partyhippie

Im a Junior looking at somewhat unconventional LAC's.. I looked at Hampshire and Bard and i loveed Bard. Ive heard of Hamilton but always thought it was very preppy, but a friend told me it's just like Bard.

Also, does Hamilton have a good art program?

... and if a current student can key me in with the type of social scene at Hamilton that be great so I can get a feel for what the enviroment's like.

colberTreporT

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.

partyhippie

yeah thanks! well hampshire is pretty different i wasnt expecting it to be like Hamilton. -Hampshire has a farm with sheep and you can go on sheep patrol at night!!-
I just really liked the atmosphere at Bard and the type of people I saw around. Is Hamilton like that? Also.. does it have more of a local town then Bard does, cuz as great as it is its a bit isolated

colberTreporT

Hamilton does have a town about five minutes away, but it doesn't really have anything. It is basically a classic-style village with nice small shops, but not any bars or decent places to eat in that local town. Hamilton is also very isolated though, but at least there is a pub on campus.

jelomom2003

Have you checked out Skidmore?

vahevala

D was looking at all of these except Hampshire, also interested in art. Skidmore probably has the most depth in art program, Hamilton's art dept. was small, but lots of indiv. attention. D ended up at SUNY New Paltz. It is much bigger (6,500), but has a very cool college town, similar artsy vibe as Bard, great art program, honors program and reasonable tuition. That being said, we/she really loved Hamilton...every single person we met there was so friendly, and the campus is beautiful, and the academics outstanding. It was a heart wrenching decision!

jelomom2003

Vahevala-
My D too had one of those same heart wrenching decisions last year. She loved Hamilton, it had always been her top choice, but when it came down to the final hour (and I mean FINAL hour May 1, 11:45pm), her "gut" told her different.

We toured the art department and found the staff friendly and the few students we met quite happy with their piece of the school. I do think that the Art Department will be undergoing big changes with the construction, certainly something a potential incorming freshman would want to learn more about.