Starting on Friday, Jan. 18, the College welcomed its newest group of students to campus.

The subsequent weekend, called January Orientation, helped to acclimate this year’s January admittance students — who are often colloquially referred to as “Jans” — as well as the new transfer students to campus and college life.

Some past January admit students returned to campus early in order to partake in the orientation for the next generation of Jans and to help all the new students settle in on the Hill.

“Most of the orientation leaders were Jans that had gone through the same experience that the incoming Jans are going through,” said Eric Nahm ’21, a January admit last year. “We were able to connect with them […] by sharing our experiences with the incoming Jans.”

Brian Lynch ’21 added, “There were very few Jans as orientation leaders last year, whereas this year all but two of the orientation leaders [were Jans].”

“Moving forward,” he added, “I think that the school should make more of an effort to recruit Jans as orientation leaders because we went through the same experience and have the advice that can help new Jans acclimate a little faster.”

While many members of the newest class of January admits and transfer students reported feeling excited to join the community during orientation, some offered suggestions for improvement to the welcoming process in the future.

“It was nice to have previous Jans as Orientation Leaders, since they could share stories about their transition to Hamilton,” said Maeve Sebold ’22. “I do think Jan Orientation could be improved by having more input from the administration in regards to structure and programming, as this would benefit both the orientation leaders and the current Jans.”

Theo Karavolas ’22 said he thought the organization of some orientation events could have been improved, commenting that aspects of the programming “felt very last minute.”

“Some of the sessions were helpful,” he said, while others “felt very redundant.”

Transfer students from all grades also attended the orientation.

Sophie Ruzecki ’21 offered one suggestion for improving the orientation experience of transfer students in the future, saying, “I think that more can be done to integrate the transfers with the Jans and with their respective grades because it seems much harder for them.”

She added that January admit students who did not participate in the January admit fall program in London are also included in this group with transfer students.

Some found the mid-year matriculation to be intimidating at first.

“The first month or so was difficult as any new situation is, but now Hamilton very much feels like home,” said Ruzecki. “It’s important to not get caught up in trying to find your niche or your group right away. It takes time and in the end it all works out!”

Lynch echoed Ruzecki, saying, “I think my acclimation to Hamilton was successful because almost right off the bat I was able to find a group on campus, The Buffers, that essentially became a second family.”

“I do not want to make it seem like the transition is easy though,” she added.

Some students said the workload of new classes at a new school also produced initial concerns.

“I was a little worried about the transition in rigor and work load coming from the Arcadia London Program. So far I seem to be managing, but there’s quite a gap between the two curricula,” said Karavolas.

Some past January admit students found that although the Jan and transfer student community on campus readily welcomes the new additions to the student body, the general Hamilton community does not always show the same level of enthusiasm.

“Parts of the Hamilton community welcome the Jans, however, it is not always as good as it could be,” Nahm said. “There are some stereotypes surrounding Jans that are not true, which can be hard to disprove depending on who you’re talking to.”

Other students found that the close relationship between all four years of Jans made them feel socially welcome in their first weeks on campus.

“When I came back from London, all the older Jans were so eager to ask me about my experience and also offer advice for transitioning back to Hamilton,” said Ruzecki. “Because of this special bond that only 40 or so students per grade understand, it’s really nice to have a strong Jan community.”

First-year student Cherry Zhang agreed.

“I felt definitely welcomed!” she said. “The Jan community here is really tight. I am glad that I am a Jan.”

Overall, many of the new Jans say that they felt welcomed by the Hamilton community and added that they look forward to their future on the Hill.

“From my very first day meeting with the previous Jans, to my first exposure to other students in my dorm and professors in class, I have felt very welcome at Hamilton,” said Sebold.

Karavolas added, “I’ve made so many great new friends already on campus. Everyone is so genuinely curious about my experience and London. The people have been very welcoming.

“I love being on the Hill, it’s a different way of life than London, but if anything my expectations have been exceeded.”