<p>As someone who wants to hone his writing skills, I'd like some inside information about how writing-intensive Hamilton courses are. Do all disciplines require you to write, especially in the STEM departments? Does the majority of the workload require writing (including homework)? Any experiences/stories about it? It's a rumor that is making Hamilton very appealing right now</p>
<p>From what I understand…you have to take 3 writing intensive classes to graduate. There are some classes that are STEM which can fulfill this requirement. But I would think most STEM courses are not writing-intensive per se.</p>
<p>My son is attending Hamilton right now, and I can tell you that just about everything that he is producing (other than the usual class papers), like: lab reports, presentations, tests, quizzes, etc. has to be written well with a lot of details to support his thought process. In a way, everything is writing-intensive with some variations! Although, all of his humanity classes are “very” writing-intensive (as expected), and there is equally a lot of writing emphasis in science type classes. You may want to take a look at the “Hamilton Course catalog” and read a few course descriptions to get a better feel about expectations (it is under Academics heading on the site). The emphasis on “oral communication” goes hand-in-hand with the writing experience. Bottom line: this school will make a “great” communicator out of normally a motivated and good student that think s/he is already a very good writer! If you enjoy writing, looking for a great “personal” LAC education at a college that has no “distribution requirements” in a cold climate, and in middle of no where, then Hamilton is the right school for you. You have to visit the school to get a better sense about this “community”, and all the wonderful, supportive, and caring staff/students. This school is filled with generally happy, and well adjusted students. Best of luck.</p>
<p>As a current student, I agree with the previous postings. Hamilton emphasizes writing in all disciplines, but to varying degrees. Personally, I take a great deal of humanities courses. I write essays like you wouldn’t believe. Many of the courses stress proper grammar, syntax, etc. but all of your writings deal with the analysis and synthesis of information. Unlike big universities, which use scantron exams out of sheer practicality, Hamilton requires you to not only make your voice heard, but to provide support for your assertions and views. (This is the whole teach you “how to think for yourself” deal which goes hand in hand with making you an “effective communicator.”) That being said, my friends are STEM majors and they don’t write that much. They have labs and tests, but these course layouts are probably very similar to other LACs. But, the joke is that if you come to Hamilton and you major in STEM you’ll get a job, because you’ll be the only computer scientist (for example) who can form a coherent sentence :)</p>
<p>Hello, current students, just wondering what your impressions are about how well the different majors are integrated and also if you know any studio art majors? S is interested in double majoring in math and painting/sculpting. Thanks!</p>
<p>Being a liberal arts college, Hamilton pushes students to synthesize information across disciplines. You will use what you learned in chem in bio. You can use what you learned in Econ to write your politics paper. You can use soc to form opinions in public policy. Etc. </p>
<p>As far as studio art majors, all I can say is that we have some very talented students here. We are also close to completing our brand new art center which looks amazing so far. A double major in art and math is very…Hamilton 
good luck!</p>