Pelican Preview Days

Please plan to arrive between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. for registration in the Katharine Brush Library. For those interested in connecting with current BIPOC students to learn about their experiences at Loomis, you are welcome to join our breakfast for BIPOC families starting at 8 am on the library’s second floor.

After registration, Loomis Chaffee Head of School Sheila Culbert will welcome you and your parents in Hubbard Performance Hall. Following Sheila's remarks, students and parents will follow separate schedules. You will meet your student hosts and attend two classes. You will also eat lunch with current students, attend a student life panel, and spend some free time just enjoying campus life with other newly admitted Pelicans.

Meanwhile parents will follow a schedule that includes a class visit and a session on the school’s academic programs, followed by lunch with our head of school, administrators, current LC parents, and members of our faculty. After lunch, parents will learn more about residential and day student support at LC.

Visiting families will reunite during Community Time and will be able to take a closer look at our centers and co/extra-curricular offerings.

Students and parents will gather in the Scanlan Campus Center at 3:10 p.m. for our final program and closing. While formal programming ends at 3:30 p.m., visitors are welcome to linger on campus a little while longer to soak up the informal afternoon “vibe” of the Island or to observe athletics practices.

We encourage students to be thoughtful in their choice of attire for Pelican Preview Days, taking into consideration your day on campus will include time in the classroom as well as in informal, social moments. You’ll be walking between buildings throughout the day so appropriate shoes and outerwear are recommended. Loomis students will be attired in LC dress code, which is purposefully designed to promote student engagement and comfort as well as to reflect the spirit of the occasion.

You will have many opportunities to learn more about your specific interests through the scheduled programs offered during your visit as well as during the more informal interactions you have with current students, faculty, coaches, and staff. If there is a particular person on campus with whom you would like to speak, please let us know and we'll do our best to make sure you connect. 

The best thing you can do to prepare for your visit is to learn as much as you can about Loomis through the many resources available to you, including our website and the Future Pelicans webpage, accepted student editions of the Explore Loomis newsletter that you will receive via email, and posts on our LC Instagram. Doing this research in advance will help you refine any remaining questions you might have and also free you up during your visit to focus more on how you feel on campus when you interact with and observe our community. Your goal should be to leave Pelican Preview Day with a clear sense of whether or not you can see yourself as a member of our community. 

If you are unable to attend your grade’s Preview Days, contact us at 860.687.6400. We may be able to accommodate you on an alternate Preview Day, place you on a waiting list, or arrange a special tour for a day when you are able to visit.