Hamilton College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Literature
Minor: Education Studies
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Gay Male
Summary
I’m a tour guide and I was a senior admissions fellow this year, which means I interview prospective students. I’m an orientation leader on the orientation trips with Hamilton. I’m also a leader of an improv group.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Gay
High School Experience: Public high school in Chatham, NJ with a graduating class of about 350 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Literature
Minor: Education Studies
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a tour guide and I was a senior admissions fellow this year, which means I interview prospective students. I’m an orientation leader on the orientation trips with Hamilton. I’m also a leader of an improv group.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
All three of those have had a big impact. Socially, improv has helped me a ton. Being an orientation leader was great too because it introduced me to a lot of new people and gave me a purpose throughout the year. The work I did with admissions was an added job that added structure to my schedule with extracurriculars and schoolwork.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s a lot of reading and I write anything from a long response to an essay for those. The major graded assignments are about two or three big essays per class.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The way they structure the major is really cool. My concentration is Identity and Difference, but other people could have concentrations in History, Genre, Theory, or Intermedia. They also encourage you to take five more classes among other concentrations in the major as well as a Creative Writing class and two language courses. I really like how they encourage you to pursue a wide breadth of different types of literature.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s more collaborative. I have a spiel for this because I work in admissions, but I think it’s a very supportive environment where you’re expected to collaborate because the class sizes are so small that you would work well with your peers and they support you in pursuing individual projects as well. But, I would also say people are intrinsically competitive and that is something that motivates people trying to do better than their own best.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. They all have office hours and are accessible outside of those. The way the Literature building is at Hamilton is you go in on the first floor where all of their offices are and you pass by open doors all the time. They give out their phone numbers, personal email, and stuff like that. They really want to be engaged with students.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
Yes, I’m very happy with my choice. I think it’s uncommon at Hamilton to come in knowing what you want to major in. Because we have an open curriculum, it’s common for people to come in undecided and then take a bunch of classes. I’ve always really loved my English classes and love to read, so it was a great fit.
Do you feel people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Yes, I would say so. I think there aren’t very many different schools of thought in the classrooms, but when there are different ones, people engage with them rather than shutting them down. [See The Spectator article, “The glaring lack of political diversity at Hamilton and U.S. colleges.”]
In what ways do you feel the academics at Hamilton have prepared you for the professional world?
I’ve become a lot better at written and oral communication because Hamilton emphasizes improving on that over the course of four years. A lot of people come in thinking they’re a good writer freshman year, but then after four years they realize that they were actually a bad writer in the beginning. In that sense, it also makes you open to constructive criticism and you learn how to take it if that was something that you were shut off to freshman year.
How was transitioning from the program in London to Hamilton College in terms of location?
It was pretty easy. The classwork at Hamilton was a lot more difficult than the classwork in London, but in London I was adjusting to cooking, cleaning, commuting, and I was taking more classes. So, when I came to Hamilton and I was taking only four classes and could just go to the dining hall to get my meals, I felt like I had more time to spend on my work as it got more difficult.
Reasons to Attend
1) The people here are fantastic. They are very supportive and they’re also going to challenge you for four years. You’re going to become a product of the people you interact with over those four years.
2) The academics are amazing and the professors are pretty stellar. They will challenge you to explore topics that you never thought you’d be interested in and they’ll support you in doing that.
3) The campus is a very beautiful place. I also like that it’s a residential campus because it makes it so much more of a community that we’ve also lived there for four years.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) People might view the fact it’s a residential campus as a reason not to go because I have friends who are seniors and wish they had more independence and the ability to not be on a meal plan.
2) If you’re someone who likes to be closer to an urban area and you’re not interested in nature activities.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: I was a January admit and I spent my first semester in London with a bunch of other Hamilton freshmen. When I came back, I lived in Dunham Hall in a quad.
Sophomore: Bundy Hall in a single for the fall and then I moved to Co-Op in the spring where we cook and clean for ourselves. I live in a double in a house of about 25 people.
Junior: Babbitt Hall in a suite. I had a single room and lived with five other people.
Senior: Babbitt Hall in a suite in the same situation as junior year but with different people.
How was transitioning from your hometown in Chatham, NJ to Clinton, NY in terms of location?
