When the 497 members of the class of 2017 filied into Pickard Theater for the 2013 convocation, it marked the first time in history that a pluarality of the incoming first years were not from Maine or Massachusetts.
New York matriculated the most students, with 73, beating out Massachusetts by three students.
“We work hard to introduce Bowdoin to students in many parts of New York state,” wrote Dean of Admissions Scott Meiklejohn in an email to the Orient.
States with ten or more students represented in the Class of 2017 include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. Sixty-five percent of the class is from outside New England and seven percent are international students.
“I am proud that the class reflects the College’s continuing success in attracting talented students from all around the world and particularly in bigger numbers from outside New England,” wrote Meiklejohn.
Admissions received 7,052 applications and the overall acceptance rate was 14.9 percent. Early Decision applicants made up 52.5 percent of the class. Four hundred and three high schools are represented and 51 percent of the class attended public schools.
“This is the first year that we have had more than 400 different high schools represented in the entering class,” wrote Meiklejohn. “That reflects Bowdoin’s increasing and strong profile around the country as well as particular efforts by our efforts.”
The class is split 51 to 49 percent between women and men and at 13.5 percent the female acceptance rate was more competitive than the male acceptance rate of 16.7 percent. Students of color make up 30 percent of the class, and 12 percent are first generation college students. The College accepted five transfer students.
For the 2013-2014 school year, the College devoted $32.5 million to financial aid, which 46.4 percent of the Class of 2017 received. The average financial aid grant is $36,600, and no aid packages included loans.
All 497 first years and some of the transfer students attended the traditional sleepover in Farley Field House the night before their pre-orientation trips. Orientation trips became mandatory last year, for the Class of 2016, though a few students with previous conflicts were excused. This is the first year that every member of the class went on an orientation trip.
“I think it’s something special to have that one big, common shared experience,” said Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) Orientation Coordinator Nina Scheepers ’14.
Scheepers reported fielding calls from concerned students in the weeks leading up to the trips, but she assured them that participation would be possible for all, regardless of physical ability. In a few cases, injuries necessitated last-minute switches, but the Thalheimer wellness trip—a retreat featuring yoga, tai chi and meditation—was able to accomodate these students.
According to Scheepers, the most popular trips for the Class of 2017 were whitewater rafting and backpacking.
This year the BOC introduced two new trips. One, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), was a completely new activity for the BOC.
“We got the SUPs in the spring and we were really excited to try them out,” said Scheepers. “I think the trip went really well; a lot of people enjoyed it. SUP is a cool mixture between canoeing, surfing, and whitewater kayaking.”
The other trip—called Bike and Hike—was a modified version of a previous road bike trip, which was deemed too strenuous.
“The idea of pre-orientation trips is not to test first years’ abilities, but to get them to know their peers,” said Scheepers. “We’d rather relax the trip, and allow the first years to have more hang out time to get to know each other better.”
Scheepers believes the BOC will include both trips again next year.