New Student Orientation 2025

Communicate with your coach for time and location.

Enjoy breakfast on your own schedule!

This session will highlight time and task management strategies to support academic success this semester. Strategies to learn both independently and collaboratively will be discussed. Students will gain insight about their learning and study skills strengths and which campus resources like writing assistants, Q-tutors, peer coaches, and learning assistants will support their academic goals.

Faculty and student representatives from all academic departments will be available to answer your questions about courses and programs.

Head to the library entrance of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library with your proctor group and meet the College Librarians, President Zaki, and sign the matriculation book. Check your floor’s assigned Matriculation time in CampusGroups. Dress to impress, please.

Enjoy lunch on your own schedule!

Stop by Sustainable Bowdoin’s Freecycle to pick up gently used items you might need for your room. Space is limited so please try to register for a time slot on CampusGroups.

Come to the Peter Buck Gym at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., or 1:30 p.m. and catch a tour of the gym facilities!

Meet with your liberal arts advisor for the first time to discuss your fall course selection. Please be prompt and bring your laptop or iPad.

Join us on the quad for pop-up yoga taught by Jessica Richardson, courtesy of Human Resources.

Join us for ice cream and information about the offices that are here to support your academic success during your time at Bowdoin! Meet representatives from the Library, Baldwin Center for Learning and Teaching, THRIVE, and Academic Technology and Consulting and get your first year started strong!

Drop-in Health Professions Advising (Optional)

Dress to impress for this time-honored Bowdoin tradition.

Gather with your Proctor group and make your way to Convocation. Please be prompt.

All new students will join President Zaki and Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs, Jim Hoppe, as they welcome you to the official opening of the College’s 224th academic year. A Bowdoin tradition. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. Please arrive early and dress to impress.

A very special Bowdoin tradition for the campus community that brings friends together for dinner after a summer apart and celebrates the beginning of another academic year.

Communicate with your coach for time and location.

Pick up your MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, and Apple Pencil and set up your technology for the school year. Bring a phone and a bag or backpack. Distribution may take up to an hour. Don’t stress, there are enough new Apple devices for everyone!

Grab breakfast with your proctor group.

Meet Dining Operations Manager/Nutritionist Susanne D’Angelo-Cooley if you have distinct dietary needs.

Grab breakfast with your proctor group.

Head to the library entrance of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library with your proctor group and meet the College Librarians, President Zaki, and sign the matriculation book. Check your floor’s assigned Matriculation time in CampusGroups. Dress to impress, please.

Visit with Health & Counseling, Student Activities, Career Exploration and Development (CXD), Multicultural Life, Safety & Security, Student Employment, Student Accessibility, SWAG and more. Staff members will be available to answer your questions about resources, support, and how to get involved in campus life.

Enjoy lunch on your own schedule!

Attend an informational session on course selection and general preparation for a career in the legal or teaching fields. Pre-Health advising will take place tomorrow.

Head to the library entrance of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library with your proctor group and meet the College Librarians, President Zaki, and sign the matriculation book. Check your floor’s assigned Matriculation time in CampusGroups. Dress to impress, please.

o   1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. -  Searles 117 – Students with a placement of Math 2000 or Math 2020
 Searles 223 – Students with a placement of Math 1600
 Searles 215 – Students with a placement of Math 1700 or 1750
 Searles 217 – Students with a placement of Math 1800
 Searles 113 – Students with questions about Statistics, o 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
 Searles 213 – Students with a placement of “see Quantitative Reasoning Director”, o 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
 Searles 117 – Students with a placement of “see Department Chair”, All other questions about math courses and placements can be addressed at the Academic Fair on Monday.

Join the music faculty to learn about department ensembles.

Get to know faculty members from every language department at the College. Hear about the rich academic offerings and travel opportunities while enjoying some ice cream.

For more information about auditions refer to this link from Professor Campbell Strauss.

. Contact for the auditions is Kari Francis at K.Francis@bowdoin.edu .

Join the music faculty to consult with them concerning your music theory placement results. The theory placement exam is required only for music theory courses, not courses in music history, sociology, or performance

Stop by and volunteer to support local partners, meet new friends, and learn more about the McKeen Center for the Common Good.

Grab dinner with your proctor group.

Grab dinner with your proctor group.

People say they feel more social, more outgoing, and more confident when they drink alcohol, but does alcohol really do those things? With so much being debated about what marijuana does or doesn’t do, what does the research actually say? How come the ability to “hold your liquor” could disappear if someone drinks in an unfamiliar setting or consumes unfamiliar drinks? Learn about the answers to these questions and more as we discuss what the science says about these issues. We will also talk about ways to reduce the risks associated with substance use (when applicable), and ways to look out for a classmate or friend. Please be prompt.

If you’re not up for tonight’s event, use this time to relax in your room, unpack, and socialize.

Compete with your classmates in lawn games, get a caricature with your roommate to decorate your dorm, or snag a snack at the Carnival!

Pick up your MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, and Apple Pencil and set up your technology for the school year. Bring a phone and a bag or backpack. Distribution may take up to an hour, so once you have settled after your return from Orientation Trips, proceed to Farley for pickup. Don’t stress, there are enough new Apple devices for everyone!

After your trip returns to campus, enjoy lunch on your own schedule!

The salad bar and deli are available for orientation trips that have returned late.

Gather with your proctor group to take a brief, campus survey before heading to the Welcome Back Cookout.

Upperclass students, staff, and faculty welcome you back to campus after your Orientation Trips with a community meal including a student DJ, lawn games, and raffle prizes! Practice your Bowdoin “Hello” and connect with your new neighbors

If you’re not up for tonight’s event, use this time to relax in your room, unpack, and socialize.

Relax outdoors with a movie and custom popcorn bar!

