On Saturday, March 9, the Hamilton College Office of Admission hosted 165 visitors on campus for Junior Preview Day (JPD), a day for tours and information sessions targeted specifically toward high school juniors. Student tour guides and various admissions officers led groups of prospective students around Hamilton’s campus throughout the day, providing information about student life and answering questions about the College.

According to Assistant Dean of Admission Brenna Murphy, Junior Preview Day first started in 2006. Murphy says Vice President for Enrollment Management Monica Inzer “instituted [Junior Preview Day] because she had done similar programming at her previous institution. While they started in April, we later added February and March dates to coincide with school vacation weeks. This year, we are not offering JPDs in April but we are open every Saturday in April for tours and an information session. The dates have moved earlier as the admissions process has moved earlier in the year, but we try not to over-program for students. Our conversation rate from attendees to applications is quite good, so we appreciate when students are able to attend one of these programs.”

Last year, 496 total visitors came to campus in February, March, and April. This year alone in February and March, the Office of Admissions welcomed 419 visitors for two Junior Preview Days, emblematic of a marked and continued interest from high school juniors looking to explore college options early and with Hamilton on their radar.

Tour guides and coordinators especially noted the uniqueness of targeting a certain year of high school students with an event like Junior Preview Day.

“In a college admissions culture where most prospective students are seniors, JPDs are a great way for high school juniors to get a head start on the college process with extra attention to the beginning stages,” said Bianca Macdonald ’21. “These tours may be the first college tour for a lot of these juniors and their families.”

Emma Bartle ’21 agreed, saying, “The staff of Hamilton Admissions do everything in their power to make sure the huge group feels like they received an individual experience. We make sure the campus is presentable, and that we make a good impression on the juniors.”

Highlighting the work that the Office of Admissions does to welcome these prospective students, Assistant Dean Murphy notes changes that have been made to Junior Preview Days throughout the years.

She says: “The programming offered on JPDs has evolved over the years as well. We added a faculty/student/administrator panel to showcase varying perspectives on campus. We also moved lunch to McEwen this year (rather than Commons), which was a huge hit with visiting families. We’re always assessing the programming to benefit visitors as much as possible, so although we don’t have any specific alterations planned for the future, we are always open to new ideas.”

Thus far, Junior Preview Day has been a successful part of welcoming prospective students.

“I’ve loved the opportunity to meet an interesting group of students that are interested in Hamilton early on,” said Bartle. “I hope the JPDs continue, and I know Hamilton will keep improving to ensure the students have the best experience they possibly can.”