First, congratulations on such a great accomplishment and earning a fantastic opportunity.
Second, my advice would be to not worry about people having any idea what it is. You do, and the people who matter do.
Lastly, if you really need a pithy pocket response for cocktail party chatter, just say it’s a wealthy, small, private college in the northeastern US. I personally think when people use the word “elite” in any description of themselves, it winds up being a little off-putting. But that’s me.
You could also add that it is a member of The Little Ivy League, which is maybe not entirely obnoxious. I’m trying to think of things that resonate with people who are generally uninformed about this topic, and I worry that comparisons to big name big schools would be confusing to them and perhaps sound a bit defensive. Again, that’s just me.
Try opening with, “It was named after Alexander Hamilton.” Then be prepared to answer the question, “Yeah, but besides the musical, why do you like it?”
You can describe it a Harvard of the Liberal Arts Schools - or if you want to be more within rank - as the UNC/UVA or the Emory/Rice/Vanderbilt of the LACs.
The problem with mentioning peer LACs is - it’s likely those who gave you a blank stare - will continue to give you a blank stare.
The name recognition of many of them may not be great. But Davidson might be one they know (Steph Curry) or Colgate because of it’s D1 sports and because it’s a toothpaste name and everyone in life has wondered, why would they name a college after toothpaste.
Maybe, it needs smashing. America is 3x the size it was when the Ivy League was officially formed in the early 1950s when even the percent of the population who attended college was lower. If your family had the money, you had a 50/50 chance of getting into any one of them. Why are we so intent on turning elite education into a matter of scarcity?
I meant from a rankings perspective – I’ve always had a hard time figuring out where to put the state schools. So I have always kept them in a separate ranking.
People or organizations who see themselves as “elite” may prefer if being their kind of “elite” is scarce enough that their “elite” status is seen as meaning something.
An analogous example is that the AP program started as a collaboration between “elite” high schools and “elite” colleges, but now that AP courses and testing has become common among ordinary high schools, some “elite” high schools have dropped them and look down on them, while some “elite” colleges also look down on them and limit or refuse credit or advanced placement for AP scores.
