We can answer here - maybe it will be useful to other Jan families too! This is all just one person’s experience …
I suggest doing the Hamilton orientation in August. Definitely makes arrival in January easier and also the London kids set up a facebook group and all met at orientation to hang out first.
The Arcadia estimates for what it would cost to live in London were pretty accurate. We were surprised my son spent even less than they estimated. The drinking age is 18 there, and the students went out with their profs one night a week to a pub. He and his floor mates shared cooking meals a few nights a week, which also saved a bunch.
The classes at Arcadia were fun and interesting, and not very rigorous. All the units transferred so he will graduate within 4 years.
The rooms are very tiny so don’t bring a lot. Obviously you can buy anything you want in London. A wool coat was pretty much everything he needed to keep warm, and also a waterproof backpack for the commute.
I recommend signing up for some of the excursions, especially the early ones. My kid ended up also going on a weekend trip to another country with other students he met at the program.
The kids mostly commute together by tube and it worked fine, even though it seems like a bit of a haul.
Cell phone - you can get a Sim card and very cheap plan there if you have an unlocked phone. Also, Whatsapp is the best for international phone calls and texts.
That’s all I can think of now. Happy to answer anything else that comes up. It’s a very exciting opportunity! Best wishes!
That may be true about the lower level course offerings, but then you are a semester behind your peers and off schedule for the later courses. It definitely can impact your journey with majors that require more courses in the math/science area. If you are interested in Econ, Soc, or Humanities, there is no impact on your path in doing the Arcadia program.
Thank you so much!! All very helpful!! She has found a roommate through the Hamilton Class of 2024 Facebook group (they also have a mutual friend through summer camp) and they both plan to do the August orientation, too. Will share all of these great tips with both of them!
With respect to courses at Arcadia, note that some (e.g., Introduction to Shakespeare in Text and Performance, available last year) require a 4 or 5 on a relevant AP exam as a prerequisite. Interesting students should prepare appropriately.
I am loosing hope now after getting rejected from Williams college and Colgate University ED. I really wanna get in but I know I won’t just because of my standardised testing. Like I have all the negative things in my favour: I am international asian CS major require AID. Please make me forget these rejections!
Only 3 out of 70 accepted ED II applicants did not attend last year. In the overwhelming majority of cases it seems that financial aid awards have met expectations.
@LabMom4131 I assume you ran the NPC and understand the nature of a binding agreement. I also noticed you did not get any aid from URichmond. It seems you might have had enough information to anticipate that Hamilton’s result would be the same.
We have a unique set of circumstances that defy rubrics. Anticipated this and spoke with financial aid before applying ED - and ED is NOT binding if a family feels they are unable to meet the financial burden the school thinks they can. The good news is that they do have an appeal process, so there is a glimmer of hope…we shall see…
She has found a roommate through the Hamilton Class of 2024 Facebook group (they also have a mutual friend through summer camp) and they both plan to do the August orientation, too. Will share all of these great tips with both of them!