Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
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The outdoors, the arts, quaint, friendly, open, coastal, New England…Brunswick, Maine and Bowdoin encompass all of this and more. Take a walk into town right from campus where a myriad of restaurants in all cuisines abound along with specialty shops that have that little something you won’t find anywhere else. Portland is 30 minutes away (and yes, there is an airport there!), and Boston is a 3 hour Amtrak ride away with the train station a 5 minute walk from campus. A beautiful campus, traditional red brick with plenty of green, where new meets old and freedom of expression is welcomed. –
• Private
• Undergraduate enrollment – 1,816
• Admit rate – 14%
• Financial Aid forms required – FAFSA, CSS Profile
• Retention rate – 96%
• Mid 50% SAT/ACT range – 640-760/30-34
• Student to faculty ratio – 9:1
• Houses The Bowdoin Museum of Arts, free to the public and students can intern there
• Hosts hundreds of events each year, lectures, film screenings, concerts, exhibitions, dances, intimate talks, panel discussions and more
• There’s no bad weather just bad weather gear
• Funded internship program
• Extensive career exploration and development center
• Sophomore houses – Help with freshman acclimating to college life
• Asked to declare major in sophomore year
• Bowdoin alumni network is strong
• More selective than Bates and Colby
• Don’t have core classes, just have clusters where you can select courses from
• No Greek life
• Strong science programs – Specifically Bio and Chem
• Close proximity to Atlantic coast
• More collaborative rather than competitive environment
• Brunswick – States largest town – Quiet college town
• Academic climate – Rigorous but laid back
• Undergrad research a priority
• Entering class – Pre-orientation trips – Hiking, Canoeing, and kayaking
• Outdoorsy, athletic
• Test-optional
• Social houses
• 80% of the kids they accept submit the SAT/ACT. The average a few years ago (pre-inflated SAT): math and verbal each at 720.
• Visual and performing arts requirement
• Encourage to take classes out of comfort zone
• Government and legal studies very popular
• Environmental Science Largest department
• Have Bowdoin marine science semester
• Science station on Kent Island
• Computer Science one of the most difficult majors
• Strict honor code and have anti-plagiarism training
• Research is also done over the summer, just ask a professor
• Study abroad is prevalent
• Can Design your own major
• 1/3 of students double major
• A thesis is not required
• Failure isn’t a failure, it is a marker for where you are at and what there is to learn
• Cap most students at 4 classes per semester. College is hard!
• Leed certified buildings
• Very environmentally conscience
• A lot of biking around campus
• Freshman cannot have cars but there is a rental car system on campus
• Adventurous, overly-friendly, aware, caring of others – Description of the student body
• Garden on campus, some items that are grown are used in the food plan
