October 18, 2012
Each year Hamilton’s January-admit program attracts 30 to 40 first-year students who opt for an alternative fall experience. The Office of Admissions selects these students, affectionately known throughout the Hill as “Jans,” from the regular acceptance pool for their academic potential, strength of character and personal qualities. Without a doubt, it takes a certain personality to navigate the Jan program smoothly. Most often, the majority of the Jans spend their first fall semester studying abroad in London, UK. Others, however, opt for something different than a semester in London, sometimes studying abroad in a different location or participating in a self-designed experience in the United States.
While the January-admit program is beloved by almost all Jans, the College has worked to improve the program throughout the past few years. One of the primary changes made so far included a move away from New York University’s London program to a similar program sponsored by Arcadia University. With this change, London Jans were provided a more challenging academic experience, more communal apartment-style housing, as well as a more engaging orientation to life in London. Arcadia also sponsors a wide array of excursions and subsidized activities throughout the semester. In addition to the program’s own courses, Arcadia offers Hamilton students the option to enroll in approved courses at City University, Queen Mary, University of London or the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
Despite these positive changes to the program, almost all Jans will readily admit that are certain difficulties associated with arriving to central New York in the midst of the blistering cold winter. As the recent First-Year Experience ad hoc Committee noted in their final report, quickly and smoothly adjusting to the academic and social standards of Hamilton often proves challenging for Jans. Even the Jans who participated in the August pre-orientation programs, Adirondack Adventure and Outreach Adventure, find the rapid shift from bustle to bubble nerve-racking.
The First-Year Experience ad hoc Committee has suggested a couple of methods to include January-admit students in the newly-developed first-year experience. Perhaps the biggest change to the first-year fall experience is the addition of a “First-Year Course” (FYC). While such a program provides a great opportunity for students to adjust to the new academic standards of Hamilton, it excludes the Jans who are not on campus to participate. The report suggests a couple of solutions: first, a Hamilton faculty member resident in London teaching one or two FYCs; second, an FYC course offered for Jans during the spring semester of their first year; and third, an FYC course taught by a non-Hamilton faculty in London. All of these are viable options that are to be considered in the final design of the new first-year experience.
The Spectator would like to take this opportunity to applaud the First-Year Experience ad hoc Committee for its consideration of the flaws of Hamilton’s January-admit program. The incorporation of an FYC into the Jan experience, whether in the fall or spring semester, will most certainly prove a great way to ease Jan acclimation to Hamilton’s rigorous academic standards. While past Jans have often proved their ability to stand out as leaders throughout the Hamilton community, we at The Spectator are happy to see that the College is taking into consideration methods of alleviating some of the challenges of arriving to college a semester late.