ED Bump at Bowdoin or Middlebury

[Anonymous]

Did we ever find out where OP's DC was accepted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD from one of the area private schools (Top 5 according to DCUM) is really interested in Bowdoin and Middlebury. She wants to ED at one of the two schools and we are looking for guidance about which one gives a bigger bump for ED. Our DD's GPA is about 3.68. She will be going test optional. She has some sports leadership activities (Captain of teams since 11th grade) and should have excellent recommendations. At her private school, the regular admits for Bowdoin and Middlebury are around the 3.75 - 3.8 range so she is not competitive for RD. Unfortunately, there are not enough kids from her school doing ED to Bowdoin/Middlebury to get accurate Naviance data for this subset. Any anecdotal and/or factual advice would be really helpful. She honestly loved both schools from her visit and can see herself at either campus so her focus is on making the right ED decision. We are full pay if that helps.

Don’t go test optional. Test optional isn’t meant for full pay, private school kids. Hasn’t your college counselor told you this?

This was my firt thought as well. She needs to submit scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there more of a bump if it is a boy with similar stats of a 3.7 (out of 4) at a private school and a 33 ACT?

Sure, that boy, with no other hook, applying ED, would have maybe a 1 in 20 shot at admission instead of the 1 in 30 shot a comparable girl would have.

Are you serious? A boy with a 3.7 GPA from a private school (so presumably no weighted GPA available) and a 33 ACT would have only a 5% chance of getting into Bowdoin or Middlebury ED?

no more like a 25 percent shot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Could a kid with a 4.0/4.75 from an MCPS school, SAT of 1530, lots of sports ECs with leadership roles get into one of these two schools ED? I should add - no hooks.

The ability to ED and potentially full pay is a hook.

Aren't both schools need-blind?

Yes, of course they are. Full pay will not help one iota at Bowdoin or Midd.

This always cracks me up. Everywhere you look in the world there are broken promises, gossips, pillow talkers, loose lips, & just plain careless people. In the Pentagon. In the Vatican. Yet we are supposed to believe that in small college towns where everybody knows each other, applicants’ information is guarded like the McDonald’s Special Sauce recipe.

[Anonymous]

If it helps any other prospective applicant reading this in future years, I got flat out rejected from Bowdoin ED1. I had three strong essays, a 3.92 GPA, did the interview and the optional video essay, have been the captain of the girls varsity soccer team for 2 years, the leader of a club for 2 years, and I’m an IB student. College admissions is incredibly random, give it a shot if you’d like but just remember that Bowdoin in particular has a very random selection process and tends to chose athletes and legacy kids over other qualified students. Though I will say that the school was my first choice for a reason. My best advice, if you decide to ED to Bowdoin, APPLY TO OTHER SCHOOLS EA!!!

[Anonymous]

You answered this with seeing the GPA from your school for RD is 3.75-3.8. 3.68 is a transcript with at least a few Bs, and we do not have context for rigor other than it’s one of the big 5. These schools are all rigorous, but there is a difference apply from the regular track at NCS and ending with multivariate/HLAVC. 3.68 with a 1600 or 36 could maybe get in, but test optional I would be shocked.

Also, the sports boost, you should be doing ED1 to whoever between Colby and Hamilton will give the athletics boost… that is your answer… college admissions from these elite schools is too cutthroat to waste the ED1 sports bump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here with an update. Hamilton coach came back after pre read and said they would support DD in an ED1 application. Colby coach seems to have ghosted kid. I understand if their roster changes but it's not a great look to just ignore kids emails. My DD has emailed several times asking Coach to just let her know if she is no longer on his list but no word back at all

I'm thrilled with Hamilton but DD still thinks she wants to go aggressive and try her luck at ED1 Middlebury/Bowdoin. I'm hoping when school reopens the counselors can talk to her more about her odds. No point in my being the bad guy in this process which is how it will turn out if I try to influence her decision making.

Sorry did not see this before I posted. You daughter should appt ED1 to Hamilton and thank her lucky stars. If she opts to go aggressive and apply to midd or bowdoin make sure she is ok ending up at trinity college in RD. I’ve seen kids get screwed by wasting ED. Especially since your kid does not have strong test scores and a majority of the full pay private school kids do and are not applying test optional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it helps any other prospective applicant reading this in future years, I got flat out rejected from Bowdoin ED1. I had three strong essays, a 3.92 GPA, did the interview and the optional video essay, have been the captain of the girls varsity soccer team for 2 years, the leader of a club for 2 years, and I’m an IB student. College admissions is incredibly random, give it a shot if you’d like but just remember that Bowdoin in particular has a very random selection process and tends to chose athletes and legacy kids over other qualified students. Though I will say that the school was my first choice for a reason. My best advice, if you decide to ED to Bowdoin, APPLY TO OTHER SCHOOLS EA!!!

