Top Liberal Arts College Decision !

4junior
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 20:42:32 +0000

@dreamcather3 We were at the open house at Hamilton this week and they reported that their stats for the class of '22 are quite similar in terms of median SAT, top of class %, median 33 ACT etc. Hamilton gets half the applicants Colby does for the same class size, and their acceptance percentage this year is 21%. That may be because Hamilton has a specific essay, and Hamilton makes it clear that to be a competitive applicant you should interview (preferably in person) if at all possible, and they charge a fee for the application. You can see the Colby RD thread many accepted applicants had never heard of Colby before applying. At the end of the day, both schools end up extending offers to a very similar set of students. The Common Data set is what tells the public which of those students decide to matriculate, and Colby has not released that info in a while. It’s my guess that they would make those numbers known if it is beneficial to them, but until they do we have no way of knowing.

@lindagraf I am surprised that you find Hamilton so conservative, that has not been our experience. The LGBT presence at the Open house was quite visible - 2 out of 5 student panelists on the dais were openly gay (including the student body president), a gay dean leading a session, LGB and non-binary students were prominent in the reception areas. The Varsity Streaking team ran naked in the rain right past the entire stream of visitors, lending a feeling of irrepressible student non-conformity and an administration that supports their expression.

I had not heard of Hamilton 18 months ago, and perhaps its vibe has shifted. During the open house tour of the amazing new art and theater building, they said that supplementary arts applications had increased from 200 to over 600 in the past 4 years - maybe more creatives are choosing Hamilton than in the past. There certainly is a large and visible Boarding/Private school cohort that can lend (for lack of a better phrase) an old money vibe to Hamiton - but that does not correlate to a more conservative ideology. D goes to one of the most progressive, liberal schools in NYC (quite possibly one of the most liberal in the US) and 5+ out of a class of 120 will be heading to Hamilton this fall. I doubt that they would make the choice if the school is as conservative as you paint it. We found that unlike the liberal majority at Oberlin there was an ability to, as Hamilton puts it, “be who you are, study what you love” regardless of where you fit on the liberal/conservative spectrum.

OP, these are all really great choices and I am sure it will be difficult to pick. On the other hand, you really can’t go wrong!