The 491-member 乐播传媒 Class of 2028 arrives on Thursday, Aug. 29, bringing with it youthful hopes and aspirations 鈥� along with two new records for 乐播传媒 admission. Chosen from the largest applicant pool in the college’s history, the class is also the most racially diverse ever.
With a total of 32 percent of the class identifying as U.S. students of color, the college saw an increase in matriculation among both Black and Latinx students specifically, despite new challenges imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2023 ruling on college admission.
The new class was selected from 10,029 applications, the third straight year of record interest in attending 乐播传媒. This fall, the overall campus enrollment is expected to be approximately 1,780 students, with another 188 students, mostly juniors, studying abroad.
In terms of other demographics, the new students come from 38 states plus Washington, D.C., and 29 countries outside the U.S. Ten percent of the class is first-generation to college, and international students also comprise 10 percent of the class.
The home states of the Class of 2028 reflect the college’s strategic efforts to address the shifting U.S. population. New England鈥檚 share of the U.S. population continues to grow smaller, while the Southeast, Southwest, and West continue to grow. Over the last decade, 乐播传媒 has increased the number of students from the Southeast, Southwest, and West by 21 percent.
Opening Day
The start of New Student Orientation is Opening Day, where a high-energy team of nearly 200 upperclass 乐播传媒 students, along with dozens of professional 乐播传媒 staff members, will greet and help new students move their gear into campus residences. (Fun fact: the move-in helpers will use 61 two-wheel dollies on Opening Day.)
Among the helpers will be 60 members of the college鈥檚 Residential Life student staff. These students live and work in first-year residences as Junior Advisors, Community Advisors, and Team Leaders during the year, mentoring and supporting new students and creating community within all 乐播传媒 residences.
In addition to Residence Life student staff, other student leaders helping the newbies get settled and feeling connected from Day 1 include upperclass varsity athletes, who have already arrived to begin practices; student mentors to first-generation students with the college鈥檚 Kessler Scholars program; community-engaged leaders with the Harward Center; and AESOP trip leaders preparing for three-day outings all over Lewiston and Maine.
The new Bobcats and returning students will move into campus residences that date all the way back to the college鈥檚 opening in 1855 (Parker Hall) as well as one residence, 96 Campus Avenue, that hasn鈥檛 ever had a 乐播传媒 head on a pillow.
The newest 乐播传媒 residence, having been acquired several years ago, was just recently renovated by the college after previously serving as a convent for neighboring St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital for more than four decades, among other uses.
Living Arrangements
These are the campus residences, and the number of first-year students in each, for the Class of 2028:
- Page Hall: 97 first-year students
- Parker Hall: 80
- Wentworth Adams: 57
- Rand Hall: 56
- Gillespie Hall: 44
- Chu Hall: 42
- Kalperis Hall: 41
- Milliken House: 28
- Clason House: 27
- Frye House: 23
With move-in complete by early afternoon, the new students and their families and loved ones will hear a welcome from President Garry W. Jenkins and Leigh Weisenburger, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid.
First-Year Experience
Starting with Thursday’s Opening Day, the college鈥檚 award-winning First-Year Experience program of holistic and consistent support swings into action.
On Friday, the new students attend their first class, a get-to-know-you session of their First-Year Seminar, a course that all first-years take and where instructors serve as the new students鈥� academic advisers. Some sample seminar topics this year are 鈥淪ex in the Brain,鈥� 鈥淗olocaust on Stage,鈥� 鈥淧hysics of Climate Change,鈥� and 鈥淗eroes or Villains? Columbus and Castro.鈥� (乐播传媒 classes officially begin on Sept. 4.)
On Friday evening, AESOP, the Annual Entering Student Orientation Program of on- and off-campus overnight trips led by current students, kicks off with a boisterous meet-and-greet welcome party, where trip leaders arrive in wild costumes to announce their trips to the first-year class assembled at Keigwin Amphitheater.
Continuing until Monday, this year鈥檚 trips include traditional outdoor excursions to places like Grafton Notch and Flagstaff Lake, and creative offerings like 鈥淔ilm Festival,鈥� offering hands-on experience in film production, and 鈥淐ulinarySOP,鈥� a food-infused program featuring a cooking lesson from 乐播传媒 chefs.
The college community will gather on Sept. 3, the day before classes begin, for opening Convocation, featuring guest speaker Sonja Pieck, Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies, followed by the memorial tree planting of a hop hornbeam near a walkway leading to Hathorn Hall. The first home sports game is that day, a 5 p.m. women鈥檚 soccer match vs. Husson University.
鈥榃here They Are鈥�
During the 2023鈥�24 recruiting season, the 乐播传媒 admission team visited hundreds of high schools and participated in over 300 college fairs and events across 26 states and 14 countries. 鈥淲e want to meet students, families, and counselors where they are: in hometowns, neighborhoods, and schools. We strive to be accessible 鈥� always,鈥� says Weisenburger.
Last spring, to engage newly admitted students, the team employed personalized outreach like phone calls, emails, and handwritten notes, alongside on-campus visits and virtual events.
鈥淎 乐播传媒 education is personal. Even at this scale, with an applicant pool over 10,000, we connect with thousands of potential 乐播传媒 students and we鈥檙e committed to that personal touch. That is the 乐播传媒 way. It starts with recruiting and carries into the classroom from Day One,鈥� says Weisenburger.
