On Thursday, students of all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds arrived from across the United States and abroad to attend the annual Bowdoin Invitational, a weekend of special events for prospective multicultural applicants.
According to Associate Dean of Admissions Elmer Moore, who is in charge of coordinating the weekend, the students who attend each year are invited to apply for the program after having been identified through a search of the Admissions' database and through contact with referral agencies and guidance counselors across the United States. After thousands of possible candidates are invited to apply, the Admissions Office reads the applications it receives, and chooses on average 100 of the most superior students who otherwise would never have considered a school like Bowdoin.
"We try not to invite kids who would otherwise see Bowdoin on their own," said Moore. "The kids we invite have less of a network at home when it comes to the application process, so we do what we'd like to call the 'Bowdoin tap,' where we expose these kids to the liberal arts environment at Bowdoin and connect them directly to people in our Admissions Office and throughout the College."
This weekend, 92 elite students will enjoy a weekend of activities until they depart on Sunday. They will spend the weekend, attending classes, going to interviews, meeting with administrators like Director of Student Aid Steve Joyce and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William Shain, attending a workshop about the college-application process, and of course, meeting Bowdoin students at events such as the Hip-Hop show on Friday night and the multicultural banquet on Saturday evening.
First year Kyle Dempsey says his experience during the Invitational last year had a major influence on his decision to apply to Bowdoin.
"I remember being incredibly impressed by the people I met during the Invitational," said Dempsey.
"All of the students bonded and the teachers I met were really engaging. I remember having tea with a Chinese professor and discussing what it's like to take a language at Bowdoin. I came away from the whole experience thinking, wow, where else can I get a unique experience like this in northern Maine?" he said.
The College funds the entire weekend for all students (including transportation and meals), regardless of financial background. According to Moore, the cost is substantial for the College, though he added that the exact amount is difficult to calculate.
"It's difficult to say what the cost is, but it's up there," said Moore. "But whatever the cost is, it's worth it to get these students up here to experience the College first hand. It's hard to go meet these students in their hometowns and try to explain to them the culture and community that this place offers, especially when on a map Bowdoin seems so far away from what they know."
The Invitational is typically a huge success for the College, with 30 percent of attendees matriculating the next year. However, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Bill Shain, not all students who are accepted to the Invitational matriculate, and some who are not initially accepted to the Invitational end up matriculating. However, close to 100 percent of the students who attend the Multicultural Invitational apply.
"The students come here for the Invitational and find themselves surrounded by other intellectual people of color with whom they have a lot in common, and they bond, and then they form additional relationships with the Bowdoin students, who they are surprised to find they have a lot in common with as well. It's all really very moving, and it draws them to this place," said Moore.
The Invitational represents a growing movement for diversity seen on Bowdoin's campus in the past few years. In fact, according to Shain, this year's entering class was the most diverse yet, with minorities constituting 30.3 percent of first-year students.
"We have shot up to the top of liberal arts colleges in terms of diversity for this year's entering class, and we are becoming diverse at a faster pace than almost any other small liberal arts college," said Shain (See story, page 1). "We are at an exciting place in terms of becoming more multiculturally dynamic."
"We're all very excited about what has been happening and what is happening in terms of diversity at Bowdoin, but we're not done yet," Moore added.