Background :
Daughter and family are excited to be admitted to Hamilton which was her first choice: campus visit, interview, open curriculum, LAC, northeast.
Jan admission does provide the opportunity to spend a semester in London, which she is already infatuated with, and to use her junior semester away at DC or NYC.
Only, and important, downsides to the January admittance are a less than rigorous London semester option and missing out on the first semester of freshman experience and the social alienation upon starting on Hamilton campus in Jan.
Ask from the group:
Since she’s not obliged to make a commitment to Hamilton and has until end of April to accept, she’s wondering if she can/ should apply to her second choice under ED2.
She can apply to another school through ED2, but if she’s accepted at that school, she has made a binding commitment to that school - so Hamilton is now off the table.
You aren’t asking for advice, but if you want it - if there is a reasonable chance that she would choose Hamilton January over the ED2 school, which it sounds like there might be, then it might make sense to apply RD to the second choice (and any others). Obviously the chances of being accepted may reduce, but then Hamilton remains an option.
I’d encourage your daughter to talk to Hamilton students to test that theory about social alienation - I do believe the office will help you find students to talk with. I’ve definitely heard recent stories of January admits who are excited to arrive and who had great semesters.
I think it’s important to situate that article in the context of when it was published: 2021. Many of the students interviewed for it were abroad during the global pandemic, and returned to a campus still impacted by pandemic-related policies. I will also add that the cost information listed for the Arcadia in London program is way off. The current fee as listed on the website is $18,550.00 plus an additional $5000.00 in estimated expenses. Financial aid is available through Arcadia. As someone who has built her career in international Education I can say that every student who studies abroad experiences re-entry challenges when they return to their home country/culture. Separating those challenges out from the challenges unique to being a Jan would be difficult to decipher.
My son was also admitted as a Jan this year in ED I, and he is thrilled at the prospect of starting off his college career with a study abroad experience. He looks forward to coming to the Clinton campus in August for orientation, and to connecting with other members of his cohort. We have talked to several families of Jans and the experiences were overwhlemingly positive–including when students came to campus in January. Jans are able to participate in athletics, join clubs, and pre-register for Spring classes in November. I will also add that in contrast to the stereotype listed in the article from three years ago, my son received a very large financial aid award.
Yes. Jan admits are not bound to the ED rules and have until May to commit. Their spot is guaranteed, but they are free to consider other offers if they choose.
That’s great. As noted above. I think he needs to get some info on how these London students are acclimated as a cohort to Hamilton when they arrive there.
The stated rationale for the “Jans”—that a large percentage of Hamilton juniors are in high overseas programs and there are beds available—has never made one iota of sense to me. I’m not surprised by the perceptions and assumptions mentioned in the article. At a bare minimum, Hamilton should be need-blind for the Jans; it certainly can afford it.
As for your question: she obviously loves Hamilton, but if she loves the potential ED2 school only a little bit less, I think it’s worth the “risk” of a binding ED2 acceptance to have a more typical experience and to be done with the admissions madness. Good luck.
Thank you for the perspective.
My daughter is already planning the Arcadia semester! And I’m sort of bracing to have all the information available to help support/guide her.
It’s great that you have already connected with other Jans. Since we learned the decisions last Thursday while it was finals week, we were thinking of waiting to contact admissions office till after the break. Hence the nervousness to assess if it makes sense to ED2 to the runner up school.
That said, it’s a fair concern and this is happening at multiple schools.
It’s great if she can talk to others - but since you have until May, I’d still apply to others but RD.
Kids change their minds over months - and this would give you the ultimate flexibility.
What the student is thinking today may be changed tomorrow.
I think when someone says they got a financial offer - as Hamilton has no merit scholarships, that would be due to having financial need - as they meet need.
My friends’ sophomore daughter at Hamilton was a Jan admit last year and spent her first semester in London. She returned and formed a tight cohort of other students and Jan admits. Hamilton does a lot to integrate these students and the Jan admits really bond early on as well. She quickly felt right at home second semester, joined clubs, etc. and absolutely loves Hamilton. I have several friends who have had children in this situation at other schools as well, and I haven’t yet heard of regret!
There is a great facebook group for parents of Jan admits–I can dm you the link if you like! It has been helpful to hear from parents that have been through it, and to get more anecdotal information about the experience once students are back on campus in Clinton. I worked in study abroad for many years and Arcadia has long been a program provider with an excellent reputation in the field.
My older child is now a sophomore at Smith College. She started on a “normal” Fall entrance timeline, and made friends quickly. And by the end of Spring semester, those friendship groups had all shifted and evolved. When she went back to school this Fall after doing an intensive internship in DC all summer, her social circles reset once again. It is pretty typical for students to experience changes in their social landscape from Fall of first year to the end of their time at their college–whether they enter in Fall or January. With this perspective in mind, it really doesn’t feel to my son like an undue hardship to overcome.
While this can work out differently for different folks - and partially in response to another thread where someone else is also grappling with this – it’s worth noting that:
Not every student on campus has an easy transition in September.
There are, as noted, transitions for most students returning from abroad , even to the campus they left.
Some students are quite happy to miss some of the madness associated with 500 students living away from home and exercising newfound freedoms in September. It may be easier to find groups whose fun better aligns with yours in January.
Some students may feel they’ve missed out on a critical part of the collegec experience. Others may feel like they dodged the worst part of the college experience.
Also, at many schools, the students starting in Jan end up with better housing as upper classmen have vacated rooms to go abroad. No guarantees on this, but not unheard of!
These are some brand new perspectives from Class of '27 Jans:
Students chose a variety of experiences for the term, both for and not for academic credit. This is an example from the comments, from a student who chose the Arcadia (London) program:
As something to consider, if your daughter might be interested in taking Introduction to Shakespeare in Text and Performance (LONS DTSH 280), then she should prepare by taking the AP English Literature exam, which, with a score of 4 or 5, serves as a prerequisite. I recommend this course for offering a perfect match of content with setting.
My friend’s D did a similar program at another school and it worked out really well. Since your D is excited about Hamilton and the semester in London it could work out very well.
Before making a decision I would focus on how Hamilton integrates students from this program into campus life for the spring semester – ex. will they room with friends from the program, will they be able to schedule their spring semester classes with the rest of the freshman, how do they get involved in ECs starting in the spring etc.
An article directly from the school is marketing - and I’d take it as such.
I would find one somehow - it may be through the school - and get all your questions answered - including about integration.
So it’s a long time ago - 5 years ago - but Emory was pushing Oxford.
My son asked two - one the tour guide and a kid on campus we stopped and happened to have gone there and asked about integration - and they both said not good - but the school was working on it and today you only hear good stories.
The point is - don’t listen to the schools that are putting out manicured stories. Listen to the kids that have done this - and ask about any concerns - so that ultimately you make the right choice.