Hello,
My granddaughter was just admitted through early decision to Hamilton College. I am from the South West and I have only vaguely heard of it! Of course I am excited for her but I don’t totally understand what mad it her first choice and would love to hear more about it. thank you!
Congratulations to your granddaughter. It is one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country 
Excellent faculty, superior academic outcomes, small class sizes, tightknit community, lots of study abroad opportunities, etc. I could go on–but in pretty much every metric used to rate colleges, Hamilton does an excellent job.
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Thank you! Well that’s a great endorsement. Do you have a child there currently?
In Brief
Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics manifests in enhanced academic, architectural and social dimensions and balance. Academically strong across humanities and fine arts, sciences and mathematics and social sciences. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill. Rarefied student profile. Beautiful, spatially luxuriant campus. Surrounding area among the safest locations anywhere, with zero violent crime reported in a recent year. Nicely offset from the Northeast megalopolis, with proximity to authentically rural countryside, a quaint village, suburban amenities, a small city and the Adirondacks. Winter snow suitable for the adventurous — find your inner Buck. Grads earn the most in their early careers from those of the 10 NESCAC LACs based on information in U.S. News. Alumni include preeminent figures in the artistic movement known as imagism (Pound) and the prominent branch of psychology known as behaviorism (Skinner) and an instrumental activitist in the civil rights movement (Moses) — to name a few — as well as Nobel laureates. Historical cultural reference in Wilder’s Our Town. If you like film, you might want to watch The Sterile Cuckoo for a visual introduction to “Harrisonville” College.
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Congratulations to your granddaughter! While it may not be as big of a name everywhere as Williams or Amherst, it is one of the most selective and currently hottest (meaning it is surging in popularity) SLACs in the country right now.
I didn’t attend, but the people I know who have rave about the experience and hold their college and college years as transformative and important to them decades later.
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Thank you for taking the time to write that! That all sounds quite wonderful!
Great information. Thank you!
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Hamilton is an awesome school that caters to a wide range of personalities and lifestyles. What I mean by that is, probably just about any kid can find their people at Hamilton. Sporty, artsy, nerdy, crunchy – all types comprise Hamilton. And while it leans a bit left politically – as do most schools, given the age cohort in attendance – there is a place for conservative thought. It isn’t an echo chamber. There are some pre-professional Wall Street types on campus.
It is known to be strong academically, and as stated previously, a core mission is to teach everyone to write at a high level. It’s a top-shelf LAC.
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thank you all. would you say has similarities to middlebury? generally on par?
This reply includes comments on Hamilton and Middlebury in the context of comments on other liberal arts colleges: Struggling with D21's List. ED & ED2: Amherst, Hamilton, Wellesley, Vassar - #7 by merc81.
In terms of variety and the option for a cozy scale, Hamilton’s residence halls are unlike those common at other colleges. These are some of its residence halls that are available to first-year students, for example:
If you would like, you can compare recent admission statistics and standardized scoring profiles:
Acceptance Rate
Hamilton: 11.8%
Middlebury: 12.7%
Admission Yield
Hamilton: 41.0%
Middlebury: 38.9%
SAT Median (with percent submitting)
Hamilton: 1490 (37)
Middlebury: 1466 (31)
ACT Median (with percent submitting)
Hamilton: 34 (18)
Middlebury: 33.42 (18)
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Curious where those numbers are from. CDS?
Yes.