Can you tell me about Bowdoin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Definitely sporty, preppy, prep kid, not academic heavy weight who loves snow and outdoorsy winter sports wi thrive. A bit insular but ok for some.

Au contraire. I think that to be admitted there (unless perhaps you are a sports recruit), you have to be very impressive academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

They are obviously focused on it.

https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2021/03/claudia-marroquin-named-senior-vice-president-and-dean-of-admissions-and-financial-aid-at-bowdoin-college.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids attended and graduated from Bowdoin.

It's generally an upper middle class prep school vibe. There are lots of kids from New England. You should like winter - not just tolerate it but like snow. The kids are generally nice, well-rounded and outdoorsy. The academics are hard and the administration can be somewhat parental. This last point is good and bad - they look after the kids in prep school fashion (for ex, first semester, my kid's friend was called in because one of the professors noticed they hadn't been as upbeat and the school wanted to make sure they were okay) but I also thought that as junior/ senior year and then graduation approached, the school controlled who got certain opportunities - internships, who got into certain classes, etc. It's not too different from private schools in that way but I attended and graduated from a flagship.

The town is cute and the school runs shuttle buses to Freeport. Portland is half an hour away but requires a car or a ride from someone. Lots of kids do junior year abroad. The kids form close friendships and the school emphasizes 'giving back.' Some of my kids' friends went on to law school, medical school, vet school - but others became teachers (the school actually produces quite a few teachers), another worked for a religious charity for years, another taught English abroad. Again, the school emphasizes 'giving back.'

Yes, admissions was hard and I was thrilled when my kid was accepted.

I am glad your kid had a good experience, but this makes it sound so sheltered I almost don’t understand how it is so highly ranked. Did your DC graduate recently?

In a increasingly crappy world, being a sheltered oasis is a huge plus point

College is a time to start to grow and mature. Hard to picture that in the environment PP describes which sounds like Sidwell II.

I don't know. In a panel we saw there, they told the story of a kid who came and was not attending classes consistenly. Some high level administrator sat him down (maybe even knocked on this dorm room door) and explained that it was a privilege to go there. That he had an opportunity that many others would appreciate and if he did not start using it wisely, it would be taken away."

Basically, that kid was NOT mature enough for college and got the talk I think he needed. It is hard to predict how even good kids will react to being away from home the first time. I am glad that there is an alert adult around to catch that kid early and help him get back on track. That would not have happened at a big state school, but I found it to be a reassuring story.

Swarthmore admin went out of their way to help my sister, check in on her personally when she was having issues too.

And swat does that while being way way way more economically and racially diverse.

What you describe as the support structure in Bowdoin also happens in other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What you describe as the support structure in Bowdoin also happens in other schools.

Yes, I think it probably does happen at other liberal arts school. I'm just saying Bowdoin is particularly strong in this and it was something I had not experienced at any of the other schools in our family. (My other kids attended private universities and me and my husband attended state flagships.)

As far as diversity, I'm the poster whose kid attended Bowdoin and my kid was a URM. I think the biggest shift is Maine vs the D.C. area. Yes, the school actively seeks more diversity but frankly, the state is very white and not what D.C. area kids are used to. If we had to cross off every school that didn't have the diversity we wanted and every state that was less diverse than D.C., our list would have been quite small. But all that said, these are Bowdoin's numbers:

by race/ethnicity
American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.3%
Asian: 9.3%
Black or African American: 7.7%
Hispanic/Latino: 10.6%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
White: 56.2%
Two or more races: 8.1%
Race/ethnicity unknown: 0.5%
Non-resident alien: 7.2%

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin parent of URM here again. I just want to add one thing: I don't understand the Swarthmore poster. I really don't. Between my kids, my husband and me, we attended over half a dozen colleges and universities. Every single one, including Bowdoin, had its advantages and disadvantages but we were very happy with the education Bowdoin provided, which was rigorous but steeped in a sense of social responsibility. It was a good match for my kid and their values.

My kid also applied and was accepted at other slacs that, I'm sure, are equally fantastic. But, at the end of the day, kid had to choose one and Bowdoin is where kid chose and kid did well. If anyone has specific questions that I can answer, I will be happy to answer but I refuse to get into a competition with other SLACs. These top SLACs are more alike than they're different. For us, the trade off in diversity more than made up by things that suited my kid well: Maine, the outdoorsy, like to ski thing, happy well-rounded vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

How “diverse” a college is means very little to most people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

How “diverse” a college is means very little to most people

What a missed opportunity to attend college with people very similar to one's self. Go to a place where you can discover folks from different places and cultures and make the effort to get to know them. That is an education on top of an education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

How “diverse” a college is means very little to most people

What a missed opportunity to attend college with people very similar to one's self. Go to a place where you can discover folks from different places and cultures and make the effort to get to know them. That is an education on top of an education.

