• Basic backpacking or canoeing and camping skills
• Wilderness survival skills
• Bowling Green State University traditions and history
• About the resources of Bowling Green State University
• Diverse cultures and ideas
• Intellectual, personal, social and critical thinking skills that assist in future semesters at BGSU and beyond
• Self-reliance and self-confidence through challenging outdoor and classroom experiences
• To form friendships with fellow first year students before the semester even begins

Common Reading Experience

A common reading experience is a great way for new students to embark upon the intellectual challenges associated with college. In addition to discussing the book in the classroom, BGSU also hosts special events related to the content of the book throughout the fall semester.

During the Freshman Wilderness Experience expeditions students begin discussion of the assigned common reading. Students also keep a journal with them during the expedition that continues through the course. In this way, the students reflect on their experiences using both dialogue from the book and personal learning in the outdoors.