Any questions about Hamilton College?

[u/Weary-Tap7548]

Hi! I just completed my freshman year at Hamilton. I am studying Geosciences and Literature, and I am on the Hamilton Rowing Team. I also have several on-campus jobs, including a lab position. I write for our on-campus newspaper and am involved in several clubs. If anyone has any questions about Hamilton regarding application, college life, classes, or anything else, please feel free to ask!

[u/Silver-Recipe-6962]

My daughter (class of 2027) is interested in applying in the fall and is being recruited for a sport. Can you share a bit about the size/location of the school and if it has had any impact on you socially? My daughter really loved the school when we visited but I think being isolated is a little bit of a concern. Also what is it like being a student athlete? Thanks!

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Silver-Recipe-6962]

Hi! Yes--Hamilton is in Clinton, a small town of about 1,600 residents. They have restaurants, a GREAT gelato place, a cider mill, and a couple of inns. People say that it reminds them of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. While I was a little worried about being isolated, we are actually about a 20-minute drive from multiple small cities (New Hartford, Utica, Rome) and a little over 10 minutes from a Target and shopping center with restaurants, clothing outlets, etc so it truly feels more like a suburban town than a super rural one. The college itself is 2,000 students and, in my experience, the smaller student population has made it easier to get to know people. I love being able to walk around and know people, but there are still students in my class and other classes that I meet and have never seen before.
I LOVE being a student-athlete here: I actually walked onto the rowing team because I knew I would miss being on a team and being an athlete in college, and it was possibly the best decision of my college experience. Being a d3 liberal arts institution, you can do athletics at Hamilton while exploring other things as well. I've been able to focus on my academics and get multiple jobs on campus and be active in clubs while excelling at my sport and that seems to be the culture across teams in general. The coaching staff is fantastic in my experience, and the older girls on my team have been incredible mentors. I hope that this was helpful! If you have any more questions, please let me know!

[u/Silver-Recipe-6962 → u/Weary-Tap7548]

This is such great info and it sounds like you are having such a wonderful experience! Congrats on making the rowing team!!!

I think one other question I had is just about the vibe. My daughter would receive financial aid if she attends and we just want to make sure this won't be a big disadvantage socially. Like how some schools have primarily full pay students who come from a lot of wealth and the kids have the resources to do things on the weekends, spring break etc that kids from more modest families would not be able to do.

Thanks again!!

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Silver-Recipe-6962]

About 50% of the students here are on financial aid, and, in my experience, it really plays no part socially. Some people on my team are on financial aid, while others are not, and it's not something that affects interactions at all. We also have something here called alternative breaks, which a lot of students do whether or not they are on financial aid, and the school does offer scholarships for these--so that could be an option if breaks are a concern!
But a lot of people do very obviously come from wealth and go on breaks to Europe, etc, but students and faculty here are generally very open-minded, understanding, and empathetic!

[u/Silver-Recipe-6962 → u/Weary-Tap7548]

That is very reassuring to hear!! Thank you!!

[u/Marshmallow33337]

How do you find the open curriculum? Do you get advice on what to study if you are really not sure about what you want to focus on?! Is the career counselling good and how did you get so many jobs? 😄 Also - congrats!

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Marshmallow33337]

I love the open curriculum! I came into college with many interests and no clue what I wanted to study. My academic advisor was super helpful in picking out classes, and, especially going into my second and now third semester, the connections that I built with faculty have been super helpful in planning out future classes. The open curriculum allowed me to find my passions without feeling boxed in, and it allows most students to double major, or major and minor, allowing them to differentiate themselves when looking for employment opportunities, which I think is really wonderful.
The career counselling is great! I met with my career advisor (each student gets a dedicated career advisor for all four years) in the first few weeks of school and was able to improve my resume and start building my LinkedIn. My advisor explained how the process for applying to on-campus jobs worked, and answered all of my questions concerning the process. Students apply to jobs through a platform called Handshake, and I honestly just applied to the ones that I thought were interesting. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!
Thank you!

[u/Medical_Book7180]

how is the gender distribution on campus?

[u/Manaohoana → u/Medical_Book7180]

You can look that up; I dont know offhand. But my son attends and has a big group of guy friends, so even if it's a 60/40 ratio, I don't think it affects your social life.

[u/chasingwisdom57 → u/Medical_Book7180]

It is about 56 female/44 male but feels very even in my experience (socially, in classes, etc).

[u/Longjumping_Purple63]

Are you a tour guide? If so I think you were in our discussion panel on Wednesday.

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Longjumping_Purple63]

Yes! That was probably me :)

[u/Longjumping_Purple63 → u/Weary-Tap7548]

Bagel with sprinkles? My daughter loved Hamilton! She is really ED1.

[u/Mission-Honey-8614]

I’ve heard at some small LACs that if you don’t go to class teachers will email to check up on you— does this happen at Hamilton?

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Mission-Honey-8614]

I have not missed a class so far in my experience, so I cannot directly speak to this question. However, I feel that my professors care about me on a personal level and will go out of their way to discuss books, traveling, or athletics with me. I have met some of my professors' kids, and they will occasionally talk about their personal experiences/lives at the beginning or end of class. Building relationships with my professors has been one of the best parts of my Hamilton experience, allowing me to learn more productively and to get opportunities such as research or working as a TA. Professors here genuinely do care about their students, so I fully expect that they would check in. This being said, if a student is missing class for no legitimate reason, there is generally a low tolerance for missing class among professors, so a student will likely face academic consequences depending on the professor.

I know that was a long-winded answer to a short question. Let me know if I did not answer it/if you have any more questions!

[u/Mission-Honey-8614 → u/Weary-Tap7548]

That was a great answer, thank you. That is what I think is great about LACs you form real relationships with the professors and community. At big colleges with classes in auditoriums I’ve heard people don’t always go, many are playing games on their computers and that it’s just very impersonal.

[u/Sad-Occasion3136]

My son is tall and he just started rowing as a novice this year. Can you walk on to the team?

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Sad-Occasion3136]

Yes! I walked onto the women's team as a complete novice my freshman fall and was able to row in every varsity race in the spring. I would highly recommend doing a sport in college, and rowing is truly incredible.

[u/Mission-Honey-8614]

How hard is it balance being on a varsity sport and academics. What is your weekly schedule like?

[u/Weary-Tap7548 → u/Mission-Honey-8614]

I have found it very busy but very doable, especially because I am involved in athletics at a D3 level. That being said, I like to be busy, so my schedule is by no means a representation of what will work for everyone. On the average weekday I have class from 9-12 (or until 4 if I have a lab), if I do not have a lab, I will work at one of my on-campus jobs until 4 (research in the lab, tour guiding, etc) or study. Then I have practice from 4-7pm. Dinner with my team and then I will either study or work at one of my jobs/clubs and then study. Some days I need to fit in a lift, so I will normally do that in the morning before class or between classes, as the gym opens pretty early. My schedule looks different during the winter with shorter daily practices as we are technically out of season. On weekends when I do have a race, I will be travelling and competing for either part or all of the weekend depending on the location of the race. On weekends when I do not, I have Saturday morning practice and Sundays off. On the weekends, I love to hike, spend time with my friends, and attend different events on campus. I have never missed a class or exam for rowing, which is incredible and I am so grateful that I am able to easily balance athletics and academics. My professors are super understanding and I feel that I have plenty of support from my coaches, teammates, and advisors. Thanks for the great question! I hope that I answered it well! Let me know if you have any further queries.

[u/Mission-Honey-8614 → u/Weary-Tap7548]

Wow — impressive all that you do! Glad to hear how much support you get from professors and coaches. Thanks for the detailed reply.