Colby vs. Hamilton vs. Bowdoin

College Search & Lists
1

Hi, I’m currently a student who was rejected ED1 from Middlebury. I’m currently looking for new schools to apply to, and hopefully apply ED2 to. I think I’ve narrowed down my list to Bowdoin, Colby, and Hamilton. I absolutely love the liberal arts culture, and I really hope to be somewhere with a strong ski culture and easy access to ski slopes. I’m applying undecided, but I would like a school with strong programs in STEM.

Bowdoin is my #1, but also obviously the most selective. While it doesn’t have the ski access, I absolutely loved the culture I picked up on my tour. Colby and Hamilton are more tied in my mind, but Colby seems to be a bigger larger which I like, has a 4-1-4, and allows cars on campus. However Colby seems to be gaming a lot of their admissions and isn’t need blind. Hamilton on the other hand seems to be better ranked and I really like their open curriculum and it’s easier to get to from home.

I would love to ED2 Bowdoin, but I fear that would be a waste of my ED2 that could be better spent at Hamilton or Colby, where I’m more likely to actually get in. I don’t want to get rejected ED2 from Bowdoin, which is very likely, and end up struggling in the much more competitive RD rounds at Hamilton and Colby, and not get admitted to any. It does seem that Bowdoin likes my HS for ED with around a 30% acceptance rate, but still, it seems extremely competitive. I would also love to go to Cornell, but that seems obviously much harder RD. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. My stats are listed below.

White man applying from competitive NYC magnet public school needing aid.

1530 SAT/3.7UW(Strong upward trend, 3.9 11/12 and 3.84 10-12). 4 APS taken (APUSH, APES, APCSP, World) all 5s except World, taking 3 currently (BC, Gov, CSA). 1 DE freshman year. Taking lots of law classes at my HS.

National Merit Commended

My ECs are pretty weak but are as follows,

  1. Internship for NYC Department of Education, don’t want to say to much but It was about 6 weeks this summer working on finances

  2. Summer camp CIT, worked with kids as a counselor, did lots of volunteer work and did a 1 week backpacking trip

  3. Park Volunteer, 50 hours volunteering in large city park, likely to become “Leader” soon before apps are due

  4. Model UN, Head of Backrooms for school conference, wrote position papers for other school conferences.

  5. Poll Worker, Worked at tables for early voting and election day guiding and helping people vote

  6. Ski Club member

  7. Volunteer PC Builder, builds devices for friends and fixes devices (I’m going to start a program working with kids in schools, helping them learn about computers and 3d printing soon)

  8. Sewing

  9. I’m in the process of trying to volunteer to help a local garden not shut down.

My Recs are really good I think, and my essay I’m currently switching around but it’s about taking challenges and learning from mistakes using Skiing as a metaphor.

2

Have you already applied to safeties that you would be happy to attend?

Are you applying for financial aid? If so, have you or your parents run the NPCs and are the results okay with you and your parents?

3

I don’t see your ECs as weak at all. Don’t undersell yourself.

I think the answer is - which do you prefer? And you’ve already stated which that is.

It’s not a game - then you can apply RD to the others.

People make the mistake of thinking - you must ED - but it’s not correct. They read - but half the enrollees ED’d - yes. But I was looking at Wesleyan the other day - their yield non ED was 1/7th - so to fill the rest of the class, they had to admit 7x the amount of kids that ended up enrolling that were RD applicants.

Hamilton enrolled 453, 247 of which came ED. So a bit over half. But the other 206 kids came from 915 kids - so their non ED yield was 22.5%. So people who say you can’t get in ED are not correct. They let in nearly 4.5 times RD kids as they did ED.

Also, what’s your budget situation and what does the NPCs say? If you have need, how much? Bowdoin is need blind but the others aren’t?

Personally, I am sold at Bowdoin is my #1. Why would you apply binding to a school that isn’t your #1?

Finally - and just a crazy thought if you’re not tied to what is bad East coast skiing :slight_smile: ha ha. Reed in Portland - not far from Mt. Hood.

The Claremont Colleges (Pomona/Pitzer), etc. are close to Big Bear, Mt. Blady and not horribly far from Mammoth Moutnain which is skiing at a totally different level.

On the East Coast, Skidmore might be another easier to consider within range of skiing - but again, I’d be applying to Bowdoin all the way.

