Please bear in mind that my son was a Jan two years ago, pre-COVID. I understand that London was different this year due to COVID. Hopefully by next January, you won’t have anything to worry about.
Yes, he traveled extensively. They only held classes Monday-Thursday in order to encourage travel. My son traveled to Paris, Amsterdam, Ireland, Spain and the Canary Islands. He also traveled in the England. Arcadia offered some day trips and excursions as well.
Meals. My son stayed in Arcadia housing in Highgate, about a 40 minute Tubes ride from Arcadia’s classroom building in London. Each floor was equipped with a full kitchen. Breakfast was cereal, etc, he would typically eat lunch down where the Arcadia classrooms were located. Grabbed a sandwich, etc. Dinner was a bit more problematic. I sent him easy recipes but by the end of the program, there was a lot of Uber Eats on our credit card! If you child cooks at all, it would be helpful. I heard that some of the girls would get together and cook. Boys are probably a little different. London is expensive, so it does help a bit if the students could cook now and then.
No, he didn’t feel as though the Jans (or himself) were treated differently. There’s a special orientation in January just for the Jans. What helped my son expand his friend group was joining some clubs. He also joined the rowing team.
Yes, he got all the classes he wanted. From what I’ve heard, Jans get to pick their classes for Spring semester before the rest of the freshmen class.
Yes. The Jans were housed on the third floor of Dunham. Yes, he chose his roommate, a student who also went to London.
We found Arcadia to be helpful. There will be an information session during the summer for you and your child to attend virtually. Whenever I reached out to them, I found them helpful.
@123France. Thanks for the great info. Daughters only (minor) concern about the program is she is probably a Bio and/or Econ major in the making and all the classes are humanities focused. hopefully with the open curriculum that’s not much of an issue. I would be curious to know if anyone who did the London program was able to maintain a pre-med Track though?
@dadpitt, my son is an Econ major. He had not problem with starting basically a semester late since no Econ classes are offered in London. Being a science major might be more tricky due to course sequence. You might want to reach out to Hamilton and ask. I found the college to be very helpful when my son was admitted as a Jan.
Hamilton’s biology and economics departments offer entry-level courses in both the fall and spring. The supporting disciplines of mathematics and statistics also appear in the course catalog across various levels for both semesters. Your daughter will not need to wait to begin her studies in her areas of interest when she arrives at Hamilton in January.
With respect to a premed trajectory, this could, in principle, be accomplished with a January start, especially since Arcadia offers courses required or recommended for premeds, such as in literature/writing, psychology and sociology.
@123France’s answers were spot on for my son’s London experience the year before, Fall 2017. One difference was dinners. He quickly had a group of about 10 friends (both men and women) and each set of roommates would take turns cooking dinner for the group. The other 2 nights they ate out.
He saved a lot of money that way and used it for travel and nights out.
The Arcadia staff was very helpful and responsive. The course work was quite easy compared to Hamilton and he was able to get right on track with Econ, Math, and Japanese. I would say that one result though is less space in your schedule at Hamilton for “just because it looks interesting” classes. Well worth the trade off, but it is one consideration, especially if a student had not decided what they want to pursue.
Honestly, I wish my daughter (who will be going to another uni next year) could do the London program first - such a wonderful opportunity for growth and fun. Congratulations to your student!
@merc81. Thanks for the link to the article on LAC economics department rankings. Having spoken to a few folks in the finance sector, We were aware of the strength of Hamilton in that regard before she applied.
Yes, it shouldn’t be particularly surprising that Hamilton grads earns the most from among the ten NESCAC LACs in their early careers (as reported in USN).
So today we signed the commitment form, paid the deposit and most importantly…put the Hamilton sticker on the back of the car… so I guess daughter is officially a Hamilton ‘Jan’ now. Good luck to everyone else who just submitted their ED II applications.
Yes, it is! “According to our records, your admission plan is Early Decision 2. Your admission decision will be released online through this applicant portal on February 5 at 8:00 PM EST. Accepted students will be mailed follow-up information. Please check this page regularly for updated information,” the applicant portal says.
