<p>After a nerve racking admissions process I was thrilled to be accepted at Hamilton, but as I was looking at Hamilton's U.S. News and World Report statistics, I discovered that Hamilton is ranked 76 out of 100 in "Undergraduate Reputation". </p>
<p>While this is a great score, it is much lower than schools ranked closely by (and lower than) it on the "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges" list (i.e. Bates, Kenyon, Oberlin, Colby, etc.).</p>
<p>In short: what does this mean? Is Hamilton ranked so high because of other attributes and the academics are a comparative shortfall or does this ranking mean nothing in the grand scheme?</p>
<p>The USNWR “Undergraduate Academic Reputation Index” us the result of of the combination of peer assessment and guidance counselor rankings. Here at the PA and GC figures for the top LAC:</p>
<p>I would not pay ANY attention at all to the USNWR list. It varies quite a bit from year to year, and at this point, after having been accepted, I strongly advise you to ignore that list as a factor. I encourage you to pay attention to your intuition, what feels right, whether Hamilton has what you are personally looking for. Hamilton is and has been for many years, a highly-esteemed, very strong LAC. Jeff Imelt, the CEO of GE who the President recently appointed to his economic recover advisory board as its chair, is a Hamilton alum. If Hamilton has what you want, go for it! I say this as a proud Wesleyan alum whose son visited Hamilton with me last year and fell in love with the college but wound up going elsewhere. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Hamilton was considered a regional school for many years and is just beginning to gain national recognition. It’s underrated because it is not as well known as many of the other schools in the top 20. </p>
<p>Jeff Immlet did not attend Hamilton, his daughter did and graduated last year. But some famous CEO alums are AJ Lafley, P&G; Dave Sadove, Saks; Dan Nye, former CEO of LinkedIn. </p>
<p>The alum network is compromised of many prominent names and is well known for helping their peers.</p>
<p>Ah, I stand corrected! Jeff Immelt is a Dartmouth alum. But to send his daughter to Hamilton, I think, is significant. Growing up in New England, I knew about Hamilton, though I chose to attend Wesleyan as did my son.</p>
<p>John Rice, Hamilton '78, is Vice Chairman of GE and was a fraternity brother of mine at Hamilton. Maybe he had some pull with admissions to help get Immelt’s child in?</p>