<p>I am a student from California, where we (as everybody knows) get mostly warm weather for the majority of the year.</p>
<p>Hamilton, however, seems to be dead smack in a winter wonderland for most of the year. For those who attend school there (or who know the area), how cold does it get? How much does it snow? Could somebody like me handle it? </p>
<p>Any opinions on this matter would be great!</p>
<p>Also - Hamiltom has been criticized for being "too remote" by some reviews that I've read. As Jon Stewart joked during his visit to the school, "You know...I didn't pass many things that I couldn't milk on my way up here." What do you guys think about this?</p>
<p>Other than those two issues (and correct me if I'm mistaken), it seems like everybody LOVES the school's community, academics, and overall level of engagement!</p>
<p>You’re not mistaken. I am from a small town in New England and after college moved out to California, and so I would say that a student from coastal California might be in for a shock, if you wound up there. I took my son up there in February just after a snow storm and it is quite remote, snows a lot and is bitter cold. Hamilton is an outstanding college and we found the campus to be friendly, very quiet, and quite beautiful. If you love being in nature and do not need to be anywhere near a big city, the isolation will not be a problem. Otherwise, it may not be a good choice.</p>
<p>The weather and the location. Two huge disadvantages of Hamilton College. But it would be really difficult to come up with a third one. </p>
<p>Basically, you need to deal with it as you are facing a trade-off. You get a great community, beautifuuuul campus, nice students, amazing facilities, and much more if you are willing to live on a campus far from big cities and far from warm places:)
But when else would you do that if not now? Many hamilton students did live and will live in huge cities all around the world when they are out of college; so spending these four years at a completely different environment is just something extra you can experience. And apart from the fact that it’s coold, winter is also very very nice on campus. And being far from big cities means that, unlike at UCLA or Boston University, the vast majority of students and of your friends will stay on campus over the weekend so that you can study and have fun together. So even the two disadvantages have their positive sides!:)</p>
<p>The weather is manageable but prepare for a long winter, there is snow for 5-6 months a year! Don’t worry though; I am a current freshman here so I haven’t experienced what real winter is like here but I know quite a few people from California, Texas, and Florida, both freshmen and upperclassmen, and they all love it-just like everybody else. Your ears will not fall off:) </p>
<p>I live very close to Hamilton, and we don’t get as much snow as everyone likes to make it seem. We will have snow off and on (it won’t stick much) for the next month. Then January, February and early March we have decent amounts of snow. Then it melts fairly quickly. Its definitely not 5-6 months of heavy snow lol</p>
<p>I live about an hour away from Hamilton outside of Syracuse, which is one of the snowiest cities in America haha…but Hamilton doesn’t get too much of the weird micro-climate that Syracuse is in. Yes, it snows a lot, but you will get used to it! Just bring warm clothes; I don’t think the climate should be a reason to not considerate the school.</p>
<p>Here’s a big weather-related difference between southern CA and snowy areas: when the weather outside is lousy, students in snowbelt areas socialize inside- and tend to stay inside. Obviously, you have mobility; you can still lace up the snow boots, zip up the down jacket and head out for the library or the gym. Kids do play in the snow. But, being more focused on staying inside means kids are routinely interacting on a closer level with the group, over a number of weeks or months. I often think they are forced to develop a different level of social skills. So, it’s not just about how cold it is outside; it’s can you hack all that face-to-face inside, over an extended amount of time? I remember my early days in CA, when, even at a party, kids would wander off, go swimming, start a basketball game, take a drive, maybe run back to their room or apt for something, even run an errand. That was my experience.</p>