You're assuming our kids are also preppy, white, and outdoorsy. But being primarily around kids like that would be quite a new experience for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to hijack...Does anyone want to share their opinions/perceptions about how Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates differ and the type of college experience/student at each?

Have not yet visited and that's been hard to get a feel for...

This conversation has been had several times here. Just search the threads. We visited all three, some more than once. My DC had a clear favorite and that's where they attend and are very happy. We had both similar and differing perspectives from other people who visited or had kids attend. Frankly, it would be silly to rule out any of them based on what someone said on DCUM. Go visit yourself. It is easy to see all three in one trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

They are obviously focused on it.

https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2021/03/claudia-marroquin-named-senior-vice-president-and-dean-of-admissions-and-financial-aid-at-bowdoin-college.html

FWIW, when we toured, our tour guide was a Black woman and I think almost all the tour guides were people of color. They are obviously conscious of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin parent of URM here again. I just want to add one thing: I don't understand the Swarthmore poster. I really don't. Between my kids, my husband and me, we attended over half a dozen colleges and universities. Every single one, including Bowdoin, had its advantages and disadvantages but we were very happy with the education Bowdoin provided, which was rigorous but steeped in a sense of social responsibility. It was a good match for my kid and their values.

My kid also applied and was accepted at other slacs that, I'm sure, are equally fantastic. But, at the end of the day, kid had to choose one and Bowdoin is where kid chose and kid did well. If anyone has specific questions that I can answer, I will be happy to answer but I refuse to get into a competition with other SLACs. These top SLACs are more alike than they're different. For us, the trade off in diversity more than made up by things that suited my kid well: Maine, the outdoorsy, like to ski thing, happy well-rounded vibe.

100% this. My kid is at one of the other Maine SLACs (plus we have several family members who attended other NESCAC schools) and I have nothing negative to say about the others. Too many people want to knock schools down, for reasons that I don't understand (than that this is DCUM and that's what people do here).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin parent of URM here again. I just want to add one thing: I don't understand the Swarthmore poster. I really don't. Between my kids, my husband and me, we attended over half a dozen colleges and universities. Every single one, including Bowdoin, had its advantages and disadvantages but we were very happy with the education Bowdoin provided, which was rigorous but steeped in a sense of social responsibility. It was a good match for my kid and their values.

My kid also applied and was accepted at other slacs that, I'm sure, are equally fantastic. But, at the end of the day, kid had to choose one and Bowdoin is where kid chose and kid did well. If anyone has specific questions that I can answer, I will be happy to answer but I refuse to get into a competition with other SLACs. These top SLACs are more alike than they're different. For us, the trade off in diversity more than made up by things that suited my kid well: Maine, the outdoorsy, like to ski thing, happy well-rounded vibe.

100% this. My kid is at one of the other Maine SLACs (plus we have several family members who attended other NESCAC schools) and I have nothing negative to say about the others. Too many people want to knock schools down, for reasons that I don't understand (than that this is DCUM and that's what people do here).

+1 I also have a kid at one of the Maine SLACS and know quite a bit about the others. They are all excellent schools. They have slightly different student vibes, so appeal to different types of kids, but they're all great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO Bowdoin is the best SLAC on the East Coast. Sure Amherst and Williams are slightly higher in the rankings, but Bowdoin matches them in quality of education and far surpasses them in quality of life and overall happiness. Outcomes and prestige are comparable these days.

Bowdoin is way whiter and less economically diverse than AWS.

“Overall happiness” doesn’t stem from anything innately Bowdoin but because kids have a huge safety net in their lives.

So effing true - I've been searching for a way to describe that phenomenon and boom you've done it.

VERY Lacking on the diversity front- big time. Needs improvement imho

How “diverse” a college is means very little to most people

What a missed opportunity to attend college with people very similar to one's self. Go to a place where you can discover folks from different places and cultures and make the effort to get to know them. That is an education on top of an education.

You're assuming our kids are also preppy, white, and outdoorsy. But being primarily around kids like that would be quite a new experience for my kid.

Not assuming anything. Just responding to the post about lack of diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My New York Latino male neighbor who is in IT went to Bowdoin. I never would have guessed that he did, but one time the postman delivered my neighbor's mail to me and it included a Bowdoin alumni magazine.

I get what you're saying about your image of Bowdoin, but, you might consider whether your reaction also says something about your preconceptions about Latinos and Latinas. As a Latina who loves to ski and who attended another New England SLAC (as did my sisters, after graduating from boarding school in New England), I'd just note that our ethnicity doesn't destine us to attend University of Miami.