For Jessica Halter, a newly arrived member of the Class of 2013, the first item on her agenda after moving into her room in Stillman Hall was pretty basic: take a shower.
The first-year from Fort Collins, Colo., was just back from a pre-orientation Wilderness Adventure program in the Adirondack Mountains, and she didn't have a shower for the past eight days.
"It's time," she said with a laugh this morning as she waited with her mom, Susan, for the move-in crew to drive her things from Whitnall Field up to Stillman.
Halter and other members of the incoming class filled Whitnall on a sparkling sunny day, as music played and upperclassmen waved and shouted greetings to families arriving on campus.
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Upperclassmen greet incoming first-year students and their families to campus this morning. (Photo by Andy Daddio)
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Halter said she was convinced that Colgate was right for her after taking part in the April Visit Days program.
"It's such a great atmosphere and I just loved all the people I met," she said.
Patricia Ligons, mother of incoming student Patrick, was standing in front of a well-organized assemblage of boxes with her young daughter, Alexa.
She admitted to some mixed feelings as her son leaves home and launches his college career.
"It's very hard, scary, and exciting," she said.
She said her son was interested in a wide variety of schools, but selected Colgate after university staff members visited his high school in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"I left all the options up to him," she said. "After he met with them during that visit to his high school, he said, 'That's where I want to go.'"
The 751 members of the Class of 2013 were chosen from an applicant pool of 7,814, representing 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 123 countries.
Admitted students boast an average GPA of 3.73 and an average combined SAT of 1397 (math and critical reading).