Hamilton College Class of '22 ED1 Jan Admit

Hello,
I’m new here and still trying to navigate the forum.

My son applied ED1 to Hamilton class of '22 and was admitted as a January, 2019 admit. He’s not too happy about starting in January although Hamilton has a nice program affiliated with Arcadia University in London for the Fall semester. He has been released from the binding ED commitment, as Hamilton realizes that a Jan start is not for everyone. He’s applying to three other colleges. IMO, Hamilton is a perfect fit for him. I feel he realizes that but is having difficulty getting over the Jan start date. Is there anyone else out there in the same boat?

@123France, congratulations - our DD’s are both Freshman at Hamilton - they both love it. We also thought it was the perfect fit for both, and after each sifted through 7 RD admissions to several similar schools they both came to the same conclusion.

I was with my DD’s teammates on campus over winter break (they had a shorter break due to team practices) and there was a lot of positive buzz about the Jan’s arriving. They had all gone on the Freshman Orientation trips last August, so friendships had already been forged.

Hi, @Chembiodad, I’ve been following your “Hamilton” posts! Always very informative. Yes, I’ve heard that Hamilton makes a concerted effort to fully include the Jans both in the Fall for orientation and also when they arrive on campus in January. In fact, their website has a link exclusively for Jans. They even list current students who were Jan admits and encourage prospective Jans to reach out to these students. My son is in the midst of midterms right now but said that he plans on reaching out to a former Jan next week. I’m really hoping he goes to Hamilton. I can really see him there. Best wishes to your DD’s!

@123France, Thanks and glad I could help out - its part of being a Hamilton “Hamily” parent. As a parent of a student-athlete, we’ve met a lot of students - all of the students have been smart, engaging and caring, and the parents have been incredibly generous with both their time and their shared commitment to our DD’s needs.

Remember, Jan’s are 10% of the students, so a notable arrival. Our DD’s knew who their class Jan’s were, which dorms they were moving into, and so given the DNA of a Hamilton student you can be confident that your son will be more than warmly welcomed!

Meant “10% of the Freshman students…”

@Chembiodad, that’s good to hear! I will definitely pass that information on to my son. He feels like he “half” got in. I’m in love with the core writing courses at Hamilton. He really likes the open curriculum. The whole college process can be so stressful. I’m glad I went to college in the 80’s. I think the process was much easier back then!

@Chembiodad Do you know when the Jan admits graduate? Do they graduate a semester later? I think that is the case at Midd, wondering about Hamilton

@wisteria100, According to DD’s, those that attend the London program graduate on time - from what they said it sounded like the majority of Jan’s took that option.

@123France, I think after he speaks to a current Jan he’ll realize its all good as its not how you get admitted to Hamilton, but that have you a seat at the table.

As I understand it, Hamilton’s Jan admit policy is implemented at least partly according to the admission committee’s assessment as to whether a student might be a particularly good candidate for a less conventional entrance into college life. In this sense, your son has been accepted under what might be considered to have been an exceptionally holistic review. Your son, then, should feel as if he has “fully” gotten into Hamilton.

@merc81 I totally agree with you! A Jan admit is not how he pictured it, so he’s still trying to wrap his head around it. Heck, I’d jump at the chance to study in London for a semester.

@Chembiodad, it’s my understanding that the students who study in London for the Fall semester take four classes. As long as they receive a B- or better, the credits will transfer to Hamilton. That is important if a student wants to graduate in May as opposed to the following December. Yes, most of the Jan admits study in London the first semester.
On another note, his college counselor told him that Hamilton received a record number of ED1 applications this year and the stats were extremely strong. The average ACT was 32-34. His ACT was a 30. He’s not a standardized test taker.

@123France, your son’s stats speak to the holistic approach that @merc81 mentioned. Given that the acceptance rate with a 30 ACT is very, very low, it’s sounds like a great outcome!