Choosing athletes and legacies would make it the opposite of random. But I do agree Bowdoin admissions are random. They take extra time and steps (like the non-academic recommendation request) to get to know applicants and then choose the individuals that will fit best on their campus. I’m sorry you were rejected, but it means you’ll probably be a better fit for a different school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about a 34?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps any other prospective applicant reading this in future years, I got flat out rejected from Bowdoin ED1. I had three strong essays, a 3.92 GPA, did the interview and the optional video essay, have been the captain of the girls varsity soccer team for 2 years, the leader of a club for 2 years, and I’m an IB student. College admissions is incredibly random, give it a shot if you’d like but just remember that Bowdoin in particular has a very random selection process and tends to chose athletes and legacy kids over other qualified students. Though I will say that the school was my first choice for a reason. My best advice, if you decide to ED to Bowdoin, APPLY TO OTHER SCHOOLS EA!!!

Choosing athletes and legacies would make it the opposite of random. But I do agree Bowdoin admissions are random. They take extra time and steps (like the non-academic recommendation request) to get to know applicants and then choose the individuals that will fit best on their campus. I’m sorry you were rejected, but it means you’ll probably be a better fit for a different school.

Bowdoin's ED admit rate has been steadily declining as well, going down to 17% last year which was about a 10% point drop and much lower than peer schools. After factoring in Questbridge, recruited athletes, and other institutional priorities (e.g. effort to lock down URMs who are not necessarily flocking to a school in Maine), there are vanishingly few slots left. East coast applicants are probably the lowest priority there. My kid's IB magnet school typically gets one kid in per year, and did ED. Who knows if anyone else has a shot this cycle, but the odds aren't great.

In contrast, some years Midd fills up to 80% of its class ED. Far more significant ED bump. Plus Midd is larger to begin with, by about 800 students. If you're talking pure strategy, it's not even a question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps any other prospective applicant reading this in future years, I got flat out rejected from Bowdoin ED1. I had three strong essays, a 3.92 GPA, did the interview and the optional video essay, have been the captain of the girls varsity soccer team for 2 years, the leader of a club for 2 years, and I’m an IB student. College admissions is incredibly random, give it a shot if you’d like but just remember that Bowdoin in particular has a very random selection process and tends to chose athletes and legacy kids over other qualified students. Though I will say that the school was my first choice for a reason. My best advice, if you decide to ED to Bowdoin, APPLY TO OTHER SCHOOLS EA!!!

Choosing athletes and legacies would make it the opposite of random. But I do agree Bowdoin admissions are random. They take extra time and steps (like the non-academic recommendation request) to get to know applicants and then choose the individuals that will fit best on their campus. I’m sorry you were rejected, but it means you’ll probably be a better fit for a different school.

Bowdoin doesn't really care about athletics if you're not recruited though, and school clubs also count little. Lots of IB and AP students apply. It's just not easy to distinguish yourself in a pile of similar kids, if you're not an institutional priority or crazy high stats kid. The Naviance green checks at DC's school are 4.0uw/1550+ SATS. Bowdoin is test optional, but that again is really to assist with institutional priorities. White and Asian kids know they need to submit high scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps any other prospective applicant reading this in future years, I got flat out rejected from Bowdoin ED1. I had three strong essays, a 3.92 GPA, did the interview and the optional video essay, have been the captain of the girls varsity soccer team for 2 years, the leader of a club for 2 years, and I’m an IB student. College admissions is incredibly random, give it a shot if you’d like but just remember that Bowdoin in particular has a very random selection process and tends to chose athletes and legacy kids over other qualified students. Though I will say that the school was my first choice for a reason. My best advice, if you decide to ED to Bowdoin, APPLY TO OTHER SCHOOLS EA!!!

Choosing athletes and legacies would make it the opposite of random. But I do agree Bowdoin admissions are random. They take extra time and steps (like the non-academic recommendation request) to get to know applicants and then choose the individuals that will fit best on their campus. I’m sorry you were rejected, but it means you’ll probably be a better fit for a different school.

Bowdoin's ED admit rate has been steadily declining as well, going down to 17% last year which was about a 10% point drop and much lower than peer schools. After factoring in Questbridge, recruited athletes, and other institutional priorities (e.g. effort to lock down URMs who are not necessarily flocking to a school in Maine), there are vanishingly few slots left. East coast applicants are probably the lowest priority there. My kid's IB magnet school typically gets one kid in per year, and did ED. Who knows if anyone else has a shot this cycle, but the odds aren't great.

In contrast, some years Midd fills up to 80% of its class ED. Far more significant ED bump. Plus Midd is larger to begin with, by about 800 students. If you're talking pure strategy, it's not even a question.

Agree, when we ran the numbers realized Bowdoin wasn't going to happen and took it off our ED list.

[Anonymous]

I feel like I never see a Bowdoin commit on our school's IG page unless they are a recruited athlete. Is it known for sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like I never see a Bowdoin commit on our school's IG page unless they are a recruited athlete. Is it known for sports?

Only in that it’s virtually impossible to get in if you’re not an athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like I never see a Bowdoin commit on our school's IG page unless they are a recruited athlete. Is it known for sports?

Only in that it’s virtually impossible to get in if you’re not an athlete.

+1