Not sure why people want to talk so much about leaving the college and how to do that when they have selected a residential liberal arts college in the first place. You may find you really like to stay put and busy with the college’s own
offerings; that’s the experience of most Colgate students these days.
Anyway, and about Colgate, it’s larger that Hamilton by several hundred students and faculty members. And it IS a real, genuine and yes, somewhat peppy Division 1 sports-supporting liberal arts college, with roughly 2950 students. The curriculum and extra-curriculars are a deep mix (deeper mix?) and the core curriculum ie.e for all students is storied.
And about getting away…many students have cars so that’s their first choice for convenient travel. It takes about 45 minutes to reach the Amtrak station in Utica (while passing near Hamilton College along the way) for those 4.5 hour
train journeys to NY, less to Boston. Then there is the very convenient bus schedules from the Student Union building on campus to NYC and other points. But SYR airport is about 1 hour away with fast flights to JFK and EWR, and planes to ORD, IAD, BOS, ATL, PHL etc.
Thanks everyone for your advice!
Regarding the location - easy access to a main city with a train station/airport is a factor for me because I’m an international student without a car. I know there are transportation services available for students at the more remote colleges, so it isn’t my number one priority.
A little more information about what I’m looking for - I really loved Hamiltons campus vibe, notably the diverse group of students and friendly atmosphere. I’m a little worried about the small size, I like seeing fresh faces every so often! That’s why the size of Vassar and Colgate appeal to me. I’m hoping to end up at a school that isn’t overly cliquey or preppy, and I know Colgate is rumoured to be these things. Does anyone have thoughts regarding the ‘vibe’ of the student body at Colgate?
Hamilton and Colgate are demographically very similar, close to identical. Hamilton has slightly more Asian students but basically they are clones in terms of demographics.
Colgate is Division 1 in the Patriot League while Hamilton is in NESCAC which is upper level Division 3. This might have a small impact on social life but I doubt much.
The only thing for certain in comparing these schools is that Colgate is bigger, otherwise a student should do well and enjoy either.
So I am a little tired of the lazy ‘skewed male-female ratio’ trope about Vassar: the ratio of males to females is the same at Colgate and Vassar (Hamilton is almost even).
As for access / access to cities and entertainment: Hamilton is the most difficult to get to, then Colgate, then Vassar. But in reality, all of these colleges work hard to make campus life full and busy. Whether it’s 2 hours or 2.5 hours on the train to NYC is not really the point (and I have done the journey on both Amtrak and Metro North): my NYC loving D gets into the city once, maybe twice a semester- b/c there is so much going on in and around campus.
As for ‘vibe’: OP, you said that you loved Hamilton- did you not visit Colgate or Vassar? b/c to me they are chalk and cheese. Colgate is ‘preppier’, whiter (74% v 63%) and less economically diverse (college access index of -0.5 v +3.1) than Vassar. Does that mean that I think you should go to Vassar? no- it means that you really need to visit both to see what suits you (or choose Hamilton, b/c you have visited it and it’s kind of a mid-point between the 2).
“Hamilton is the most difficult to get to, then Colgate” (#24)
Hmmm. To get to the train station, for instance (and as markham observed), Colgate students actually would pass near Hamilton. Perhaps the intended meaning was “get into” . . .
Regarding Hamilton’s size, two things:
By campus acreage (1350), the college is larger than many universities.
The school's salient history of having been two colleges is often under-regarded. Though Hamilton is now a unified, coeducational, liberal arts college, it 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, spatial and, to some extent, cultural legacy of this history.