| I've visited all three. I visited Hampshire earlier this year, Bard last year, and Hamilton just last week at the accepted students open house.
Hamilton is definitely not like Bard or Hampshire.
Hampshire is THE MOST liberal school--I mean they have communist signs on half of their buildings, and the staff there have no plans on removing them. They also have unisex bathrooms, and smoking weed is allowed, EVERYWHERE--even in the public at 12:00 on a Monday. I talked to a student there, and he told me that the professors often get stoned with the students. Also there were signs all over the place for liberal events, such as a food market sit-in or something that was going to take place in a couple of days when I went there.
Bard was similar, though not so extreme. Students at Bard are also very, very liberal, but there was less smoking pot (though it still exists), and many of the students there said that the school is trying to crack down on such activity. I didn't see any communist signs or unisex bathrooms, and no signs on any liberal events.
Hamilton is not conservative, but more so than Bard and Hampshire (a student once told me it's about 5 liberals:1 conservative). Also, very few people smoke weed at Hamilton, though plenty drink. The students at Hamilton come from MUCH wealthier families, with literally half coming from elite private and prep schools. The quality of education is definitely a lot better at Hamilton, and the discussion at Hamilton between liberals and conservatives is also better in my opinion, since there are actually some conservatives that exist there.
If you really like Bard, you might like Hamilton, but they are not really similar. If you really like Hampshire (after visiting it), then you really won't like Hamilton. Hamilton is somewhere between Dartmouth/Bucknell and Bard.
I hope this helps. |