<p>I know the winters in upstate NY are brutal, but I was told that the social life at Hamilton completely dies in the winter and everyone just holes up and studies... how true is this?</p>
<p>Not true. There are many inside social spaces including dorm rooms. It gets cold, but it’s beautiful. And there are also college wide snowballfights!</p>
<p>I have a related question! I’ve been looking into top LACs, Hamilton particularly catching my eye. The only thing that’s really discouraged me is that most of them are wayy north. 
I love the NE but am unsure if I could handle the cold of “brutal upstate NY”. I’ve lived in South Texas almost all my life; we don’t consider it summer until the temp hits 100F and call it “freezing” when it’s low 50’s. I love picturesque snow and all, but I get pretty sickly in the winter. I’m worried I’ll just be miserable & sick all the time. Know anyone from similar situations who’ve handled it? I’m thinking it would be more practical to go for somewhere less extreme and avoid looking odd sporting sweaters through the spring.</p>
<p>Also, how does Hamilton in particular deal with the winteriest of days?</p>
<p>Don’t worry, students here do get used to it - they have no other choice:)</p>
<p>I have many friends from California, Florida, and Texas at Hamilton and many of them hadn’t seen snow before they came here. My friend from Texas was indeed missing the hot weather she was used to but she could handle the situation and didn’t get sick! And you won’t be out too much if you don’t want to, the most you would have to walk to your class is about 10 minutes;)</p>
<p>Snow days are extremely rare at Hamilton but last year we actually had a whole day canceled and another one when school was delayed. Should such a thing happen, every student will get an email, a text message, and will be called by an automated voice informing us about what’s up.
Also, Hamilton does a great job clearing the walkways so you rarely have problems with accessing facilities even when there is 2 feet of snow out there:) There are even areas where the ground and stairs are heated so the snow and ice melts off!</p>
<p>From the Glen House, a charming and cozy house right by the woods on campus, anyone can rent out skis, snowshoes, and I think even snowboards for free and use them as they wish. It’s pretty cool and it’s just another great way to enjoy the snow.
There is also free skating in the skate rink every day and they are planning to introduce free skate rentals too! When it gets very cold, they even make an outdoor ice-skating area for us to enjoy:)</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the cold! And don’t base your college choice entirely on the weather, there are so many other things to consider-and there are countless positive factors when it comes to Hamilton College!</p>
<p>The winter is really not that bad. It gets lot of snow, but not as cold as a lot of the North East. And because there is snow for so much of the year, the social scene does not shut down. We all learn to deal with the winter.</p>