Hamilton College is a small liberal arts school in New York. Nestled in the Adirondack Mountains, it has a stunningly beautiful rural campus. However, it is most known for its rigorous academics. While they have a high academic bar, they notably have very few requirements and an open curriculum model. Their school motto is “know thyself,” and they trust you to follow your academic passions and be interesting and introspective the moment you step on campus. Hamilton is home to around 2k students and notably all of them live on campus. Also they are test-optional.
Hamilton is consistently one of the hardest liberal arts schools to get into and last year their acceptance rate was around 11%. For their supplement they only ask one question, but it’s not the easiest one to tackle so we wanted to share our tips and tricks on how to approach it.
At Hamilton, we each bring different backgrounds and perspectives, and we teach one another about the world through our individual and shared experiences. In the spirit of Hamilton’s motto, Know Thyself, please reflect on your unique perspective and how Hamilton might shape it, as well as how your perspective will shape Hamilton. (350 words)
Hamilton really wants to see that you are introspective. This is your chance to prove that you are. The trick here is to get specific, if you try to cover every single thing about you, this will feel messy and unfocused.
The bulk of this essay should be a story that brings us into your world and features an important part of your perspective. Then you need to connect that story to who you will be at Hamilton and how that perspective will be beneficial to the school.
If that sounds broad, well, it is. There are a lot of stories that will work for this question. Some students thrive with these open ended questions and get creative (we love BTW), but if you are bashing your head against the wall trying to come up with something, here are some approaches which we love that might help you brainstorm:
A time when you learned a valuable lesson and how it changed you.
A story which features a community you care about and how they have influenced you.
A cultural practice that shaped your worldview and why.
Something you do purely for yourself and when and why you started to do it.
The most important thing here is that you are the main character. Sometimes students see questions like this and they want to write about how their [Insert family member here] shaped them. Don’t do that. Your grandfather can be a character in your story, but in the end, you need to be at the center of this story.
Once you have told your story, you need to connect it to Hamilton and the college student you will be there. Try to get specific. If your story is about how important connecting with nature is to you and your sister, what would that look like at Hamilton? Are there clubs that you would join or classes you would take? Maybe you would take advantage of the open curriculum to take classes on the environment even though you want to study history. Maybe you want to connect with classmates by leading hikes on the weekend. Or maybe you love the outdoors because you feel a connection to those you camp with; how will you manifest that same connection on campus?
Remember, this whole essay is about introspection. The best essays will feel natural and personal. You want to exude confidence in the person that you are, and we should feel like we know you better after reading it.
Hamilton’s supplement isn’t long, but to do it right, you need to dig deep. This will be easier for some than others. Make sure you take time to brainstorm. Really thinking about yourself, ruminating on your ideas, and taking the time to get introspective before you start writing will benefit you here. If that sounds difficult, we can help!
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