Colgate University

Colgate is in Hamilton, NY, Hamilton College is in Clinton, NY. Let’s keep that straight. The two schools are about 20 minutes apart.

Hamilton, NY (the city that is home to Colgate) is truly a college town. The folks who live there tend to work on campus, the professors live in the town, and student meal cards are said to work ‘everywhere’ in town.

Colgate University is, in my opinion, the most beautiful campus I’ve visited so far. It’s also quite competitive. The average admitted student will have about a 1400 SAT (verbal+math) or a 32 ACT. Almost half of the freshman class will be accepted Early Decision. Their 2800 students are very diverse, coming from 48 states and 37 countries- whenever a school makes a point of this, it means it is a priority and source of pride for them, so if you are from upstate New York, you really need to be exceptional to have a shot at getting in here.

At $51,000 per year, they are expensive but the average student leaves with just $14,000 in debt. They are also what’s known as a ‘need aware’ school, which means if you don’t need financial aid, you might have an easier time getting in.
Students that do attend tend to live on campus, stick around on weekends, study abroad at some point, major in a liberal arts field, graduate on time, and become supportive alumni. About 35% will also join a frat or sorority.

Coincidentally, while taking this tour, I ran in to 08 grad Hilary Edmunds!