Should I ED Bowdoin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like Slacs can’t win on here. Either they take a good chunk of their class in ED and are labeled a joke like Colby and Bates, or they are “too selective” and scaring applicants away. Would love to know what a happy medium would be.

The ideal fix would be to ban early decision entirely and limit apps to 10 max.

Which will never happen. So everybody will continue to approach college admissions like it's an elaborate exercise in game theory. SLACs have a much harder time because they are so small and every admittance matters. Whereas Stanford can take in a football team Early Decision and Harvard can bring in a hockey team SCEA, and no one blinks an eye because it doesn't matter when the freshman class is 1700 students.

[Anonymous]

idea fix would be to lose half their sports teams.

also, if I were these schools, I'd build another dorm or two on their many acres. add 400 more kids. move these enrollments from 2000 to 2400.

nobody would care if the average class size went from 17 to 20. the cafeterias and gyms can handle it. Just adds a few more kids who aren't athletes or drama kids or activists .. add some norms. round out the class.. and all that tuition drops to the bottom line, which must be good for something .

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t ED.

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin admissions today is very different than just a few years ago. I would only apply ED if kid has their heart set on it. Otherwise, I'd go with a more likely strategy elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:idea fix would be to lose half their sports teams.

also, if I were these schools, I'd build another dorm or two on their many acres. add 400 more kids. move these enrollments from 2000 to 2400.

nobody would care if the average class size went from 17 to 20. the cafeterias and gyms can handle it. Just adds a few more kids who aren't athletes or drama kids or activists .. add some norms. round out the class.. and all that tuition drops to the bottom line, which must be good for something .

Agree - this is a great idea and would have a significant impact across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin admissions today is very different than just a few years ago. I would only apply ED if kid has their heart set on it. Otherwise, I'd go with a more likely strategy elsewhere.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

However, he demonstrated strong interest

Which Bowdoin says they don’t care about…

Bowdoin does consider interest according to CDS and our CCO.

That's interesting since the Director of Admissions stated they don't track interest, in the info session. Also Bowdoin slashed their ED admit rate last year. Historically around 30%, last year 17%. Guarantee that 17% included few to no unhooked kids.

Important to note here that the ED rate went down because the number of ED apps went up. They took about the same number of students ED. Also ~36% of applicants were international. I would imagine at least that percentage of ED apps were international which I would guess is accepted at a lower rate.



Also question. Are 36% of Bowden students RECRUITED or just athletes and the recruited number is lower. Or is the percentage of athletes at Bowdoin higher than 36%?

[Anonymous]

^ I presume all athletes aren’t recruited…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

However, he demonstrated strong interest

Which Bowdoin says they don’t care about…

Bowdoin does consider interest according to CDS and our CCO.

That's interesting since the Director of Admissions stated they don't track interest, in the info session. Also Bowdoin slashed their ED admit rate last year. Historically around 30%, last year 17%. Guarantee that 17% included few to no unhooked kids.

Important to note here that the ED rate went down because the number of ED apps went up. They took about the same number of students ED. Also ~36% of applicants were international. I would imagine at least that percentage of ED apps were international which I would guess is accepted at a lower rate.



Also question. Are 36% of Bowden students RECRUITED or just athletes and the recruited number is lower. Or is the percentage of athletes at Bowdoin higher than 36%?

Not that many schools are need blind for international students. That is partly what's fueling the increase, along with Bowdoin's rep for good academics, food, and dorms.

[Anonymous]

Should I ED Bowdoin?

Really? Who on earth is applying here, OP, your or your kid? Back away and let your kid breathe. Let your kid apply. It isn't about you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should I ED Bowdoin?

Really? Who on earth is applying here, OP, your or your kid? Back away and let your kid breathe. Let your kid apply. It isn't about you.

I assumed the OP was the student. Did something make you think otherwise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

However, he demonstrated strong interest

Which Bowdoin says they don’t care about…

Bowdoin does consider interest according to CDS and our CCO.

That's interesting since the Director of Admissions stated they don't track interest, in the info session. Also Bowdoin slashed their ED admit rate last year. Historically around 30%, last year 17%. Guarantee that 17% included few to no unhooked kids.

Important to note here that the ED rate went down because the number of ED apps went up. They took about the same number of students ED. Also ~36% of applicants were international. I would imagine at least that percentage of ED apps were international which I would guess is accepted at a lower rate.



Also question. Are 36% of Bowden students RECRUITED or just athletes and the recruited number is lower. Or is the percentage of athletes at Bowdoin higher than 36%?

Not that many schools are need blind for international students. That is partly what's fueling the increase, along with Bowdoin's rep for good academics, food, and dorms.

I think that's right. Bowdoin only went need blind for international students in 2022. Major boost to demand, and a smart strategy to help with the diversity issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:idea fix would be to lose half their sports teams.

also, if I were these schools, I'd build another dorm or two on their many acres. add 400 more kids. move these enrollments from 2000 to 2400.

nobody would care if the average class size went from 17 to 20. the cafeterias and gyms can handle it. Just adds a few more kids who aren't athletes or drama kids or activists .. add some norms. round out the class.. and all that tuition drops to the bottom line, which must be good for something .

This is essentially what Middlebury did. Went from just under 2,000 students in the late 80s/early 90s to 2,700-2,800 students now. Some good and some bad. On the downside, per student endowment goes down and acceptance rate goes up. Enrolling a class of 700 students takes a lot more acceptances than enrolling a class of 500, and SLACs have a limited universe of applicants. On the upside, more students = more revenue, newer facilities to accommodate the additional students, and a larger pool of graduates to hit up for donations.