Rise and shine; an adventure awaits! Your trip leader will communicate your breakfast and departure plans in advance. Please be prompt and remember: no cell phones. 

Orientation trips!

Communicate with your coach for time and location.

Enjoy your first breakfast as a Bowdoin student. 

Meet Dining Operations Manager/Nutritionist Susanne D’Angelo-Cooley to discuss any distinct dietary needs. 

Enjoy your first breakfast as a Bowdoin student. 

Spend time with your new roommates, floormates, and neighbors discussing the values of a residential learning community that will support your individual and collective success during your first year at Bowdoin. 

Lunch With Your O-Trip (Group A)

Lunch With Your O-Trip (Group B)

A panel of Bowdoin students will guide you through this class-wide program, highlighting the many ways students can show up at Bowdoin, break free from the expectations they may feel, and hear how others have grown and throughout their lives at Bowdoin. You will also have a chance to meet professional staff from Ladd House representing Bowdoin’s Center for Multicultural Life; the Sexuality, Women, and Gender Center (SWAG), and members of the Office of Inclusion and Diversity. 

Build your own self-care kit and stop at each wellness station to collect a different piece of B Well swag. Wellness at Bowdoin looks like a lot of different things for a lot of different people including mindfulness, counseling, diverse medicinal traditions, physical activity, play, rest, and goal setting. Connect with students and staff while you learn about all the wellness resources Bowdoin offers!

Gather with your proctor group at 5:00 p.m. before heading over to the President’s Welcome as a group. Dress to impress, please! 

A Bowdoin tradition. Join President Zaki as she welcomes you to the College. 

You will proceed up the steps of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art as a group. Stay with your floor until you are called up the steps, so you don’t miss the photo. 

Immediately following the class photo, join your classmates, Bowdoin College President Safa Zaki, special guest speakers, and First-Year Dean Khoa Khuong for a memorable Bowdoin tradition.  

If you’re not up for tonight’s event, use this time to relax in your room, unpack, and socialize. 

Grab a tasty ice cream treat and explore Ladd House! 

Your OneCard is your official Bowdoin ID. It gives you campus buildings, dining services, vending machines, bookstore purchases, and more! Stop by the Bowdoin selfie station with your family and make a memory! 

After you’ve dropped your belongings at your residence hall and picked up your OneCard, check in with your Orientation Trip leaders. Plan to bring your trip bag with everything from your packing list. If you have any questions, concerns, or missing items, your trip leaders will be there to help you. 

Please arrive during your pre-scheduled arrival time slot between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Members of the residential life staff will let you into your room. Make sure to stop by the check-in table in front of your residence and let Res Life staff know you’ve arrived! 

If you are an international student, stop by Sustainable Bowdoin’s Freecycle with your ISO group to pick up gently used items you might need for your room—for free!

Enjoy live music performed by local musical favorites! 

Enjoy a complimentary lunch at Thorne Dining Hall for incoming students, accompanying family members and guests. At Magee’s Grill (lower level, Smith Union) you may purchase a la carte by credit card. 

Join other students and families to learn about accommodations and resources for students with disabilities on campus from Director of Student Accessibility Lesley Levy.

If you are in Bowdoin Advising in Support of Excellence (BASE), Bowdoin Science Experience (BSE), Chamberlain Scholars, or Geoffrey Canada Scholars (GCS), welcome to THRIVE! THRIVE is a campus initiative to foster achievement, belonging, mentorship, and transition among students who have historically been excluded from many spaces in higher education, in particular low-income students and those who are the first in their family to attend college. Join us to meet the THRIVE team and learn more about what we have to offer. 

A hub for Identity and Culture at Bowdoin, Ladd House staff welcomes you to stop by and learn about Bowdoin’s Center for Multicultural Life, the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Sexuality, Women, and Gender Center (SWAG), and the Student Accessibility Office. Light refreshments offered. 

A chance for transfer students, accompanying family members and guests to introduce themselves to one another. 

President Safa Zaki, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe, and Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon welcome families and guests to the Bowdoin community. 

A preview of New Student Orientation and your first year at Bowdoin with Assistant Class Dean, Doug Dieuveuil. 

Families and guests may enjoy refreshments at this reception hosted by President Zaki. 

A panel of student affairs professionals will discuss the First-Year Experience and college departments and resources. Time will be set aside to answer questions. This session concludes Arrival Day programming for families and guests. Thank you for joining us! 

Say goodbye to family and guests before reporting to Farley Field House at 4:15pm

Please be prompt. 

Families and guests are invited to depart campus. Safe travels

 All new students report to Farley Field House to join your Orientation Trip group as you participate in games, icebreakers, and trip preparation. Please bring everything you plan to take on your Orientation Trip. 

Bowdoin College Dining Services strives to support the people of Maine and the Maine economy by sourcing goods from local producers and farmers, including the Bowdoin Organic Garden. Sustainable Bowdoin and the Bowdoin Organic Garden will be at this dinner to engage with the class and answer questions. Enjoy a wonderful meal of local products and learn a little about Maine heritage cuisine and Bowdoin’s sustainability initiatives.

Bowdoin College Dining Services strives to support the people of Maine and the Maine economy by sourcing goods from local producers and farmers, including the Bowdoin Organic Garden. Sustainable Bowdoin and the Bowdoin Organic Garden will be at this dinner to engage with the class and answer questions. Enjoy a wonderful meal of local products and learn a little about Maine heritage cuisine and Bowdoin’s sustainability initiatives.

Gather with your proctor group in your residence hall. 

Gather with members of your floor and meet your residential life proctors and resident assistants (RAs). Spend time with your floormates and begin building connections!

If you’re not up for tonight’s event, use this time to relax in your room, unpack, and socialize. 

Test your trivia brain or relax with some crafts and snacks at the pub on your first night of college!