Middlebury vs Hamilton

Sue22
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 13:54:52 +0000

There is a lot of wealth at schools like these but I would say that the school culture at these NE LAC’s and their peers does not encourage flaunting of that wealth.

Structurally, the schools are fairly egalitarian. Meal plans tend to be all-inclusive, so there’s no difference between the regular meals eaten by the haves and have-nots. Kids can of course still go off campus, but no one’s deciding whether to spend meal plan dollars on the expensive sushi or the inexpensive pasta.

The housing is similarly flat. Students choose their rooms according to a lottery. There are no expensive better dorms or budget accommodations. The best rooms will go to seniors with the best lottery numbers. As with dining kids, can choose to spend their money by going off campus, but these are not urban campuses. In most cases the off-campus apartments are grungier than on-campus options.

You’ll see a few expensive cars tucked into the student parking lot, but the lot is usually at the edge of campus and some schools don’t allow freshmen to have cars on campus at all. Clothes tend to be understated in general. You’ll see a whole lot more sweatpants and flannel than designer wear.

I’d say the main differences between kids with and without money are 1. Mostly subtle clues as to what they have at home (vacation pictures from exotic locations, references to expensive private schools, parents with high-powered careers, etc.), 2. Work study hours (kids on FA will need to work, those not on FA will have the option not to), 3. Money available for discretionary spending (pizza, clothes, drinking, gas, etc).

As to discretionary spending, there isn’t a ton kids need to buy at these schools other than school and personal hygiene basics. Most things on campus are free or extremely cheap, as in $1 movies. Sports events are free, clubs are generally free, and because they’re not in a big city there’s less bar-hopping or clubbing.