After a record number of applications and months of student planning, A Day on College Hill welcomed over 700 prospective students to the sunny Brown campus.
The two-day event, which gives admitted students a taste of life at Brown, officially began Thursday afternoon. Many prospective students had been on campus since Wednesday for Third World Welcome, a program focused on minority students.
During ADOCH, admitted students are able to meet future classmates, pick through a variety of classes to attend during "shopping period," stay a night in a Brown residence hall and attend many informative and social events.
But what admitted students might have enjoyed the most on Thursday is the weather.
Unlike last year, ADOCH volunteers did not have to welcome students with umbrellas and ponchos, said Sarah Evelyn '12, a volunteer for the ADOCH Planning Committee.
Volunteers were very thankful for the clear skies and warm temperatures, Evelyn said.
While the weather on Friday "might take a turn for the worse," it's the "first day that really matters," said Eddie Re '12, co-coordinator of the planning committee.
For the first time, the planning committee paired prospective students with hosts that shared similar interests, Re said. When students volunteered to host, they were asked to fill out a survey of their academic and extracurricular interests, which were then matched with those of prospective students, he said. Because of this, Re added, "hosting ran very well."
"The only thing that has surprised me so far is how smoothly everything is going," Re said.
After registering with ADOCH volunteers at Sayles Hall, prospective students followed colorful chalk signs to the Pembroke campus, where they were served a barbecue dinner.
There, admitted students were "already chatting with each other and being social," said ADOCH volunteer Colby Jenkins '12.
The dinner was followed by a welcoming ceremony with President Ruth Simmons and Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73. Students sat under a heated white tent on the Main Green and laughed along with Simmons as she welcomed the class.
Throughout the rest of the night, prospective students attended talent shows, heard a cappella arch sings and mingled with other admitted students over ice cream.
"So far Ruth Simmons is one of my favorite academic administrators that I've met in my life," said William Ryan, a prospective freshman.
Ryan, who is still considering other universities, said that he has found Brown "more chilled and less pretentious than all of the Ivy League schools I've visited."
And, he added, if he does come to Brown, he hopes Simmons will be his "mom away from home."
Kyle McNamara, another prospective freshman, said that after taking the physical sciences tour, which focuses on Brown's science facilities, earlier in the day, he was surprisingly impressed with science at Brown.
"I didn't know how far science was at Brown, but they seem to have a good handle on things," he said. Now, McNamara added, he's almost certain that he will enroll in Brown as an engineer.
Natalie Mehra, also an admit considering Brown, said she was "really surprised" when she got in, given the record number of applicants for the class of 2014. Mehra, who said she has already found Brown "really nice, really friendly, warm and welcoming," added that of all of Brown's qualities, the New Curriculum is what appeals to her the most.
Mehra said she is especially glad she came to ADOCH because it gave her a better picture of student life.
"I thought I might not fit in with people here, but now I definitely see I will," she said.
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