<p>I've heard a lot of good things about the Adirondak Adventure but can anyone speak about the regular orientation? I'm wondering how busy they keep you and if it's fun; in other words are the kids kept busy enough to keep homesickness at bay.</p>
<p>Hey - to be clear... i'm this poster's girlfriend, but am writing b/c I led Hamilton's orientation program for a year so I clearly have some insight to offer. I can assure you that all moments of the orientation week are programmed with an intentional focus on making sure that the students are engaged in event and/or given the opportunity to go off on his/her own and meet new people in an unstructured environment where people act more honestly and naturally. If you are the type of person who needs an hour of alone time, you will be able to find it and take that time to call home and check in...if you feel that you need to constantly be surrounded by Hamiltonians... you can have that too...Orientation is filled with fun events where you will get to know those in your dorm and in your class. You will finish the first week feeling much more secure than when you arrived. I will be honest...I became an orientation leader b/c I was horribly homesick when I arrived, and even found the first week to be the right amount of time to be introspective and call home (there is nothing wrong with admitting that you are sad, many others are too and talking about missing home can help you form a bond w/ others in your class) and getting involved in fun games and activities that make you realize you picked a great college with people who have lots to offer and who you can't wait to learn more about. Please don't be overly concerned. If Adirondack Adventure sounds good to you - do it, but if not, just go to normal orientation and dive right in- within a few days there will be familiar faces in within a year you might be an orientation leader writing a posting like this one. I graduated 4 years go and it was the best time of my life :) All the best to you - don't worry about it - you'll have a great time. Hamilton is a wonderful school and you made a great choice and they have lots of current students to help you make an easy transition!</p>
<p>Thanks for the reassurance girlfriend of Hamilton 04 ( sorry, that sounds odd).<br>
Do you know anything about the urban preorientation , I think the kids do volunteer work inUtica? That might be more my D's speed as she is not athletic and she'd like to do a preorientation but she's not sure if the Adirondak Adventure might be too far out of her comfort zone.</p>
<p>I'm not as familiar with it, as I think it was added after AA was offered to my class, but if it's something that sounds interesting to your daughter, then I say go for it. It's never to early to get involved in community service at Hamilton and likely there will be a lot of others who have similar likes and dislikes (volunteer work and the outdoors respectively) as your daughter. If she wants to do it - I'm sure admissions could put her in touch with someone who has done it in the past to ask questions.</p>