Hamilton College Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school?

Maggie

The stereotype of Hamilton students tends to be that everyone is white, preppy, rich, and jocks. While there certainly are students who fit into this category, it's not overwhelming. Our campus offers a lot more diversity--we place a great emphasis on the Fine Arts (theater, music, studio art), so many students are involved with those activities as well. We have an awesome Outdoors Club that brings students on trips all the time to camp or ski or, you name it! What's particularly great about Hamilton students is just how involved students are across the board. We may have people who fit perfectly into the "stereotype" but are also involved with community service, or a capella groups, not just sports and greek life.

Alexander

Straight out of a JCREW catalogue or a crunchy-granola eating hipster

Anna

-everyone is an upperclass rich preppy student who attended boarding school -suck at most sports

Benjamin

One common stereotype is that those who live on the older part of Hamilton's campus are preppy, and those who live on the Kirkland side of campus are hippies.

Elizabeth

1) Preppy 2) Conservative

Blake

Some students worry that Hamilton is primarily composed of yachtsmen from Greenwich, which is understandable given the College's illustrious history educating the northeastern elite for almost two hundred years.

Leighton

I guess people might think Hamilton is very preppy and the school is located in the middle of nowhere.

Alex

One stereotype is that Hamilton is full of rich kids from prep schools.

Francesca

Hamilton students often fall into one of two categories - artsy or preppy. The campus is divided by the main road and the student body seems to divide pretty evenly. The prepsters wear their jcrew/polo/tommy outfits in a myriad of pastels on the lightside while the darksiders stick to hemp and organic clothing in a variety of subdued colors. Students work hard and party even harder with a palate for keystone light.

Jesse

Everyone drinks all the time.

Kaitlin

Snobby, rich, stuck up, preppy

Alex

some say that there are a lot of preps from fancy private high schools and boarding schools. others say that most Hamilton students like to drink.

Zachary

The campus is divided between the dark-side hippies and hipsters and the light-side prepsters.

Ashlyn

Many people think that Hamilton is only "preppy" or "waspy" kids from New England boarding schools.

Blake

There are two sides of campus: Light Side and Dark Side. Light Siders tend to be preppier-- pastels, popped collars, very wealthy. Dark Siders are more artsy and funky. But just because you're a light sider doesn't mean that you're not friends with people different than you. There is also a stereotype that everyone is very wealthy. This is for the most part true, but there are a lot of people on financial aid. However, kids who aren't financially secure might have a hard time relating to students who blow $300 a weekend on alcohol. Another stereotype: that we're heavy drinkers. I'll be honest, it's true. The sub-free kids tend to stick together and are a little bit odd. But just because most people drink heavily or do drugs doesn't mean that there's a lot of peer pressure. Everyone makes their own decisions.

Mallory

Some of the stereotypes are: They are all rich, they are all from Westchester, they are all very smart, and they are all alcoholics.

Cindy

There are hardly any stereotypes here at Hamilton College.

Sarah

They are overly preppy, athletic, and studious.

Sasha

Hamilton students have the reputation of being intellectually aware and dedicated, while still knowing how to have fun. This student body is often stereotyped as being all-White, upper-class, and from either Westchester, NY or the greater Boston area.

Bessie

1. That Hamilton is a safety school. 2. That Hamilton is full of preppy white kids. 3. That Hamilton students are alcoholics.

annie

Preppy rich white, J crew/Uggs ppl who love Keystone beer

Katherine

There's "the Dark Side" and "the Light Side" that's pretty clear, thanks to dated architecture of Kirkland college. But I've heard that non-Hamilton kids think of it as a "pot side" and a "coke side," so there you go. Frankly, I think that Hamilton is such an unheard of school--even though it's a good one--that no one really has misconceptions or stereotypes about it.

Ryan

White Preppy School

Alex

That people here are white, rich, study way too much, drink too much, are extraordinarily bored with campus life, lead very healthy lives (eating healthy and exercise), care a lot about body image, spend too much, are partial hypocrites when it comes to the environment, think that because they pay 46+k for college, they can use as much stuff as they want; have gone to very good schools (no matter what type: public, private, etc.), that a lot of people have gone to boarding or private schools, that if you don't drink, you are not fun, grammar freaks.

Lily

A lot of people critique the school for its lack of diversity; many of the students come from Westchester County, NY or Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and the New England area. People also say that many wealthy, affluent kids come here, such as Glenn Close's daughter, etc.

Amina

hamilton is said to be a preppy school for rich white kids.

Zach

Hamilton students are considered very competitive by everyone who I've talked to back home. They all also think that we're all English majors, since Hamilton is known as an institution that focuses on writing.

Terry

Rich White Prep school kids. Hipsters.

Charlie

There are many stereotypes revolving around the two sides of campus. North campus, commonly called "the light side" has aquired the stereotype of preppy greek life. South campus, or "the dark side," is stereotypically full of granola crunching hippies. For the school itself the North cmapus stereotype has become more and more salient, making the school appear to be full of J. Crew clad alcoholics.

Alexandra

Hamilton is very very preppy. People think that students at Hamilton drink all the time because of the weather. Kids are all rich white kids living off of daddy's money.

Cassie

Hamilton is stereotypically a small, prestigious liberal arts school with a large population of white, middle-upper class, preppy students from the North East who spend a lot of time drinking alcohol.

Tiffany

Everyone is rich and racist

Ali

Stuents like to drink excessively

Meg

We drink...a lot rich kids snobby preppy attractive

Katya

Like most other small private liberal arts schools, we have the preppy stereotype. I've also heard the stereotype that we have an uncommonly large homosexual population.

Ashley

The "Hamilton cool," binge drinking, dark sider hippies...

Robin

Rich, white, preppy, not diverse

Jennifer

very preppy, slackers, all want to be lawyers, rich & spoiled, very white

Mary

there is nothing to do at Hamilton because it is in the middle of nowhere, everyone at Hamilton is pretty rich,

Marie

Rich Drunk Wine and Cheese Really Smart and Studious

Mandy

Rich White Preppy New Englanders

Sarah

Everyone is rich and preppy. Everyone drinks.

Catie

rich, white, big drinkers

Brett

Work Hard, Party Hard Rich, white, pretty, preppy kids

Hunter

Rich, north-eastern, and preppy

Chantal

White, rich kids. A lot of money. Party a lot.

Michael

That the school is relatively all white and has many racist tensions. That the school itself as well as its student constituents are extremely wealthy. The varsity athletics are miserable.

Tate

People think everyone here is preppy and rich. They also think everyone is short.

Megan

Snobby upper class white kids from generallly private and new england prep schools. ellitist - jcrew catalogue kids

Madison

As a tour guide I have heard a lot and they include ~To liberal, ward churchill, hippie school ~To conservative, to rich, to preppy ~No diversity ~Drinks a lot ~Hard ~Exclusive greek life scene