Best of luck.

1 Like
4

For subjective comments on two of these schools, see this post: NESCAC Spoken Here: - #5 by merc81.

5

All 3 are great schools, so you cannot go wrong. I’d say if skiing is a priority, Colby - for both proximity to Sugarloaf and Jan Plan - may be the winner. It is, btw, one of the top overlaps for Midd applicants, so probably a good fit.

If you feel strongly about Bowdoin or Hamilton, then my all means ED there.

You may want to try to put together an academic schedule for your 4 years at each, just to see how that falls into place with general requirements and those for your intended major. If you want to study abroad, consider that as well as you do that. Sometimes, there are meaningful differences.

6

Yeah, I already got into Suny Bing, New Paltz, and Bard. Id rather not attend one of these schools, but I’m pretty hopeful I’ll get into CU Boulder, UW, UVM, and maybe Skidmore and Colorado College which I would be OK attending.

7

My NPCs at all these schools look really good, and are definitely within my budget. Hamilton as well as Bowdoin is Need Blind. I already applied to Skidmore and Colorado College, but I’ve heard some weird things with Reed and grade deflation, and I’m not sure it’s unique environment and culture is right for me.

8

But still, the RD acceptance rates seem a lot lower. I understand ED is often inflated, but it still seems to give a big boost. Do you think a student with my stats has a decent chance RD at Hamilton, Colby, Bates, Wesleyan etc if I ED2 Bowdoin?

9

Once you back out recruited athletes, ED is not that much (if any) of a boost, fyi.

Don’t worry about getting rejected ED. Two of my kids’ strategy was to ED to their reaches, and both got rejected. They did fine in RD and one got into a more prestigious school in that round than his ED schools. ED to your favorite school.

1 Like
10

I think if you want an LAC - I mean, CU is great. You didn’t appl to CSU but it’d be great. CC is actually quite far from skiing - at least three hours.. But one of the Claremont LACs would be great. You could even add Occidental for “easier”.

In the end, and the poster above is right, Colby is closet to skiing of the LACs but you said you preferred Bowdoin. You were pretty emphatic I thought.

So to me, that’s where to ED but just know, tons are getting non-ED too so you’re not eliminated from Hamilton/Colby, etc. just because you don’t apply there ED2.

But when you have an emphatic #1, why would you skip it. Yes, on paper, Bowdoin is toughest but there will be kids who get in there that don’t MIdd. Just like last year, someone got into MIT but not BU and into UC Berkeley but not SDSU.

You will 100% (ok, 99.9%) get into CU Boulder. If you mention an NPC though, skiing is pricy and so is CU (U Colorado) - you’d likely get $6250 in merit and nothing else.

If you like CU but it’s too pricey, then U New Mexico is an inexpensive alternative - 1/3 the price and has skiing nearby. U Utah is the mecca of skiing - there’s Westminster College there that’s small. When I say the mecca….you can ski daily!! Small and in Maine, you have U Maine Farmington that’s 10 or 15 mins from skiing. And Ft. Lewis College, another small one, gives you a free lift ticket to Purgatory.

So there are small but less selective that would really be great.

That you say this - Bowdoin is my #1 - is what matters. I showed you Hamilton has to admit 4.5x the amount of kids in RD that they need to get a class. Colby doesn’t put out stats.

Then what about a school like St. Lawrence as a safety?

You have great admits - even New Paltz, etc.

Sure, you can chance Colby or Hamilton too - but they are no guarantee either. But then would you regret not applying to Bowdoin, especially if you get into one?

Only you can answer.

Good luck.

11

These are test optional schools, so the high SAT score will matter less in their decisions. One thing I notice is that you haven’t taken AP Lit or Lang and you haven’t taken a primary science AP (Chem, Physics, Bio). Have you taken 4 years of a foreign language?

12

Since you’re at an NYC magnet school, Naviance (or whatever your school used) should be reliable as long as a reasonable number of students have applied to these schools in the past. IME, NESCAC schools like students from strong NYC public schools. My public school grad was deferred from Midd ED1, but got into Williams RD. I pushed her to apply there because she fit the profile of students from her HS who were accepted in previous years. Midd tended to accept Posse students ED1 which held true her year.

FWIW, I think you should go for Bowdoin ED2 if it’s you’re sure it’s your top choice. Good luck!