At 5:30 p.m. on March 31 — a mere 30 minutes after thousands of students received their admission decisions — 15 students had already registered to confirm a place at A Day on College Hill.
Beginning this afternoon, those students and hundreds more will flood campus as Brown plays host to this year's crop of accepted students.
Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73 said there are about 750 students registered for ADOCH and the Third World Welcome — a number he said was on par with attendance in recent years.
According to Christiana Stephenson '11, ADOCH co-coordinator and a Herald sales manager, the experience accepted students have at ADOCH is crucial.
"There's a lot riding on this for a lot of people," she said, calling her own experience at ADOCH "incredibly formative."
"I remember what it was like trying to make a decision about the future," she said. "And it's a hard decision."
The program offers opportunities for accepted students to socialize with one another, experience dorm life first-hand by staying overnight with a current student and get a taste of the academic and extracurricular offerings at Brown through panels, lectures and chances to sit in on courses.
Stephenson, who is coordinating ADOCH with Salsabil Ahmed '11, also emphasized the importance of the widespread involvement of current students, which she said was "really indicative that ADOCH is a campus-wide effort."
"Brown speaks for itself," Stephenson said. "We just step back and … watch the Brown community that we love speak for itself."
For the second year in a row, students who were admitted under early decision have not been invited to ADOCH.
In the past, Miller said, there had been complaints that accepted students found ADOCH to be "very overcrowded" and that inviting early decision students "overwhelms our facilities."
Stephenson also said the Bruin Club has been hosting tours exclusively for admitted students, including students admitted under the early decision program. These tours differ from the standard campus tours and give students a more in-depth look at certain aspects of the University, such as first-year dorms.
While this year's ADOCH will remain the same in most aspects, some changes have been made, both in terms of the budget and in some of the activities and events offered.
According to Miller, the University usually spends about $80,000 on ADOCH, but this year has trimmed the budget down to around $70,000, mostly by cutting costs on food.
One new addition to this year's ADOCH is a meet-and-greet barbeque on the Main Green that is scheduled for Tuesday evening, which Stephenson said she hopes will be "a good opportunity" for accepted students to interact with one another and other members of the Brown community.
And while Stephenson said there would be no more emphasis than usual on financial aid this year, another addition to the ADOCH lineup is 12 to 14 parents of current Brown students who will be present during the parent information session.
These parents, Stephenson said, have "been there, fronted the bill" and will be able to speak to the value of a Brown education.
Stephenson said there are many programs — from a cappella arch sings to a talent show and ice cream social — that will keep accepted students busy on Tuesday night. As always, substance use is strictly prohibited.
"I don't think that's the kind of thing that people base their decision on," Stephenson said.
Just as ADOCH will be ending on Wednesday afternoon, another program, Third World Welcome, will be kicking off.
TWW co-coordinator Chris Belcher '11 said between 100 and 110 students have registered for the program, and a majority of those students will be attending both ADOCH and TWW.
The program, which caters to minorities and international students, is about exploring the sense of community among minority students at Brown, Belcher said.
It's "an opportunity for the students to come to Brown and see what it has to offer," he said, adding that his own TWW experience allowed him to find a tight-knit community at Brown and "alleviated a lot of that stress" of traveling from Hawaii to Providence, where he knew no one.
Natasha Go '10, also a TWW co-coordinator, along with Danielle Dunlap '10, said it was "important to show that there's a really strong community of students of color" and that Brown has a "strong and cohesive" sense of community that "starts from the second you step on campus."
Stephenson said the coordinators look forward to the visits from admitted students "as much as the admitted students do."
"Probably more," she added.
