We are so excited to have the seniors and all of our other students back on campus. We look forward to graduation and celebrating their achievements and resiliency. We have received a number of questions about what college revisit days will look like this spring. Many colleges will not have in-person revisit days, while some will offer highly restricted in-person opportunities. Instead, colleges will offer a wide range of interactive, virtual options for admitted students, and we encourage all of our seniors to take advantage of them. While many of these options will occur on weekends and evenings, we plan to accommodate programming that conflicts with classes or other commitments by allowing students to miss classes for these events. The Deans' Office and College Advising Office will outline the process of getting permission to be excused from commitments to attend virtual visits.
The College Advising Office also has a directory of recent alumni who attend a wide range of colleges and universities. These alumni have offered their contact information so that they can discuss their experiences at their colleges with Hotchkiss seniors. If the directory does not include a school to which a student is admitted, we will work with our development office to find alumni or parents with whom our students can speak.
Last spring, many college admissions representatives, professors, and students made themselves available to zoom with admitted students in order to help them make informed choices. We expect the same this spring.
At this time, we are unable to support student requests to leave Hotchkiss to do their own revisits of colleges, even if only a drive or walk through. Because of the exposure to others outside the campus "bubble," current protocols would require that those students test and quarantine before returning to our dormitories, and the School has limited quarantine capacity. We will revisit the possibility of such requests if pandemic conditions or recommended protocols change later in the spring.
Thank you for your understanding. We are eager to support our seniors as they navigate their last term at Hotchkiss.
Sincerely,
Rick Hazelton P'19,'22
Director of College Advising
Christy Cooper P'08,'11
Dean of the Class of 2021