I’m from a really suburban town so going from Chatham to Clinton was pretty easy. There’s stuff to do in both towns, but what there is to do is going out to local restaurants or the movie theater. I wasn’t under-stimulated at Hamilton at all when I moved.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s very safe. I’ve never felt unsafe walking around campus or in the local community.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
During the day I do homework and my friends and I will go get bagels and hang out. At night, I’ll go to bars in downtown in Clinton and house parties at an off-campus house that is usually hosted by Greek life. I tend to go out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night but then I also sometimes go out on Tuesdays on campus because we have trivia night at the pub.
What is an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a weekend option or night out?
For the past few years, I’ve lived in a suite which means that I have a common room with a TV and stuff, so I like to stay in and watch movies with friends. Hamilton also has really good alternative programming and there are concerts on campus that are really fun to go to and other late night activities. Clubs will put on dry events with our Student Activities Office, so like a LatinX dance group will host a salsa dancing lesson.
How has identifying as LGBT influenced your nightlife experience? Are there any LGBT nightlife options that you like to go to?
There isn’t a specific LGBTQ+ nightlife scene because Hamilton’s such a small community. I think there are Queer people in most facets of the community. It’s challenging sometimes because dating culture is different for gay people in a smaller community because your pool is that much smaller if you go to a school with about 1,900 people. We have really good resources on campus, like our Queer Student Union is great and they put on formal that happens once a semester. I’ve never been to it, but I hear people have a lot of fun at it.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at Hamilton? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I guess I wish there were more parties on campus, but I’m really happy with the experiences I had.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met them through the orientation program at Hamilton. I didn’t meet them on the trip I went on as a participant, but through leading a trip I met the other leaders who became my closest friends because we train for that over the summer.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Hamilton?
I think it’s pretty individualized. There are a lot of different options for socializing. By picking different clubs to be involved in, you can fall into a different social scene that you’re aware of when you join that club just by talking with the students. Oftentimes, I’ll tell people I think joining a club is kind of like finding your tribe, and then you guys do stuff together.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
People of different sexual orientations mix a lot. In terms of race, I feel strange commenting on this because I’m taking it from the perspective of a White person on campus, but I think there is a certain element of self-segregation at Hamilton in terms of the weekend life. If I were to go to downtown to a bar, I would say I see a predominantly White crowd. The difference between that and what I’m involved in during the day is there’s a lot less segregation in terms of club meetings and going to lunch in the dining halls. There’s a lot more integration of students during the day in those activities. [The undergraduate population is 9% Hispanic, 4% Black, 64% White, and 7% Asian.]
How do you like the size of Hamilton in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 1,900 undergraduate students at Hamilton.]
I really enjoy the size of Hamilton and I think that it’s been really cool to be able to get to know everyone. My friends and I were talking about how this year we know seven years’ worth of Hamilton people because as a senior you know people three years younger than you and three years older than you. I’ve enjoyed getting to know a ton of different people who are both older and younger than me.
How would you describe the student body?
People are very friendly, internally motivated, high achieving, and supportive. I also like how I think people here are outspoken about how they are doing. Like, if you ask someone how they are doing, they’ll be honest with you about it.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I think it’s pretty siloed. I think people in different Greek life organizations mix with each other but not so much outside of that. I think it’s hard to get a foothold in a Greek organization if you’re not in Greek life. Like, two sororities and a fraternity will mix together. I’m not in Greek life but all of my friends are, so somehow I did do that though I’m not sure how [laughs]. Typically, people will start a night out with their Greek organization and then end up at a bigger party where there are people who are not in Greek life are there too.
How would you describe the LGBTQ community on campus? How strong is it?
They’re very supportive and outspoken. You can be part of the LGBTQ+ community in any way that you like. For example, I feel part of the LGBTQ+ community at Hamilton even though I don’t actively go to the Queer Student Union meetings. I feel allied with other Queer people on Hamilton’s campus, but I don’t feel like they’re my friends just because we share that identity.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Right now, I’m networking a lot and doing informational interviews, but nothing has stuck so far, but that is also because coronavirus is happening right now. A big part of what’s helped me get jobs while I’ve been at Hamilton have been internships that my friends who are older than me have gotten.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve used them in terms of helping with my resume and networking skills. There are students who work at the career center and I’ve used them more than I’ve used the professionals hired by the career center.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
Unfortunately, not.