<p>I agree with the poster above – even though these schools may seem superficially similar, they are actually quite different. I have a child at Vassar and we looked at Hamilton very seriously for another kid. Both are terrific schools. Hamilton is a more classic, preppy LAC in a pretty remote location in north central NY. The school still has some frats/sororities. The campus is very beautiful but I would imagine it can get pretty incestuous after a while, particularly in the winter time, where there is not much to do off campus. The school’s reputation is growing and it has recently opened a very nice new science center. Vassar is larger than Hamilton by about a third and is in the suburbs of a medium-sized, although run down city on the Hudson river much closer to NYC (the immediate area around Vassar is quite nice). The Vassar campus is gorgeous and the average student there is a bit less preppy and more ‘alternative’, although these are generalizations. Vassar is generally rated higher from an overall academic prestige standpoint, although my own view is that the difference between the two schools on this score is so negligible so as to be a non-factor. My kid absolutely loves Vassar and would choose it again in a heartbeat over Hamilton or any other LAC. Sorry, did not look at Colgate.</p>