I know they aren’t extremely similar but I am completely torn!!! I’d be an athlete at either (D1 or D3 respectively) and probably major somewhere in the Social Sciences (Poli Sci, Econ, Policy, something along those lines). Any input would be extremely helpful!!
Hamilton probably has an edge academically, but Holy Cross is pretty good too and if either has a decided edge in fit/cost, that makes it the better choice for you.
Both Holy Cross and Hamilton have top Economics Departments. Can’t go wrong with either.
Both great schools. While Hamilton is a bit more competitive for admission, I don’t think you’d find a meaningful difference in the academic experience (esp. for Economics and Political Science) or post graduate possibilities. Assuming you’ve visited both, you’d know that Hamilton is going to have a more rural feel, while Holy Cross has more of a suburban/small city feel. It’s also only an hour away from Boston. Hamilton has a Greek option, while Holy Cross has no Greek system. And of course D1 sports vs D3, and Jesuit vs secular. So I think your decision will come down to those four factors, as well as cost. What feels more like “home” to you? But truthfully, you can’t go wrong with either, so congratulations and best of luck!
Holy Cross is once again a top producer of Undergraduate Fulbright students (in good company w/Bates, Bowdoin and Williams)- that’s an indicator or pretty strong academic and student strength.
One thing to consider is the time commitment to athletics at each. In division 1, this will be a year round commitment and is likely to not leave a lot of time for things other than school and your sport. In division 3, there is far less of a commitment especially outside of your season, so you can experience a fuller college experience.
Holy Cross has about 1,000 more students than Hamilton, so it is a bit bigger than your typical LAC. That may be important to some people. It was for my D, who liked a lot of LACS, and did really like Hamilton, but chose HC for ED with the size being one of the reasons vs other schools she was considering
I wouldn’t recommend you base your decision on an online article. However, if you believe you might benefit from a degree of external confirmation for a choice you might make, Forbes could suffice: