First-Year Students
First-Year Experience (FYE) Program
The FYE aims to create spaces and opportunities for new students to connect with the campus, explore a new interest, and interact with a variety of people and ideas.
Learn about the FYE Program
Our programming emphasizes social connections, balance, and campus resources. Programs include student panels on exploring identities and getting involved, a dinner and discussion series, off-campus outings for apple picking and bowling, financial workshops, de-stress events, and more.
Attend Events & Earn Points
Students will earn FYE points for attending FYE hosted programs, dinners, social outings, and FYE-eligible events, and can redeem those FYE points throughout the semester for prizes like FoJo gift cards, Barnes and Noble gift cards, and FYE swag. Our dinner series creates opportunities to mingle with other first-years, upperclass students, and faculty and staff, learn about opportunities to become involved, and, of course, enjoy dinner and conversation. In addition, we encourage you to take advantage of the wide variety of other events on campus by attending those, too!
Meet the FYE Leaders
The 2025-26 FYE leaders are Elise Kwon, Dana Blatte, Briana Martin, and Maliyah LeFevour-Preston. They are available as a resource for all first-year students and coordinate FYE workshops, social events, off-campus outings, and social media.
Getting Started
If you did not submit a picture for your ID card, please stop by the Hill Card Office in the Bristol Center between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to have your photo taken and receive your Hill Card. If you need a new Hill Card photo taken after 4 p.m., please visit the Campus Safety Office. You will need your Hill Card to eat in the dining halls and for check-in at orientation events.
The Hill Card is your student identification card, meal plan card, door access card, library card, and campus debit card. (Access Account)
Mobile Credential
Students have the option to add your mobile Hill Card to Apple Wallet or Google Play to use on campus. To get started with the mobile credential, download the Transact eAccounts app for Apple or Android.
Apparel and merchandise can be purchased in-store or online. Books/course materials (new, used, rented, or digital books) must be purchased online. The Bookstore is located in the Sadove Student Center. Be sure to follow them on Instagram at @hamiltoncampusstore.
The bookstore’s regular hours are:
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
Laptop and mobile device instructions to our secure wireless network (aps-hamilton) can be found at: hamilton.edu/campuswifi. LITS recommends you have your laptop and/or mobile device configured for the Hamilton secure wireless network before you meet with your advisor on Monday, Aug. 25.
Email set up on your mobile device can be found at hamilton.edu/sync
For technical assistance, call the Help Desk at 315-859-4181 or email helpdesk@hamilton.edu.
Library and IT Help Desk hours for the Week of Aug. 19:
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Closed
Library and IT Help Desk hours for Aug. 25-27:
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Regular Library hours begin on Thursday, Aug. 28:
Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. – midnight
Friday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – midnight
Regular IT Help Desk hours begin on Thursday, Aug. 28:
Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The mail center is located in the basement of Bristol Center.
Visit hamilton.edu/mailbox to access your mailbox number and combination. The link is also located in the Personal Information section of the Tools tab on My Hamilton.
If you have any problems, stop by the Mail Center for assistance. Please have your Hill Card with you. Mailbox combination information cannot be released if you do not have your Hill Card.
Mail sent to you on campus must be addressed as follows. Please do not use the term “P.O. Box” in your address. Your mailbox number should be indicated on all incoming mail and packages.
Student’s Name
Mailbox #_________
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Rd.
Clinton, NY 13323
Regular Hours:
Package Window: 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Stamp Window: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Expect a weekly email from Assistant Athletics Director for Fitness and Recreation Steph Kowell with details regarding facility hours, group fitness and wellness classes, and recreation opportunities.
Recreation and Wellness Events
- A Hill Card is required to access all athletic facilities
- All classes are open to Hamilton students and employees, free of charge, and no registration is required to attend (unless otherwise noted).
Gym Lockers
Several locker rooms areas are available to students who use the fitness center and pool. Single- visit, non-permanent lockers can be found in the Blood Fitness Center on the lower level. These are not for long-term or overnight use. A permanent, long-term use locker can be obtained on the lower level of the Alumni Gymnasium by contacting David Abdou, equipment room manager. Lockers will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Recreation Equipment
Stop by the Fieldhouse Rec Hub located just inside the main entrance the Fieldhouse with your Hill Card to sign out any of the available equipment:
- Court sports: Basketballs, Volleyballs
- Racquet sports: Squash, Tennis
- Pickleball equipment
- Field sports: Soccer balls, Footballs,
- Ice Skates and Helmets (seasonal, October - March)
- Fitness: weighted medicine balls, jump ropes, cones
Operating Hours:
Monday-Thursday: noon-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 11a.m.-9 p.m.
