Approximately 4,700 students are moving into 12 residence halls this week at Montana State University, with each student arriving with different expectations for the year ahead.
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For freshmen Romi and Sylvie, both from out of state, the outdoor opportunities are a major draw.
“I am really looking forward to camping. Just the outdoor activities, 'cause it's a lot more than I have back home,” Romi said.
“Yeah, like the music in the mountains type stuff,” Sylvie said.
Freshmen Colter and Lennon, both from Kalispell, said they are looking forward to the social side of college.
“Partying!” Lennon said.
The two also said Montana State's location is part of what attracted them to the university.
“Everyone is coming here for some reason. It's because of the mountain,” Lennon said.
“Skiing, fly fishing, all of that,” Colter said.
For some students, move-in weekend is also about helping new students get settled.
Members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority were helping freshmen get oriented during move-in.
“It feels like every time I am on campus there's so much diversity, more people involved and we are hoping to get more girls involved in recruitment, so go sorority,” one member said.
Then there is the question nearly every college student hears: What's your major?
“I am majoring in pre-med.”
“I'm business finance.”
“I'm majoring in psychology.”
“I am also majoring in psychology.”
Students also had their guesses about which majors are most popular at MSU.
“Business.”
“Fish and wildlife, I would say is pretty popular.”
“Ag management, ag business, ag science!”
MSU officials say it is still too early to determine which majors are most popular this year.
Michael Becker, MSU vice president of communications, said several of the university's established programs continue to perform well.
“We can see that some of the standard MSU fields and majors are still performing really well. We are looking at the College of Engineering, the College of Business and the College of Letters and Science being our big three colleges,” Becker said.
While enrollment numbers are not finalized, Becker said campus energy is already high.
“Really the campus energy level is skyrocketing right now,” he said.
Residence hall numbers are slightly higher than last year but remain in line with what MSU typically sees.
“It's up a little bit from last year but it's on par. Usually MSU houses approximately 25% of its total student body in residence halls as an average,” Becker said.
As a new class settles into campus, Becker said the university is looking forward to welcoming students to Bozeman and Montana State.
“Bozeman is such a great community for welcoming people. We can't wait for them to join this community and be a part of Bozeman and Montana State for the rest of their lives,” Becker said.
