core curriculum requirements) are at many schools.

How about the general political atmosphere on campus? At Emerson, it’s a constant thing. There were protests in the dining hall after the election, and if you didn’t like them, you were called racist…

It doesn’t seem like Hamilton/CC are that severe, though.

I think your question above may relate to the critical distinction you are attempting to identify. At Hamilton, in almost all cases, space, such as that of the dining halls, would be respected for its intended purpose. Organized political demonstrations beyond these dedicated areas will, of course, occur at critical points in the Nation’s (or the College’s) history. However, students involved in these activities would simply be creating their college experience in the same way that you could create yours. If lunch may be what you are after, I believe Hamilton offers four locations for that.

Have you visited Colorado College and Emory? Your gut reaction will tell you more in 10 minutes than we possibly can as strangers.

I haven’t. I really know I should, but I have to submit my deposit by December 2nd (for Emory at least). I’ve been to Colorado Springs before though and love Colorado, just as a place, a lot. As for Georgia, the closest I’ve been is probably Florida. But like I said, my brother went to WUSTl, and Emory seems to be pretty similar to that. I’m trying to compromise for not visiting haha.

I will say that I liked Hamilton a lot when I visited. So, right now I’m eagerly awaiting for my decision (should hear back on Wednesday).

@merc - I’m not sure how that Business Insider list was compiled, but even if we accept that the SAT and ACT are good measures of raw cognitive ability (which I don’t - the research is far more mixed than the article presents) Hamilton and Emory’s student bodies are almost identical in terms of SAT test score averages. Emory starts 20 points lower but ends 10 points higher; 10-20 points are negligible differences on the SAT. As for the ACT - statistically, there’s little difference between a 29-32 and a 31-33 range. They’re 92nd percentile to 98th percentile vs. 96th percentile to 99th percentile. At that point in the score range, you’re splitting hairs - within or very close to the margin of error in score estimation.

Also not appearing on the BI list is Davidson College, Pitzer College, or Scripps College, all of whom’s SAT score averages are in the 1400-1500 range. Or Bowdoin College, whose average is over 1500. Looking more closely, they only included all schools that report SAT and ACT scores to the government. Emory actually has more students from the top 10% of their high school class (83%) than Hamilton (77%).

The point is - they’re both excellent schools and any meaningful choice between them probably won’t be made on the basis of overall academics. They’ll both provide an excellent baseline academic experience - as would Colorado College (which is pretty similar). It’d probably be more about overall feeling and experience at the colleges/universities. Colorado’s Midwestern/West Coast vibe and the block scheduling would change the experience quite a bit. Emory is not an urban-type campus like Northeastern or NYU, but it is in the middle of a city. Emory’s neighborhood is a really beautiful suburban neighborhood, though. Emory is larger and will have the resources of a large research university - but that comes with more undergrads and less focus on them because of graduate students and scholarships. Hamilton and Colorado are both going to have a very undergrad-focused atmosphere and a much closer-knit student body. Hamilton and Colorado might also have lots of activities, but I’d be surprised if they had more than Emory.

@juillet : Those statistics were posted as a response to the suggestion as to the relative prestige of these schools (#6). I wasn’t making a point regarding the significance of the figures, but only that a posted claim to prestige lacked numerical supoort.

Regarding your analysis of the BI article, Bowdoin in 2016 appears to be an aberration. In the year prior’s analysis, in which Emory does make the top 50 (Emory 47, Hamilton 37), you will see Bowdoin (22, with a footnote) as well:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9