Hamilton College

Date: Mar 02 2010
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a senior psychology major and education minor at Hamilton College. I grew up in a small city in upstate New York not too far from Clinton, N.Y. and attended a fairly average public high school. When looking at colleges I never even considered Hamilton—it was way too close to home and I was set on going somewhere much farther away. My college search consisted of a wide variety of schools, including everything from Georgetown to Emory. When it came down to it I decided that small, liberal arts was the way to go, and I began focusing my search on many of the NESCAC schools (Williams, Middlebury, etc.) My parents suggested I visit Hamilton and, although I was not thrilled about it initially, I decided to go.

Looking back, I cannot believe what a stubborn teenager I was, and I am so glad that my parents coerced me into visiting Hamilton. My visit totally changed my perspective. Of course I could ramble on and on about how beautiful the campus is, how impressive the academics are, etc. And of course all of those things influenced my decision to come to Hamilton. However, what you really should know is that on that day the thing that really stood out, took me by surprise, and changed my mind about Hamilton was the people and the incredible community they create here on the Hill. The campus felt so warm and welcoming. That day every person I met greeted me with a friendly smile. In fact, one senior student took the time to sit and talk with me about the campus while I was waiting for my tour. He spoke so passionately about Hamilton, and I thought how wonderful it would be to come to a place like this and feel the way he did about my experience.

My four years at Hamilton have been incredible, and I would not trade them for anything in the world. Even though I ended up going to school closer to home, I might as well have been worlds away. When you are on the Hill your whole world becomes wrapped up in the Hamilton life. I have learned and grown so much both as a student and as a person. And now I can speak with just as much passion, if not more, about Hamilton as the young man who influenced me years ago.