@gardenstategal : My relative’s own experience with the students at Hamilton were diverse, and this was an additional selling point in terms of what she wanted. Her student interviewer was AA (no comment on whether preppy or not) and her overnight host was enrolled through the support of the Posse program (so not typically preppy). That said, she’s fine with preppy – at least as defined by background and not affectation – so elements of this within the student body would not have been a negative factor for her.
More generally, I think Hamilton’s history of having been formed through the union of a traditional men’s college and a progressively oriented college for women is what distinguishes the school from its peers with similar academic ratings. A small college is at its best if it can be more expansive, imaginative and diverse than its enrollment alone would indicate. Hamilton can do this in a way its peers perhaps cannot because of the distinctive way in which it has reached its current form.
@csdad2 : Note that CollegeWong was banned, so that comment (and associated comments) should be considered biased/coordinated/unreliable.
@markham : If you were to post somewhere about the factors that went into the decision to alter the CAC project at Colgate, I’d be interested in reading about that. The original plans seemed terrific.
@merc81: I did notice that (and that thread was closed). I’ve been on the internet a looooooooong time :-), and have learned to read comments based on a variety of factors, including the biases and reliability of the commenter.
Getting back to this thread, maybe you (and/or others) can comment about the greek life at Hamilton (and/or some of these other schools). My son has similar preferences as the OP, and that’s a concern of his. Hamilton seems to have a decent-sized greek life (about 1/3 of men), but that alone doesn’t determine the influence of the greek life at a school. Similar for Union.
Don’t want to hijack this thread, but my son plans to major in Physics, but has somewhat broad interests.
Interesting perspective, @merc81 – makes sense. I will say that after all the apps were in, Hamilton contacted DS and ask why he hadn’t applied, and he was sort of wondering the same thing! (I think that as the process went on, he realized that some of the earlier reactions may have been a bit rash. At the end, as he was making his decision, he noted that one of the reasons that one of his schools had ended up at the top of the list was that he’d had such a great overnight visit. After he had the chance to do overnights as an accepted student at other schools, he realized that the “overnight” part of the revisit was the highlight everywhere – and pretty much equal – and that when that factor was stripped out, they all seemed more comparable again. It is really hard to decide where to spend 4 years on the basis of a day, but then again, all of these schools are really excellent, so it’s also hard to go terribly wrong.
We were told by our Hamilton tour guide that you had to wait until you were a sophomore to pledge a frat so that you didn’t get locked into a social group early (which I liked.) But someone else here can give more info because as noted, we didn’t follow up beyond one visit.
At Union, where Greek life originated (fun fact!), we heard that most students join frats and that it’s not really a big deal (like it might be at a big state u.) although it is a way that many social events are organized. DS was given the impression that this was more a vehicle for groups of kids to plan activities that were not necessarily restricted to members of that frat. The school set up the Minerva system to offer additional programming that wasn’t Greek centered and took over the houses to do that. Many Union alums remained terribly dismayed at the “dismantling” of the frats, so I think that the administration must have been somewhat effective.
@samantha827 , if you type in Colby vs. Bates as a web search, the results from startclass include state residency. For those two, both have roughly 20% of their class from Mass and 10% from Maine., but Colby is 15% foreign and Bates has more New Yorkers. I think that Union had slightly more than half its class from MA and NY. Williams and Amherst have the same 4 at the top in slightly different proportions (NY and CA top their lists.) If you’re not from those states, then it might feel more exotic to you than if you are.
I wish I could tell you more about the matter but the story is still unfolding. And so there is no justifications to accompany definitive plans. The new president and the Board will make their plans known in time. That’s the status
report as of now.
That said, and as I have learned is all too common in the execution of new facilities that support the Arts, reevaluations and delays are all too common. It’s about shifting visions among initial and other donors, those who would exhibit and perform, those who would maintain their spaces and those who want ancillary access for their purposes. After all, for the good of community relations across the spectrum of constituents, you want something (most) everyone will support, occupy and enjoy wholeheartedly. Not for nothing did the donor of Bowdoin’s fine arts museum on campus install a floor plaque several decades ago dedicating the building to same usage in perpetuity! And no one wants to see an underutilized center for arts and culture when there are - as always -parallel claims on donors’ money.
