@knwthyslf, great story about how a Gap Year can matter - I think too many don’t understand the need to show some real lessons learned from that time period, when taken. Absolutely agree about fit at Hamilton - they spend a ton of time putting the puzzle together.
Our DD’s have international student friends from China, Hong Kong (an expat via Chicago) and Uzbekistan that I have met - am sure there are more as international students are another part of the puzzle.
And most importantly, DD’s look forward to seeing you on the Hill in August!
Yes, you still have time, although Lin-Manuel Miranda isn’t the lead anymore - not that anyone could have afforded the tickets when he was.
BTW - I saw your congratulatory tweet. I am confident that everyone in the Hamilton community - The Hamily is so proud of you, and that you’ll love your time on the Hill and beyond - as you may know, the alumni are as passionate as the faculty which is why they have a $1 Billion endowment!
@Chembiodad I was wondering if, based on the experience of your two daughters, you could give me some advice. Of course I’m very early in the whole setting-up-my-hamilton-accounts-and-such as Hamilton has their own schedule, but how many courses did your daughters take this past semester and how burdened were they? If their friends took more/less, how different were their schedules? When could they register for courses? Thanks in advance.
Sure, DD’s said everyone takes 4 courses, unless it’s PE or certain arts classes and then you take five. They said you can petition for five courses, but almost no one does it as everyone is involved in sports (30+% are student-athletes) and/or multiple clubs, theatre/music and service organizations. Also, science majors have a class and a lab for most courses so they have an additional commitment.
It’s seems like there are more courses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday versus Tuesday and Thursday, but labs could be on those days. I think those days are also used for student internships and research after freshman year.
You’ll have to be patient until July to begin to register for classes.
DD’s said the coolest part of Orientation was going on an Adirondack Adventure trip for the first 4 days - one went canoeing and the other kayaking. They go in small groups of eight with half from your dorm, so you come back with a built-in friend group right way. The Adirondack Adventure trips are also an introduction to the Outing Club, the largest club on campus that does lots of hiking, camping, canoeing/kayaking, climbing, skiing/snowshoeing trips in the Adirondack mountains - it’s beautiful, it’s the largest wilderness park in the US, and only an hour away for the closest mountains.
As far as burdened goes, DD’s felt like the amount of work was what they expected from a highly selective school full of smart students - lots of nights spent in the library or other study spots :-B
But, they definitely had time to bond with new friends - likely friendships that they will have for many years to come
@hikermom So, I was feeling a little bad for your son and the post-deferment comments on here. My daughter was in a similar situation four years ago (current Ham senior). She fell in love with the school during her interview visit and switched to ED, but she was deferred. I read the same things on here: deferral now is likely to mean denial later, deferral means borderline candidate, deferal means [enter doom and gloom here]… Pfft! Deferal during the ED round simply means they need more information and want to see kid in the context of the whole class. The kid is not a hooked, slam dunk. Ok, keep positive and have your son stay in touch with his admissions rep. He needs to give that rep a reason to fight for him! Good fall grades or other bits of news are opportunities for genuine conversations via email. It’s time for your son to become more than a set of numbers. Trust me, Hamilton is looking for reasons to admit real people who will add to their community. Your son may or may not have borderline numbers, but being an exceptional person can be the trump card. In my girl’s case, the deferral gave the AdCom the extra time they needed to get to know her. She even ended up being one of the kids profiled on Accepted Students Day. So, HANG IN THERE! Keep up the conversation and good luck!
hey @crescendocries
I had my interview in November. I’m an international student, so to meet the interviewer I had to travel and we almost missed each other in Hilton Budapest
Some advice:
Be yourself. This might be what they value most in Hamilton. No need to highlight national competitions or other recognition you received, although most interviewers don’t see what is in your application materials (at least mine didn’t). Instead of talking about international poetry contests that I did, I had a short chat when we talked about my strange interest in keys and locks. At the end, the interviewer said she could see me on campus, fitting in with my own quirks.
Talk about community. Another highly influential factor in Hamilton admission is how you live in communities. In my acceptance letter, they highlighted my love for the community, which I found weird, considering that I can be quite introverted at times. I then realized it was because I touched on my family and talked about how I teach kids science in a lab program and how I now miss not seeing them.
I, for one, had no idea I would be able to ask questions. I unleashed an awkward set of Qs on my interviewer, like “What’s the food like?” even though she graduated in the 90s. :DDD And yes, I also asked about how cold it was. I think you could prepare with some genuine questions that show how much you care and also a side of you they might not see in your CommonApp.
A note: I feel like when I truly showed them my real self – with my flaws and quirky interests, awkward situations – they grasped what I was all about and that’s how they were finally able to fit my puzzle piece into the whole Ham22 picture. (I applied twice, took a gap year.)
And for me, being myself also included showing up to the interview in a sweater, because that’s what I feel comfortable in!
Hi, @knwthyslf
Thank you so much for these tips! I am also an international student, and I applied ED II. I have my skype interview in a few days. A little nervous but excited as well. What kind of questions did your interviewer ask you? Like the usual interview questions?
Thank you so much for replying! Congrats on your acceptance!
@crescendocries Yeah, kinda usual questions. The hardest was probably “Tell me a little bit about yourself” so I just listed some random details about myself and apparently appeared quite confident
But yeah the questions included “Why Hamilton” and "What would you contribute to the community…
My DS had an alumni interview this morning. From what he said, it was much less esoteric then others he’s had with members of admissions committees. It was more like an informal chat where they got to know each other. I would definitely be ready to ask your own questions and have a back and forth.
My daughter applied ed2, & we are anxiously waiting for Friday’s decision. Not everybody who has been accepted into Hamilton over the last few years is an athlete, has a 4.0 & scored a 35 on their ACT exam. The school has diversity.