The 32-34 avg ACT was from all Class of 2021 accepted students (https://www.hamilton.edu/about/just-the-facts) including ED and RD, so it could go even higher this year with a record #of ED1 applicants. Hamilton has historically had a very tight standardized score band and a high avg. score (avg. is in the top-30 of all universities and LAC’s) as self selection is very prevalent there.

Not surprised about the record # of ED1 applicants as Hamilton has always been a top-ranked school that is becoming ever more popular across the country and the world. The new President (only the 20th in the school’s 200+ history) is incredible and he continues to bring the best on board to support the students - alums are very, very pleased.

@Chembiodad, He took the ACT three times and received the exact same score. He has a very solid GPA, Honors and AP courses, great EC’s, rec’s, two season sports player, etc. He attends a competitive private school. He just couldn’t get that ACT score up to a 32.

Good to hear that the new President is incredible. I understand that the College has something called Common Ground, where they invite speakers from opposite sides of the political spectrum to campus for a moderated discussion. If I’m not mistaken, this Spring the College will host Condoleezza Rice and Susan Rice. I’d love to be in the audience for that!

I sit on the Board of my college, so I know how important it is to keep the alums engaged and happy.

@123France, Is he going to be a Varsity student-athlete at Hamilton? One of our DD’s is and she loves the team and the facilities.

This will be the 2nd Common Ground for this school year - they had Axelrod and Rove in the Fall.

The alums have been incredibly generous with their time and gifts as the endowment crested over $1B and $500,000/student this Fall - once again a top-40/student total across all universities and LAC’s.

@merc81 Would you assume that Jan admits are not athletes, questbridge, URMs? More likely to be non-hooked type of kids?

@wisteria100, per my student-athlete DD, spring sport Jan’s are definitely included. I know Midd does the same.

@wisteria100 : I’d like to think that academic indications would be an important consideration. A student who has expressed a strong primary interest in, say, humanities or fine arts would be able to seamlessly transition to Hamilton in January after a fall semester in London. A student who has indicated his/her intended major as physics, however, could encounter difficulty in establishing the proper introductory sequencing necessary for a timely preparation for subsequent semesters at Hamilton.

@wisteria100, for STEM majors doubling up on lab courses may be needed for a semester to catch up, but otherwise it should be fine - best to check with individual department liaisons.

My example of physics with respect to January admits was intentionally specific. Hamilton’s Physics 190 is designed for first-year physics students and is not available in the spring. For an intended physics major to articulate smoothly into Hamilton’s program they would need to find an introductory physics course of comparable content and rigour during their fall semester elsewhere – which might be possible, I don’t know. Some other STEM majors, such as biology, geosciences, math and computer science would be simpler to coordinate as a Jan admit. As always, check with appropriate academic advisors for expert guidance.

Wow, I had no idea that Hamilton just “Jans” you without you requesting it or indicating on your application you are open to it. Yes, they mention it on their website but I can tell you my D would never have applied ED2 if she thought that was an option; somehow she missed that information. She applied ED1 to Midd with a Feb option and really really regretted it. She spent a LOT of time thinking about the pros and cons and decided that she wants a very traditional freshman experience. She will certainly not matriculate to Hamilton as a Jan; she will wait for RD and see what comes up. Ethically I think that ED students should be except from being told they must Jan or walk away from the acceptance. Releasing a student from your ED commitment is easy for Hamilton, but terrible for the student. Kids are using up their ED chip and they can’t use it again. They might have very strong feelings about not wanting to study first semester in a foreign country (D did not even apply to schools across the country, and only to midwest ones under duress). Its one thing to offer Jan up as a choice to those who have ED’d and quite another to force it on you.

I have to say this paints Hamilton and its “Hamily” in a very different light to me.

@123France please understand that my comments are based on how I know my D will react if this happens to her, and are not a commentary on whether this is a good choice or not for anyone else.

@wisteria100 my guess is you are correct that while it happens to 10% of the incoming class I doubt that URM, questbridge etc are included. Nor would fall athletes. So for kids outside those groups the chance is significantly higher than 10%.