The strains of a Led Zeppelin tune crackling throughout Homewood's AMR plaza seemed to accentuate an already spirited mood as the class of 2006 began its two-day move-in on Friday.

A small army of student volunteers was on hand to greet and assist the 1,155 freshmen as they settled into their new residences. Like stagehands unloading a rock 'n' roll outfit, the upperclassmen hauled out bin upon bin of student gear bound for the dorm rooms. Meanwhile, President William R. Brody and wife Wendy maneuvered around the lined-up cars on scooters, the pair stopping at each vehicle to welcome the passengers to Johns Hopkins.

Wearing red, white or blue T-shirts, hundreds of upperclassmen handled the hauling while freshmen checked in and their families headed off to coffee and doughnuts with faculty.

The arrivals hail from 47 states and 39 foreign countries and is one of the most diverse in school history in terms of academic interests, ethnicity and gender. The freshmen--26 percent of them early decision--came from a pool of 8,929 applicants, and the top-five represented states are New York, New Jersey, Maryland, California and Pennsylvania.