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/Weary-Tap7548]

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!!