Hamilton Other Major

People think that students at Hamilton (and at most small, liberal-arts schools) are rich, spoiled prepsters who like to live within their college bubble.

While many students fit the wealthy stereotype, most students are informed about the world outside Hamilton and are active in organizations on campus that strive to aid those less fortunate.

The best thing about Hamilton is the open curriculum. There are no specific classes that you are required to take, only a few petty academic requirements that are easily fulfilled. However, once you begin classes, you have only one week to register for a new class if you decide to drop one. I would like this one week "shopping period" to increase to a two week period. Hamilton's size (around 1700 students) is just right for me. I went to a public high school that was substantially smaller, so it felt like a larger community when I first stepped onto campus. When I say I go to Hamilton, many people say something like, "Oh, isn't that in Minnesota?" It is nice living in a college town (Princeton) where people are educated about the different colleges that are out there, otherwise that type of response would be all that I'd hear. People who are familiar with the school, however, know of its excellence. Clinton, in stark contrast to Princeton, is lacking in many aspects of your typical college town (variety of restaurants, a Starbucks, different banking options, movie theatre, etc.) It's main fault is its distance from campus: 30 minute walk there, a 45 minute walk uphill back to campus. Frequently, students complain about the disparity throughout the on campus housing offered at Hamilton. Housing can range from loud, dirty dorms in bad locations to regular "Taj mahal" dorms located near everything important.

I feel that I have close relationships with my professors, though only in an academic sense. If I need help with anything related to a class, I feel perfectly comfortable going to a professor. Students, especially seniors, are very motivated towards landing that "perfect job."

There definitely could be more racial and religious diversity on campus. As for socio-economic diversity, it's rather hard to tell someone's financial standing unless topics such as vacations, cars, or financial aid come up. Students certainly don't brand people differently if they know they are on financial aid. However, students come off as wealthier rather than poorer. Students wear a spectrum of clothes to class, everything from sweats to designer jeans to hoodies to flannel shirts. It's easy to determine the "hippies" from the "prepsters" in any class. Most students are left politically, though I've seen more right-wingers as the 2008 Presidential Race has wore on.

You shouldn't come to Hamilton if you're not at least open to the idea of drinking alcohol on the weekends. Although the college does a decent job of bringing entertainment onto campus (comedy shows, bands and singers, performance groups, etc.), the bottom line on a Saturday night tends to be the kegger going on in the Bundy dining hall social space.