Here are some ways to find event information and learn about what members of the Hamilton community are doing on and around campus:
- Daily email summarizing events for the upcoming day
- Weekly email summarizing events for the upcoming week send each Friday
- Events page (search and filter)
- Student Activities page (student-sponsored events)
- My Hamilton channel Hamilton Events includes a list and link to entry on the event’s calendar
- Hamilton App (App Store or Google Play)
- Listserv emails to specific groups (students, employees, everyone)
- Posters
- Student publications and social media (social media directory)
Want to get involved on campus? Looking to find the right student organization for you? Great! Come to the Student Activities & Organizations Fair in September to see what your campus has to offer. See some performances, collect swag, and enjoy the sunshine!
- The Jitney is a free transportation service for students who want to visit locally owned shops, restaurants, and supermarket in Clinton and New Hartford.
- Transportation requests can be submitted through an online form and managed by the transportation coordinator.
- For school breaks, Hamilton offers shuttle services to and from the Syracuse and Albany airports as well as the Utica train/bus station. Reservations must be made in advance. The cost for the shuttle services is billed directly to the student’s account. Please contact the Transportation Office with any questions.
Auditions for the Orchestra and Chamber Music Ensembles (Brass Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Hamstrings Quartet, and other woodwinds) will be held during Orientation on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
- Complete the application form at and sign up for an audition time.
- Come prepared with a solo or etude that represents your playing – contrasting styles are helpful!
- More information on these groups is posted at https://academics.hamilton.edu/music/ensembles/ensembles-overview.
- Email Prof. Heather Buchman at hbuchman@hamilton.edu with any questions.
Auditions for Hamilton College Choir and Hamilton Voices will take place on Monday, August 25 - Wednesday, August 27. International tour details, audition information, sign-up sheets, and application forms can be accessed at tinyurl.com/hamchoir2025 using your Hamilton email account. Find all other details on instagram @hamiltoncollegechoirs or contact Professor Charlotte Botha at cbotha@hamilton.edu with questions.
Audition information for the Hamilton College Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/hamiltonjazz2025 using your Hamilton email account. Please contact Professor Gabe Condon at gcondon@hamilton.edu with any questions.
Students interested in auditioning for the Saxophone Ensemble should contact Professor Heather Buchman at hbuchman@hamilton.edu for more information.
In an effort to move away from single-use products, Hamilton’s implemented the Fill it Forward container checkout system. Students will be able to opt-in to the program and use the Fill it Forward app and with their Hamilton username and password.
- Check out either a food container or reusable cup through the app.
- After selecting the container, show the checkout page to the dining hall cashier.
- Once you're finished with the container, return it to the dining hall and check in the container in the app.
Please note, the reusable container is the only way to take dining hall meals out of the dining halls.
Hamilton uses a single-stream recycling system that enables all recyclables to be placed in the same bin.
- Bins are emptied Monday through Friday, not on weekends.
- Don’t forget to break down cardboard boxes before recycling or donate them to the box co-op located next to the Mail Center entrance.
Hamilton’s color-coded system for waste management:
- Black bins with black bags are for landfill waste
- Blue bins with clear bags are for recycling
- Green bins with clear bags are for compost and food waste (only in dining halls)
Hamilton considers voting an important part of our civic responsibility and encourages you to register! Look for the HamVotes registration table at Matriculation to register to vote, check on your voter status, or update your registration.
As a student, you have the right to vote for elections in your county OR elections in Clinton. You need to be on the electoral register to vote in elections and referendums. We’re here to make sure you know that YOUR VOTE COUNTS!
We hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it to us, be sure to check out vote.org, where you can register online and find a ton more information. And while you’re at it, follow us on Instagram @HamVotes for more information and important updates!
Who are we? HamVotes is a student-run, non-partisan organization that focuses on educating students about voting and providing students with the tools they need to cast their vote. Our goal is to remove as many barriers, systematic or otherwise, to ensure that everyone not only understands the power in their right to vote, but also has the chance to exercise that power.
Resources for First-Year Students
Our Region
We are 10 minutes from Utica, 45 minutes to Syracuse and 90 minutes from Albany. Check out a list of some of the “not-to-miss” places our students love in the region.
Contact
Contact Name
Tessa Chefalo
Assistant Dean of Students for Student Engagement
