Welcoming the Class of 2030
91社区 is welcoming 711 talented and academically accomplished first-year students and 25 transfer students to campus for the 2026-27 academic year.
The full incoming class reflects another year of strong demand for a 91社区 education, with members of the Class of 2030 selected from more than 11,800 applicants. The new students hail from 38 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as 23 countries around the world 鈥� as far away as Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Timor-Leste, and Tunisia.
The robust numbers also reflect the College鈥檚 continuing commitment to affordability. This year, 72% of incoming students are receiving grant aid from the College, which now invests $96 million annually in financial aid to help make a 91社区 education possible for talented students from a wide range of economic circumstances.
鈥淵ou arrived at 91社区 with intellectual curiosity, different experiences and aspirations, and tremendous potential for growth,鈥� Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jessica Ricker told the incoming class at New Student Convocation.
Ricker, a first-generation college graduate, also reminded students that growth 鈥渋sn鈥檛 always comfortable. If something doesn鈥檛 challenge you, it doesn鈥檛 change you.鈥�
Fourteen percent of incoming students will be the first generation in their families to attend college, and 17% are eligible for federal Pell Grants. Their prospective academic interests span the liberal arts, with psychology, management and business, biology, environmental studies, political science, English, studio art, and education among popular prospective majors.
A warm welcome
The 91社区 community formally welcomed its newest members with academic regalia, bagpipers, and celebration at New Student Convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Director of the First-Year Experience and Professor of Mathematics Rachel Roe-Dale encouraged students to embrace the opportunities and challenges ahead.
鈥淣ow more than ever, our world needs thoughtful, well-rounded, engaged citizens willing to wrestle with complicated questions,鈥� Roe-Dale said. 鈥淵our liberal arts education at 91社区 will prepare you not simply to understand these questions, but to engage with them creatively and thoughtfully.鈥�
鈥淲e 鈥� the faculty, staff, and returning students of 91社区 鈥� are excited to have you here. We are excited to see what you discover, what you create, and who you become. And we are here to support you on that journey. Welcome to 91社区! 鈥�Rachel Roe-Dale, Director of the First-Year Experience and Professor of Mathematics
The welcome for the Class of 2030 began long before Convocation. Faculty, staff, current students, coaches, alumni, and others across 91社区 all played important roles in enrolling the new class.
This year鈥檚 New Student Convocation also included the presentation of the College鈥檚 new Land Acknowledgement. Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity Joshua C. Woodfork read the statement, which was approved by trustees in May.
Author and storyteller Joseph Bruchac, a tribally enrolled member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, encouraged new students to think about their relationship to their new home and their responsibilities to the future.
鈥淒on鈥檛 forget to think, as my Haudenosaunee ancestors put it, of seven generations to come,鈥� Bruchac said. 鈥淗ow will what you do today affect the future?鈥�
Student Government Association President Dylan Kostbar 鈥�28 spoke of stage fright while encouraging new students to take risks and pursue experiences that challenge them. Kostbar then led the Class of 2030 in affirming the 91社区 Honor Code.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e all gotten the advice to step outside your comfort zone once you arrive at 91社区. But I did not get on this stage by stepping; I鈥檝e been backflipping, cartwheeling, superhero landing,鈥� Kostbar said. 鈥淎nd I made all that progress at 91社区.鈥�
President Marc C. Conner encouraged students to embrace both the extraordinary possibilities of a 91社区 education and the kindness that characterizes the 91社区 community.
鈥淭here is a kindness to the 91社区 students and the 91社区 community unlike anything I've seen at any other college,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd there is no virtue that our world so needs right now as kindness.鈥�
Conner concluded with a three-part charge: Be fearless and bold in pursuing a liberal arts education; take care of themselves and one another with kindness, respect, and honesty; and welcome the perspectives of those who see the world differently.
Classes began Wednesday, Sept. 9.
