Tell me about the Maine private schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC ended up at Pomona but really liked Bowdoin. It seems to have a reputation for happy, balanced students and academic rigor. It offers lots of money and opportunities, really great food, nice dorms, and a cute campus. DC's classmate is at Bowdoin through Questbridge and seems to be enjoying it a lot (as reported to me from DC who is back at home). I personally think Bowdoin is right there with WASP and bet a lot of people pick it over WASP schools or better known universities.

Agree. Bowdoin is very hot right now. Kids know the academics are on par with other slacs and want the good good and dorms. We loved it after visiting (but ultimately decided it was a little too far).

*food

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colby keeps spamming my kid advertising no application fee and no supplemental essays.

Are they hurting for applicants?

They’re just driving up applications for the sake of rankings. DC is being spammed just as much from Bowdoin, Williams, and Swarthmore.

Are they advertising that it’s free and that the application is simple (ie, no supplemental essays?).

Those two items are a surprising way to market a “selective” SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colby keeps spamming my kid advertising no application fee and no supplemental essays.

Are they hurting for applicants?

They’re just driving up applications for the sake of rankings. DC is being spammed just as much from Bowdoin, Williams, and Swarthmore.

Are they advertising that it’s free and that the application is simple (ie, no supplemental essays?).

Those two items are a surprising way to market a “selective” SLAC.

No, that’s not true. Only Colby, Middlebury and Williams have no essays and only Colby’s application is free. My son found one of the Sway essays very challenging compared to most applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colby keeps spamming my kid advertising no application fee and no supplemental essays.

Are they hurting for applicants?

They’re just driving up applications for the sake of rankings. DC is being spammed just as much from Bowdoin, Williams, and Swarthmore.

Are they advertising that it’s free and that the application is simple (ie, no supplemental essays?).

Those two items are a surprising way to market a “selective” SLAC.

No, that’s not true. Only Colby, Middlebury and Williams have no essays and only Colby’s application is free. My son found one of the Sway essays very challenging compared to most applications.

No supplemental essays. You still have to do an essay with the common app.

[Anonymous]

I have a 2nd year at Bates and he is loving it. Has really enjoys his classes and the outdoor club. Has a nice group of friends who are smart and interested in learning but also happy to get out and about. Skied something like 35 days last year and joined a club sport. The campus is small but beautiful and the all you can eat meal plan (with great food!) is awesome. highly recommend a close look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Lewiston like Lancaster PA?

Winchester VA?

o

I think Lancaster is really pretty nice with a lot going on. Lewiston is a dump. Zero to do there, other than maybe volunteer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there skiing near any of them?

Colby is near Sugarloaf. Tour guide said he skied there five days a week in the winter.

Define "near"...We lived in Augusta (20 minutes to Colby) and the loaf is about 90 minutes away.

Bates practices at Lost Valley, a great little ski area about 15 minutes from campus. Bowdoin is about 90 minutes to Sunday River, Colby is 90 to Sugarloaf/Saddleback. Real skiers would of course go to Middlebury but all the Maine schools are close enough. Facilities wise Colby just finished huge athletic upgrades and has by far the best current athletic facilities. Bowdoin is about to start construction on theirs, their campus overall is the best. Bates is quirky. All are among the most selective of the NESCACs just below Williams/Midd/Amherst

What do you mean by “real skiers”? Sure, proximity to the snow bowl is good; but Sugarloaf has hosted a World Cup race and the US Nationals many times. Lots of real skiers would chose to ski there instead. YMMV

Real skiers don’t ski (or, really ice skate) on the east coast.

[Anonymous]

My DD spent 2 weeks at Colby on a summer program. She said the buildings were in a shockingly bad state and the dorms looked like prison cells, had no a/c and the communal areas were also bad.

That's all I got for you. But I understand this is not unusual.

[Anonymous]

Not what you asked, but while I’m here… I have known so many Bowdoin students and alumni over the years. Interesting lives. The common thread? They were noticeably kind and enjoyable to chat with and get to know. I think that campus cultivates it. Not sure how.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not what you asked, but while I’m here… I have known so many Bowdoin students and alumni over the years. Interesting lives. The common thread? They were noticeably kind and enjoyable to chat with and get to know. I think that campus cultivates it. Not sure how.

They expressly state they're looking for kind students and curate the class accordingly, paying close attention to rec letters, essays, video glimpse, and interviews for this.

