First-Year Students
During their first year on the Hill, students broaden their horizons and learn to balance their lives as they explore different disciplines and experience multiple facets of college life.
From your first year you should...
learn about:
- your own strengths and weaknesses,
- the College’s purposes and goals and academic regulations,
- your personal goals for your time during and after Hamilton.
be able to:
- articulate how your curricular and co-curricular plans contribute to broader academic and career goals and a liberal arts education,
- follow through on advice and referrals.
value:
- a broad, liberal arts education through exploring new, academic areas and co-curricular experiences.
Your Responsibilities
- Take the initiative to seek out advice and take responsibility for your educational plans and decisions
- Be familiar with Hamilton’s graduation requirements, the College’s purposes and goals, the process of declaring a concentration, academic regulations, options for off-campus study, and the support services that are available
- Make appointments with your academic advisor for preregistration and other planning
- Craft an educational plan that reflects your particular interests and abilities and the College’s purposes and goals while balancing the freedom of an open curriculum and the breadth of a liberal arts education
- Be open to reevaluation of your plan and to its natural evolution as your experiences and interests broaden and come into focus
- Follow up on advice and referrals to support services such as the Career Center, Dean of Students Office, and various Centers and Resources.
Your Academic Advisor’s Responsibilities
- Communicate availability for preregistration and informal meetings and be accessible through email
- Be a resource for your questions regarding the curriculum, requirements, and academic policies and procedures
- Monitor your academic progress
- Ask questions to encourage development of your educational and career goals and to put those goals into the context of the College’s purposes and goals.
- Provide information about the array of campus resources and services for success and exploration of new curricular and co-curricular experiences
- Ask questions to guide exploration of off-campus study, internships, experiential learning opportunities, etc.
