I’m interested in these 3 colleges. While I would love to go to a school in my home state of NJ, most are too big and don’t have the programs I’m looking for.
I’m interested in English/creative writing and music/theater.
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If possible, revisit the schools and see which feels like the right fit.
Are you accepted at these colleges? If you have been accepted to Hamilton under its ED program then you have agreed to attend if affordable.
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Deleted, no longer relevant.
I am a fan of LACs. If your family can comfortably afford Hamilton, I’d choose that. It’s a fantastic school. But I’m confused. You applied ED to Hamilton. So you are committed to attend, which is the agreement you signed when you applied ED. You are supposed to withdraw your other apps at that point. Are you waiting on Financial Aid?
I would absolutely not choose SUNY Purchase. It has a large commuter population and I do not think you’re going to get the experience you are looking for.
I’m also a fan of Bing. My son attended and had a great experience. But I’ll be honest, it’s a lot of rigor without the personal attention and small classes that Hamilton will offer. It will certainly do the job though, and if you want a bigger school with a fun New York vibe of all types of people, Bing will give you that. Both Bing and Hamilton have very high retention rates.
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Sorry, did I indicate I applied to Hamilton ED? Sorry, I’m new to this forum and I’m using it on mobile so I might’ve put in the wrong information.
What do you mean then? Are you talking about where you want to apply next year? Hamilton regular decisions are not out, so are you just speculating?
You did not say you applied ED to Hamilton. I (mistakenly) thought you have been accepted at all three schools. Perhaps you can clarify where in the process you are at this point.
I applied through the common app, which had the Regular Decisions due on the first of January. I definitely applied regular decision.
Have you been accepted to any/all of these colleges yet? There is no decision to be made until your acceptances are all in.
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You are not accepted yet then. If you were accepted ED, you would know. Did you receive an acceptance? If you did, you applied ED. No ifs, ands, or buts. And if you applied ED and can afford it, then that is where you will be going, unless your family cannot afford it.
When you get a Regular Decision acceptance, IF you get accepted, it will be in March.
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I’ve been accepted into Bing and Purchase, and based on my GPA and extracurriculars I have a good chance at Hamilton. I mainly included it, because I’m extremely indecisive and need as much time as possible to consider each of my options.
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No one has a good chance of acceptance at Hamilton.
You’re putting the cart before the horse. Wait and see if you get accepted in March.
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For now you can decide between Binghamton and Purchase. I agree with @Lindagaf that Purchase, while strong in the arts, has a fair number of commuters.
If you get into Hamilton down the road you can consider it at that point.
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That’s true, sorry, thank you.
Then in terms of Binghamton, you mentioned class sizes, and this was a huge thing for me. But other people who have gone there have told me that while many classes can be big. That’s mainly for the popular STEM based majors.
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For @happy1 and @Lindagaf, does your opinion on Purchase change with the musical theater background?
Not sure if this student auditioned and got in or is looking at potentially the BA in Theater and Performance which doesn’t seem to require audition…
But given Purchase is highly respected in performance (not necessarily the English/Creative writing mentioned), does this change your opinion??
Also, while OP wanted to stay in NJ and I don’t think geographically, it’s all so close, that it matters, wouldn’t Drew or Seton Hall be possibilities? Both have a music/theater minor. Drew might be too late to apply (says Feb 1 but you never know) but Seton Hall has a March 1 deadline.
Best of luck to OP.
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Yes I did note in my reply that SUNY Purchase is strong in the arts. I do think campus life in general would be more vibrant at SUNY Binghamton. I’m not sure if the OP is more into theater or English. Revisiting both schools and focusing on areas of interest would be helpful.
As is true of many public universities, classes tend to get smaller for upperclassmen.
Bing is rigorous. There will definitely be some classes that are smaller, but in general, for intro level courses especially, the classes will certainly be larger than what you would get at an LAC. There will be some classes at Bing with wonderful, engaging and enthusiastic professors, and other classes with boring professors who just assign a lot of rigorous work, without the engagement you’ll get at a small college.
@tsbna44 I’m aware of Purchase’s reputation in the performing arts, but IMO, a student can get that at Bing, in a much better collegiate atmosphere. Students at Bing are having a lot of fun. I sure some students at Purchase are too, but I also think a lot of Purchase students end up in NYC. That’s great, if you want easy access to the city. But a kid who is looking at Hamilton because they want that environment is going to find little of what they seek at Purchase.
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But I guess I’m asking, for the student that seemingly wants smaller classes and a four year experience, would the commuter-ish of Purchase outweigh Bing…or Bing still does the trick?
Seems NJ has publics that would as well- Montclair for example.
Just curious - I wish OP luck.
If they get into Hamilton and it’s affordable, I know most would say game over…
Only the OP can/should answer that question.
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It appears that the OP is interested in music and theatre, but not necessarily musical theatre. I mention this partly because Purchase, as far as I’m aware, does not offer a musical theatre program.
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