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Hamilton College
- Inside Scoop

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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • AA: Adirondack Adventure; a fabulous outdoor opportunity for pre-frosh that definitely is worth taking advantage of.
  • Commons Catwalk: When Commons is full during lunch and dinner hour, students must navigate their trays down the aisles, searching for friends or an empty table. The entire dining hall appears to be watching these unlucky people, evaluating their fleece jacket and choice of friends. It has been enough to turn some into McEwen converts; upperclassmen learn to ignore it.
  • Darkside: The old Kirkland campus, rumored to have earned its name from repeated blackouts, although the huge ‘70s concrete dorms are the more likely cause.
  • G-Road: Griffin Road (applies to apartments, as well as the actual road, often used as a 4–5 mile run).
  • Hamilton Cool: The acquired behavior prevalent among students that involves not acknowledging acquaintances when passing on campus, which is difficult to tell if it is caused by the cold weather or bad manners, although it is sometimes used to describe students that don’t participate in class.
  • Lightside: The old “ivy” side of campus, with beautiful 1800s architecture and old brick buildings. Insulation in the winter can be a problem for many of the older dorms.
  • OL: Orientation Leader, helps with freshman orientation week.
  • Sketch-Ball: A person who is not to be trusted; “That boy is a huge sketch-ball. I heard he has three girlfriends and is looking for more.”
  • Sketchy: Not to be trusted; shady. “Locals are sketchy.”
  • Wicked: A term used to denote something being extreme. “This class is wicked cool.” or “It’s wicked cold.”
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Don’t wear open-toe shoes to Bundy parties—ouch.
  • Fraternities and sororities are bigger than what you think.
  • How conservative the campus is.
  • How the fraternity system worked.
  • Just how cold it gets here. The wind is absolutely biting and never stops! Lake-effect snow is shocking—so much can fall in an hour or so—it’s ridiculous!
  • Known more about New York City, designer clothes, and upper-class lifestyles. It’s scary to hear kids talking about their summer homes and designer brands when you’ve never experienced that before.
  • Majors are limited.
  • There is a lot more work than I expected.
  • Tour guides grossly exaggerate and even flat out lie in their commentary around campus.
Tips to Succeed
  • Don’t be afraid to work and keep a positive attitude.
  • Don’t get caught studying abroad in a nation where an international epidemic forces your semester to encounter an emergency ending and forces you to lose two valuable credits due to the cancellation of the summer semester.
  • If you have a car, bring it! You’ll want one, especially if you live close enough to go home every once in a while. You’ll need a break because semesters get pretty intense.
  • If you're a guy, join a fraternity. Your life will be easier.
  • Invest some serious money in buying clothes at J.Crew.
  • Keep your drinking contained to the weekends—well, and Thursday, of course. Study during the week.
  • Meet as many people as possible, Hamilton is a lonely place without good friends.
  • Study, but relax.
  • Take classes because the professor has a good reputation, not because they sound interesting.
  • The professors have heard every excuse in the book. If you don’t do the work, you will fail.
  • The teachers all know you, so go to class!
  • You just have to get the idea that college is supposed to be the best time of your life out of your head. Try some studying.
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Hamilton Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Hamilton College

greentree

'01

Spanish Language and Literature

5.0
A+

Perspective from an Alum

Favorites: adirondack adventure, outing club, little pub, writing program, career center, the glen. If you have a lot of extra-curricular interests (like I did), the possibilities are endless at Hamilton, on top of a great education. Folks complain on this site and elsewhere about the weather in central NY and a lack of fun things to do off campus. But there are so many opportunities to get involved in things on campus and via the school, it's all what you make of it. Also, Hamilton is in the foothills of the Adirondacks, one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Adventures abound.

Nov 20, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Hamilton College

Apathetiq

'12

History

5.0
A+

The DL

Of course I will give my inside scoop an A+... If you don't know people who do drugs you are basically a loser. There is a ton of work, people get super messed up on the weekends and there is no place to go. The school is trying to crack down on everything so it gets a little hairy on the weekends. There are not enough courses that interest me. They also cycle through professors, but those who stay are usually pretty good. live on the dark side, and yes there is a division (physical, and social) on this campus.

Jan 27, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Hamilton College

hamilton2013

'13

Environmental Studies

4.6
A

Ham-Tech Is Rad!

there is zero core cirriculum - so you can explore all kinds of different subject areas before choosing your major. Everyone here is super friendly and outgoing, and all of the professors are super helpful. Nightlife is fun and everyone is out to have a good time, and the cops rarely crash parties. Definitely a great place to be!

Aug 06, 2010

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Page 1 of 3

Facts

Traditions The Citrus Bowl: The first hockey game of the season is affectionately called the Citrus Bowl. During the week before the game, students gather oranges, grapefruit, and other fruits to bring to the game. Campus Safety always stands at the doors to prevent students from sneaking in the fruit, but many students find creative ways to slip by. When a Hamilton player first scores, the crowd pelts the opposing goalie with fruit in the name of celebration and tradition.
Urban Legends
  • College Hill Road is said to be heated beneath the pavement, so that come winter, someone can flip a switch to melt the ice and make the road safe for automobiles. The stairs to the Science Building are actually heated beneath the tile.
  • It is said that the Admissions Building and Alumni House are haunted by the ghosts of the families that once lived there. Lights turn on and doors open that were left shut.
  • It's said that if you walk across the bronze map you won’t graduate.
  • The names Lightside and Darkside for the old Hamilton and Kirkland campuses are said to have come from frequent power outages on the Kirkland campus, while the old Hamilton campus remained well-lit.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Hamilton

Name: Sophie Vershbow

Hometown: New York City

Major: Government

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