Hamilton is a small liberal arts school in Clinton, New York with about 1,850 undergraduate students on campus. Students at Hamilton love the culture on campus and the tight-knit community, and if you love freezing winters, you just might love it too. The acceptance rate is around 16%.
We’re back with another plot twist because all signs are pointing towards Hamilton not having a supplement this year. This is interesting because while there are many schools without supplements, 16% is a very low acceptance rate. How do you make yourself stand out? You write them an email.
The first thing you’ll want to do is head over to Hamilton’s website. It is absolutely lovely! You should spend a good amount of time familiarizing yourself with the school: the concentrations, student life, the professors, etc. Hamilton is very proud of the culture of their school, and you want to make sure that A) you’ll like it there and B) you’re a good fit for them. The broad research that you do should not make its way into your email, but it should inform your writing.
The goal of your email is to tell a story about yourself that seamlessly weaves details about Hamilton throughout the narrative. There are a couple of points that you should hit, listed below:
A story about yourself that explains what you want to study at Hamilton
Your intended major
A class or two that you’re hoping to take
A professor who you’d love to work with
A student group that sparks joy and will allow you to continue work that you’re doing now
So how do you find all of this? First, look within. Why do you want to study Biology? Have you been cataloging species in your backyard since you were little and taken a few online courses? Or maybe it’s Theater, since you’ve been the star of every production your school has put on since sixth grade. You get the point: tell them a story that makes them understand your academic interests.
When you apply to Hamilton, you need to explain why their program stands out. Most majors are not unique to colleges, meaning that you can study Biology and Theater pretty much anywhere. Identify what makes Hamilton’s program so special to you by writing about two classes that you want to take and one professor with who you’d like to research with. If you’re leaning towards Biology, you might have hit a snag in your backyard catalog project – but Hamilton has a specific course that will finally help you identify some specific algae. Or for Theater, you could write about the time you tried your hand at stage direction and realized you really needed some formal instruction on how to get things just right. The professor that you choose should also help inch you closer to your academic goals, but remember that you also want to highlight how you will help them.
You’re not going to be spending all of your time in a class (thank heavens!) so you should also peruse their student organizations and find something that makes sense for you to join. If you’re in the acapella group now, you might write that you plan to continue this at Hamilton. Just make sure that whatever you pick isn’t random, as that would suggest that you’re not focused. (Once you get in, diversify away!)
When you’re writing, think about it like this: why is Hamilton the best place for me further my interests? We like to think of it this way because your goal is to show that you’re already a dedicated student who has plans, not something who is desperate to make something stick. Think about where your academic interests and hobbies lie and show them that Hamilton is the only logical next step for you.
Once you’re done writing, print it out and cut it in half. Yes, half. We’re willing to bet that your first draft is somewhere around 600 words, and you should aim for 300-350. Remember, this isn’t an essay it’s an email. We suggest sending it through to Hamilton’s admissions office and giving them a call to ask if there’s anywhere else you can send it.
Not sure where to start? Contact us here.