Colgate vs. Bates vs. Wesleyan vs. Hamilton

ColgateDad
Wed, 23 Jan 2013 02:11:18 +0000

My impressions are entirely subjective but based on friends who attended these four schools along with a number of my own students (I am a teacher) and a couple of relatives who attended as well. So, Warning – Subjective Comments Only:

All four are very good academically with some smaller differences among them with regards to which school is more challenging, tougher to get into, which majors and programs are best, etc. That can mostly be found in college guidebooks and on the schools’ own websites. But, subjectively, I’d say Wesleyan is somewhat harder of the four to get into and Bates might be slightly less competitive. What this means I don’t know as it says nothing about the quality fo the schools.

Wesleyan – my impressions have not changed much over that years that Wesleyan is a bit of a trendy, almost counter-cultural school in some ways. One of my students was once rejected at Wesleyan for admitting to using marijuana which everyone at my school thought was absolutely hilarioius because Wesleyan has for years had a reputation for being a school where drug use is fairly open and widespread. She went to Cornell. Wesleyan has little interest in sports but lots in arts, theater, etc. Academically, like all these schools, it’s very good. It’s in a larger town, though not that pretty, than the other three schools and a little more centrally located and not so much in the “north woods” as the others. That may matter to some applicants.

Bates – A good solid Maine college but often ranked “third” among the Maine Three of Bowdoin, Colby, Bates. That doesn’t mean much, but there you go. I have never found Bates all that pretty a school or its location all that attractive, but this is mere subjectivity on my part, and it’s a very fine school academically. It plays lower level sports in Division 3, if that matters. I think of Div 3 as glorified high school sports, but I’m kind of snarky that way. Bates is a fine school and those who’ve gone there have really like it. Getting to Boston to catch a flight home takes 3+ hours on a bus, so you’ve been warned.

Hamilton – I have to admit not finding Hamilton a very appealing place, myself, although it is pretty enough and a very good college. A close friend attended Ham Coll, did not much like it, and that may have affected my perception of it. It is a fine college with a top academic program and is very similar to Colgate in that regard. It plays Div 3 sports so not much excitment there. But I have always found it a little too “prep school” for my taste, meaning not that preppies go there (which like Colgate, they do) but that it feels like a prep school, smallish, neat, tidy. I just cannot warm up to Hamilton. I told you this was subjective! You would not be unhappy to go to a school as good as Hamilton College, but I’d be unhappy there.

Colgate – a larger school than the other three with somewhat more activities in general, far more off-campus study and travel programs, perhaps a more diverse student body (but I have no stats in front of me to back that up), better known in general than the others perhaps, a much prettier campus (having visited all four schools), stunningly so in summer and fall especially, Div I athletics if you’re into sports, more “spirit” in some ways (especially than Wesleyan which is laid paid to the point of unbelievable), more “business like” and goal-oriented than most colleges, filled with very hard working students who party a lot to let off steam.

One man’s opinions, and I’m prepared to be called wrong by any alum from Hamilton, Bates, and Wesleyan, and who knows I might just be wrong?