Director of College Advising, Mr. David J. Hamilton

Mr. Dave "Butch" Hamilton is the Director of College Advising at St. Mary's Ryken High School. In that role, he provides college advising services for all students and parents. Since SMR is a college-preparatory school, he is a passionate advocate of SMR students seeking higher education at four-year colleges and universities. In his career, he has visited over 155 different colleges and universities. Students that apply to schools based on Mr. Hamilton's recommendations are admitted at a 17% rate higher than the national average.

Professionally, Mr. Hamilton is an active member of the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling (PCACAC) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In regards to the former organization, he is currently on the Current Trends and Future Issues committee. He has presented sessions on the organization of information technology and letters of recommendation at their conferences.

In 2005, he attained the status of being a Certified Educational Planner. CEPs are recognized for their knowledge and strong commitment to the education advising profession. Mr. Hamilton is one of only 178 individuals in the entire country who have received this designation and the only high school-based CEP in Maryland.

Mr. Hamilton received his BA degree in History from Allegheny College (PA) and a MA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Student Affairs in Higher Education. He currently lives in Hughesville, MD with his wife and two children.

Please contact him at dhamilton@smrhs.org with any and all questions regarding the college search process.

Achievement

Class of 2009

In the Class of 2009, 88 different students (almost 60% of the class) received scholarship offers (academic and athletic) totalling over $9.2 million. It should be noted that 29 of these students (about 20% of the class) had offers totaling $100,000 or more. Students received offers of admission from 173 different colleges and universities. In addition, students received thirteen offers of admission into college and university honors programs.