"Bowdoin’s holistic approach to college admissions and the desire to build “a community of people to be impactful in our world” were among the points Whitney Soule, Bowdoin’s dean of admissions and financial aid, made while interviewed live on Bloomberg Radio.

In addition to the quantitative measures admissions officers look for to make sure prospective students are prepared for what the College would be asking of them academically, Soule spoke of kindness and character as factors that also weigh heavily in the application review process."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not what you asked, but while I’m here… I have known so many Bowdoin students and alumni over the years. Interesting lives. The common thread? They were noticeably kind and enjoyable to chat with and get to know. I think that campus cultivates it. Not sure how.

They expressly state they're looking for kind students and curate the class accordingly, paying close attention to rec letters, essays, video glimpse, and interviews for this.

"Bowdoin’s holistic approach to college admissions and the desire to build “a community of people to be impactful in our world” were among the points Whitney Soule, Bowdoin’s dean of admissions and financial aid, made while interviewed live on Bloomberg Radio.

In addition to the quantitative measures admissions officers look for to make sure prospective students are prepared for what the College would be asking of them academically, Soule spoke of kindness and character as factors that also weigh heavily in the application review process."

This is lovely but when we toured I began to suspect they were also "curating" for good looking students. There seemed a very disproportionate number of good looking boys and the video requirement made me wonder.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was accepted to all three and some other lacs and ended up at Bowdoin. She’s an alum now so my experience is from a few years back. Bowdoin was rigorous and I do think a lot of the kids were well-rounded and nice. She has definitely built lifelong relationships and she eventually went to an Ivy for grad school. Many students go on to law school and Ivy grad schools. That said, a lac might not be the best choice for your child if their interests lie in other fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2nd year at Bates and he is loving it. Has really enjoys his classes and the outdoor club. Has a nice group of friends who are smart and interested in learning but also happy to get out and about. Skied something like 35 days last year and joined a club sport. The campus is small but beautiful and the all you can eat meal plan (with great food!) is awesome. highly recommend a close look.

I have a junior at Bates and his experience sounds very similar. Works hard, plays club sports, has a great group of friends. He's done fieldwork all across Maine including at Acadia and just finished up a semester abroad, which seems to be very common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not what you asked, but while I’m here… I have known so many Bowdoin students and alumni over the years. Interesting lives. The common thread? They were noticeably kind and enjoyable to chat with and get to know. I think that campus cultivates it. Not sure how.

They expressly state they're looking for kind students and curate the class accordingly, paying close attention to rec letters, essays, video glimpse, and interviews for this.

"Bowdoin’s holistic approach to college admissions and the desire to build “a community of people to be impactful in our world” were among the points Whitney Soule, Bowdoin’s dean of admissions and financial aid, made while interviewed live on Bloomberg Radio.

In addition to the quantitative measures admissions officers look for to make sure prospective students are prepared for what the College would be asking of them academically, Soule spoke of kindness and character as factors that also weigh heavily in the application review process."

This is lovely but when we toured I began to suspect they were also "curating" for good looking students. There seemed a very disproportionate number of good looking boys and the video requirement made me wonder.

This is because being good looking and being kind go together. Attractive people are constantly praised, petted and treated well. They think the world is overflowing with kindness and love, and they adopt this attitude themselves. It's easy to be kind when the world loves you! Ugly people have been embittered by a lifetime of rejection and indifference, and they reflect this scorn back onto the world at large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not what you asked, but while I’m here… I have known so many Bowdoin students and alumni over the years. Interesting lives. The common thread? They were noticeably kind and enjoyable to chat with and get to know. I think that campus cultivates it. Not sure how.

They expressly state they're looking for kind students and curate the class accordingly, paying close attention to rec letters, essays, video glimpse, and interviews for this.

"Bowdoin’s holistic approach to college admissions and the desire to build “a community of people to be impactful in our world” were among the points Whitney Soule, Bowdoin’s dean of admissions and financial aid, made while interviewed live on Bloomberg Radio.

In addition to the quantitative measures admissions officers look for to make sure prospective students are prepared for what the College would be asking of them academically, Soule spoke of kindness and character as factors that also weigh heavily in the application review process."

This is lovely but when we toured I began to suspect they were also "curating" for good looking students. There seemed a very disproportionate number of good looking boys and the video requirement made me wonder.

Good looking people have a huge advantage in most areas of life.