Earlham College starts new year with launch of comprehensive Epic Journey program

Earlham College has launched its comprehensive signature student success program, called the Epic Journey, as classes begin today for the 2022-23 academic year.

The Epic Journey is a four-year experience that intentionally combines Earlham’s longstanding excellence in the classroom with transformational career-discerning experiences. As a result, students are prepared exceptionally well life for life after Earlham.

“The Epic Journey provides both an intentional framework and a community of support to help our students discover where their personal interests and career goals intersect,” says Earlham President Anne Houtman. “This is a student-centered, student-focused approach to learning and as such, every student’s Epic Journey is unique.”

Though the incoming class will be the first to experience the Epic Journey in its entirety, this program draws on Earlham’s traditional strengths in experiential learning, off-campus study and community support. New to the program are a more holistic approach to advising, including informal mentors called Epic Guides, many of whom are administrators on campus, and My Epic Journey, a platform that allows students and their advisers to track out-of-class engagement to ensure student engagement and early interventions for students who are at risk. 

A key feature of the Epic Journey is the Epic Advantage, Earlham’s offer of up to $5,000 for every student to participate in an internship, collaborative research or important career-discerning experience. Earlham is one of the few institutions in the country with guaranteed funding for every student to participate in at least one of these high-impact experiences in locations around the world.

Meet the Class of 2026

The Class of 2026 arrived on Saturday, Aug. 20, for New Student Orientation with a carnival, arcade night and other activities designed to give first-year and transfer students a strong introduction to campus life.

“New Student Orientation leaves a lot of room to get to know people,” said Yasmeen Porter, a first-year student from Cincinnati, Ohio, who plans to pursue a major in Business or Media and Communications. “There are so many different communities of students here. There really is a place for everyone.”

Porter was urged to apply to Earlham by her grandmother, Barbara Manuel, an alum from the Class of 1974.

“My grandmother told me about the Epic Journey program,” Porter said. “Once I learned about all of the travel opportunities, I knew I had to apply.

“I have been thinking about going to college my entire life and have been really interested in having a true liberal arts experience,” she said. “I felt like the small liberal arts schools are always featured in the movies and TV shows that I like. I wanted to be part of something like that.”

The incoming class hails from 29 states and 23 countries and represents the academic excellence that Earlham is known for. The average grade point average of the entering class is 3.61. Among those reporting test scores, the average student earned a 1240 on the SAT and a 28 on the ACT.

Of the incoming students, 16 percent of the class are international, 39 percent are student-athletes and 23 percent identify as the first from their family to attend college; another 8 percent are legacy students.

“Ever since I decided to come here, I’ve just really fell in love with the familial aspect of Earlham,” Porter said. “It is really nice. A lot of it has to do with the fact that it’s based on Quaker values. That really shows.”

Earlham shines in national rankings

Just in time for the start of the fall semester, Earlham was once again included in the Princeton Review’s guide of the nation’s 25 best classroom experiences. Earlham received high marks from student ratings of professors, lab facilities and the amount of time that is devoted to in-class discussion, among other attributes.

The Princeton Review also recognizes Earlham among the nation’s best values in higher education and most LGBTQ-friendly colleges.

.