Then there is the location itself. In the case of the village of Hamilton it would appear that some opposed the design concept and certain costing surprises. And that caused, in effect, a total reevaluation, including bringing the arts center concept back to campus proper and expanding its scope to accommodate the performing arts - as part of a broader vision. So you have a 2015 project for the arts and culture at $21 million most likely morphing into something much grander. Only time will tell…
My money is on the notion that the lead up to Colgate’s bicentennial of 2019 will include a new, formal, vetted and largely funded plan for a campus site near Dana Arts Center on campus. The variable of time will allow the vision to be clearer, surely a good thing!
@csdad2 : Hamilton is interesting with respect to STEM, in that of their five most popular majors, two are in STEM fields (math and biological sciences). Regarding physics specifically, I’d say that a student there would encounter a lot of support without much in the way of limits or compromise. The department has produced both a Nobel recipient and an Apker Award winner, a combination which only several LACs in the country share. And one of their professors emeritus is known internationally for his theory of Continuous Spontaneous Localization – again, not particularly common for an LAC.
Re frats, Hamilton’s are nonresidential. That’s another factor to consider when estimating their social influence. Your son will ideally do an overnight when he gets to that stage in his search process.
@gardenstategal : That’s a great perspective on the vagaries of the search process in general. Have you said, if you care to, was it Colby or Bates for him? Apparently his decision has worked out really well.
@markham : I think the original design has abundant vision though. Potentially higher costs, donor dissatisfaction and internal dissent seem like small prices to pay for beauty.
@merc81: Are you the one that always posts about the Apker Award? Sorry, I should’ve made that connection. I’ve seen a lot of those posts, and they’ve informed my thinking about which schools might be good choices for my son. I’ve read many a thread on science/physics at LACs!
But he’s not only looking at LACs. I’ve amassed a big long list of schools, and he’s currently reading about them and researching them, to cull the list down. At some point, hopefully in the not too distant future, I’m planning to make a post including info about my son and his preferences, and the schools we’re considering, looking to get feedback on the list of schools. I hope you can offer some comments then.
Thanks!
OP: Not sure I can help you too much, I don’t have any direct experience with any of these schools, as many of the commenters do. But I’d say, from what I’ve read here and elsewhere, the most diverse schools on your list are Middlebury, Tufts, Vassar, and Wesleyan, with Bates, Colby, and Colgate being the least diverse.
OP - I may have missed it upthread but are you limiting your search to the northeast? With your interest in finding schools with a “down to earth” student body, you might want to consider schools in the midwest. Also consider the Quaker origin schools like Haverford. FWIW, my son thought the students at Colby were nice.
And what everyone else has said: ID some safeties.
“LACs on the bigger side” may be an oxymoron such as “act naturally,” “only choice,” or “rolling stop.” Within the modern era, LACs traditionally have had ~1600 students. Current LACs with more than ~2000 students may have departed from the historical model to the point of having of an unclear identity.
If, by bigger side, you mean LACs with multiple diverse spaces or extensive natural/recreational areas, that would be different.
Some colleges – though they may currently have strong identities for reasons not directly related to their enrollment sizes – may have grown significantly beyond this established traditional size range without a clear sense of purpose.
Give me an example of a school that you feel fits your stance, @merc91, of “departing from its historical model to the point of having an unclear identity”. I’m having trouble following your thoughts on this one.
click on “Table View (More Data)”, then “Total enrollment”, once to get it sorted by enrollment in ascending order, a second time to get it sorted in descending order.
There are several state schools and the military academies listed first, then comes some more familiar names. Some of the ones on that first page that might fit your preferences are Lewis & Clark, Wesleyan, Willamette, and Oberlin (roughly between 3,000 and 3,500 students).
