The Bowdoin Experience program is one day shorter this year and overlaps completely with the College’s Open House for all admitted students. The program aims to bring admitted students from low-income backgrounds or otherwise traditionally underrepresented in higher education to campus. In past years, the Experience program lasted from Thursday until Sunday morning, but the program wraps up on Saturday this year, as does Open House weekend.

In past years, Experience students participated in a dinner with faculty and staff members on Saturday night. This year, the same dinner will be offered—but not mandatory—for students in both the Experience and Open House programs.

“What we wanted to do was have that same dinner, which is an opportunity to engage with faculty and connect with staff more if they want to, but also to not make it exclusive for Experience students,” said Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Whitney Soule. “The topics of conversation are likely going to be around multicultural issues and diversity at the College, but it’s meant to be broadly inclusive and not just assume that the students who are here for Experience care about these topics. I hope all the students that we have admitted have interest in this conversation.”

According to Soule, admissions invited 180 students for the Bowdoin Experience program and 80 are attending. The program is the second half of Bowdoin’s efforts to bring low-income prospective students to campus. Admissions hosted two Explore Bowdoin events for high school seniors in the fall, for which 843 students applied, 143 were invited and 112 attended.