With a record number of applicants to the College Houses, students are practically banging down the doors at the Office of Residential Life.
With "well above 300 applicants" for only 206 spots, interest in the College Houses is at an all-time high. Assistant Director of Residential Life Chris Rossi wrote in an e-mail to the Orient that "this year's applicant pool is, without a doubt, the largest in the history of the College Houses," though his office had not yet completed compiling all of the application data by press time.
Regardless, this as-yet-unknown number represents a significant increase from last year when only 241 students applied, and surpasses the previous all-time record of 301 applicants, which was set two years ago.
Applicants will receive decisions from ResLife on April 4 via campus mail. Students who selected the non-binding application option will then have two days to decide if they would like to accept their assignment.
Rossi pointed to the "extraordinary group of College House officers and residents" as the reason behind the increase and cited, in particular, their passion, focus, inclusiveness and the "impressive diversity" of their events.
Applications to join the Residential Life staff are also on the rise. This year saw 145 applicants for 71 positions, which, according to Associate Director of Residential Life Ben Farrell, is "the most that Bowdoin has ever had." The 145 applicants is 35 more than last year for the same amount of spots.
Farrell was "not entirely sure" as to the reason behind the jump, but said that the biggest difference between this year and last year was that the office "started advertising and set up the informational meetings earlier than last year." Meetings were held before Winter Break in December, rather than in January.
He also cited the size of the first year class, which at 510 students is Bowdoin's largest ever. Farrell said, however, that the ResLife staff "haven't really had enough time to start digesting and figuring out" the reasons behind the jump in interest.
Applicants' interest in the three different types of positions—first year proctors, house proctors, and residential advisers (RAs)—was "pretty evenly split," according to Farrell. Thirty-three first year proctors, eight house proctors and 30 RA positions are currently available. While they take applicant preference into account, ResLife ultimately considers every applicant for every staff position.
The application process to both the College Houses and the ResLife staff were updated this year. Much more of the material could be submitted online.