Hamilton College

Yes — Hamilton is highly selective, admitting about 13.6% of applicants in the most recent cycle, roughly 1,210 offers out of nearly 8,900 applications, with about 478 first-years enrolling. The rigor of your high school record, academic GPA, and class rank are all weighed as very important factors, and among enrolled students who reported a rank, about 86% were in the top tenth of their class.

Applying Early Decision improves your odds: Hamilton admitted about 28% of its ED pool — 315 of 1,120 binding Early Decision applications — versus the 13.6% overall rate. Hamilton runs two binding rounds, ED I and ED II, so committing early is a meaningful signal if Hamilton is your clear first choice.

No. Hamilton is test-optional, so you can apply without submitting scores and standardized test scores are only 'considered' in the review. Among enrolled first-years who did submit, the middle 50% scored 1440–1510 on the SAT and 33–35 on the ACT, so a submitted score in that band helps rather than hurts.

Yes — a 1490 sits comfortably inside Hamilton's middle 50% of 1440–1510 for enrolled first-years who submitted scores, just above the median of about 1480. More than 90% of enrolled scorers were in the 1400–1600 range. Because Hamilton is test-optional, a 1490 is worth submitting, but the rigor of your transcript still carries the most weight.

Hamilton does not publish an average admitted GPA, but its class sits at the very top of the high school cohort — among enrolled first-years who reported a class rank, about 86% were in the top tenth and nearly 98% in the top quarter of their graduating class. There is no hard cutoff, but academic GPA, class rank, and the rigor of your course load are all weighed as very important factors.

Yes. Hamilton rates the application essay as an important factor in its holistic review — above standardized test scores, which are only 'considered' — alongside recommendations and personal character. With a 13.6% acceptance rate and a test-optional policy that shifts weight onto the rest of the file, a specific, well-revised essay is one of the clearest ways to stand out.

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Tuition and required fees run about $75,960 per year, with the total cost of attendance higher once housing and food (about $19,290) are added. Hamilton meets 100% of demonstrated financial need; about 58% of first-years receive need-based grant or scholarship aid, with an average need-based package near $70,010.

The social sciences are by far the most popular area at about 29% of bachelor's degrees, followed by the biological sciences (14%), mathematics and statistics (8%), and computer and information science (6%). Foreign languages and the visual and performing arts round out the most-conferred fields, reflecting the breadth of Hamilton's open curriculum, which carries no distribution requirements.