Features
An open letter: Dear January Admits
By Helen Sternberg ’20
January 26, 2017
Tags features
Welcome back to Hamilton! We at The Spectator would like to extend a warm welcome to all of the returning students, and we hope that your journeys in the past semester were both meaningful and memorable.
Second semester has already begun, and for most of the students it’s a lot like last semester, just with significantly more snow. You all, however, had an unorthodox first semester. This one will bring novel excitements, but also the stress of figuring out college five months later than the rest of the first-years.
Being a first-year myself, I remember the struggle of transition quite vividly, and I sympathize. In this article, I have compiled some of the most useful pieces of information for navigating the first few weeks of school. I can assure you that things will all start to quickly fall into place, so just hang on until then.
Perhaps the first thing I realized was that the library wasn’t the only place to get work done. I’ve actually learned that for a sizable number of people the library isn’t always a favorable option. If you prefer dead silence while you read, then head there because you’re almost always guaranteed a quiet spot to read. But if you’re like me and prefer a more relaxed atmosphere, Kirner-Johnson (KJ) or the Taylor Science Center (SCCT) provide ample workspace.
Both KJ and the science center have beautiful open atriums that are fantastic for group work. Both buildings also house plenty of enclosed study rooms as well as open, but more intimate study areas. Root hall has an adorable reading room in its attic, and the old art center, List, has many small areas to spend a few hours in on the weekend studying.
Getting involved with clubs helps fill the gaps between studying, class and sleeping, and also gives you the opportunity to meet tons of new people. Although it seems overwhelming at first, joining too many clubs and having to drop one or two is much better than not joining enough. I didn’t want to stress myself out and only joined a few, only to quickly realize how bored I was in my free time.
Clubs also give you the opportunity to interact with people of different class years, meaning you can learn about all the professors in your intended major and figure out which ones you need to take a class with. Older students can also help you navigate the school much more efficiently than another first-year Jan, and they always have great stories to tell you about their first experiences at Hamilton.
My third piece of advice is to always check and read your emails (yes, we receive close to thirty per day, and yes, many won’t actually apply to you). However there’s always something going on around campus and we’re always notified about it. It’s just that many of us don’t read the emails. Hamilton’s organizations are always hosting events, and Hamilton provides countless opportunities to learn about important job opportunites ,through seminars on a wide range of topics. There are so many experiences worth having on this campus, and you don’t want to miss them due to laziness and disregard for short emails.
Of course, now that you’re back on campus, you should get back in touch with your orientation groups. They’ve all had time to expand their friend circles while on campus, and perhaps some of the friends they’ve made would be great connections for you to have. Your old orientation leaders are also great connections that you shouldn’t forget about, and they will always have helpful advice for getting you through college life.
I hope you find these tips helpful, and that Hamilton proves to be as good a home to you as it has been to me.
Yours truly,
Helen Sternberg