Colby/Bates/Bowdoin/Middlebury

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these four schools differ? What are their unique personas, or all they mainly very similar?

Ok! Getting back to the original question. I am a grad of one of these schools. The Vermont vibe is a bit different from Maine and I think Middlebury is considered most prestigious - more influenced by Burlington in terms of hippie vibe in the town nearby, but also excellent language programs, climate / energy classes, and strong English department.

Bowdoin also wonderful - outdoorsy, down to earth, strong classes across the spectrum, strong sports.

I’ve always thought Bowdoin was most prestigious but all of these schools are well regarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these four schools differ? What are their unique personas, or all they mainly very similar?

Ok! Getting back to the original question. I am a grad of one of these schools. The Vermont vibe is a bit different from Maine and I think Middlebury is considered most prestigious - more influenced by Burlington in terms of hippie vibe in the town nearby, but also excellent language programs, climate / energy classes, and strong English department.

Bowdoin also wonderful - outdoorsy, down to earth, strong classes across the spectrum, strong sports.

I’ve always thought Bowdoin was most prestigious but all of these schools are well regarded.

Agree. The ranking in my head is: Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates and Colby. They're all great but if forced to rank, this would be my list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And make dullards envious.

How is that possible when no one has ever heard of these schools?

Lots of people have heard of these schools. It’s a social indicator that you haven’t.

+2 If you haven’t heard of these schools it is probably because you are an immigrant, your parents didn’t go to college (you are first gen) or you are middle class and attended your local public college (state flagship, etc).

That's me! Never heard of them until scouring "best college" lists for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And make dullards envious.

How is that possible when no one has ever heard of these schools?

Lots of people have heard of these schools. It’s a social indicator that you haven’t.

This. Anyone who hasn’t heard of these schools is from flyover country. Or likely not college-educated, if they live on the East Coast.

The reality is people including the educated only know about research institutions. The only people who know about slacs is the people who went to slacs which is minuscule in comparison to the people going to normal universities.

Nonsense. I went to Georgetown undergrad and an Ivy for grad, and have heard of all of these schools. They are all excellent schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these four schools differ? What are their unique personas, or all they mainly very similar?

Ok! Getting back to the original question. I am a grad of one of these schools. The Vermont vibe is a bit different from Maine and I think Middlebury is considered most prestigious - more influenced by Burlington in terms of hippie vibe in the town nearby, but also excellent language programs, climate / energy classes, and strong English department.

Bowdoin also wonderful - outdoorsy, down to earth, strong classes across the spectrum, strong sports.

I’ve always thought Bowdoin was most prestigious but all of these schools are well regarded.

Agree. The ranking in my head is: Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates and Colby. They're all great but if forced to rank, this would be my list.

I hate rankings but if forced to choose I'd agree with your ranking, with one change: Bowdoin, Middlebury, Colby, Bates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these four schools differ? What are their unique personas, or all they mainly very similar?

Ok! Getting back to the original question. I am a grad of one of these schools. The Vermont vibe is a bit different from Maine and I think Middlebury is considered most prestigious - more influenced by Burlington in terms of hippie vibe in the town nearby, but also excellent language programs, climate / energy classes, and strong English department.

Bowdoin also wonderful - outdoorsy, down to earth, strong classes across the spectrum, strong sports.

I’ve always thought Bowdoin was most prestigious but all of these schools are well regarded.

Agree. The ranking in my head is: Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates and Colby. They're all great but if forced to rank, this would be my list.

I hate rankings but if forced to choose I'd agree with your ranking, with one change: Bowdoin, Middlebury, Colby, Bates.

Did the OP even ask about rankings? A whole thread on nothing useful.

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin and Middlebury are similar in vibe and prestige—both in cute small towns and not far (45 min) from a medium sized city (Portland and Burlington). Bates and Colby are also strong schools but more isolated, Lewiston and Waterville are run down and 1-2 hours from Portland. All four have tons of opportunities for outdoor pursuits like hiking and skiing. A kid humanities-focused student would do well at any of them.

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin’s town (Brunswick) is way cooler than any of the others. Personally I prefer Waterville (Colby) to Middlebury, which is cute but there’s not much there there. The run-down reputation of Waterville is out of date, or seems so to me. Lots of very positive changes in the past few years, most notably Colby’s pivot in its direction with a serious investment. Also don’t think Waterville is appreciably more isolated than Middlebury. Portland is about 15 further than Middlebury is to Burlington, but the capital at Augusta is about 25 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Bates grad who spent a good amount of time at both Bowdoin and Colby for sports. All three of these are great schools and have beautiful campus facilities and offer similar opportunities for students. Bowdoin is known to have more prestige and Colby has recently risen in the US News ranks by playing the ratings game well but honestly all are strong. Bowdoin is closer to Portland and has the nicest town whereas Colby is much more remote and Bates is in the middle (about 45 min to Portland and 25 to Freeport). Lewiston isn't winning any beauty contests but I've seen a lot of great changes over the years since I graduated in the 90's.

I wish I could go to the Bates of today because they have put a lot of money into the campus and have a new science center opening this fall and have built many new dorms and other buildings over the past few years. Bates is more outdoorsy IMO and has a very laid back vibe and a big focus on what they call "Purposeful Work" which means helping students target careers in their industry through alumni and parents. I'm only familiar with Bates' efforts here but they have been significant over the past 5-10 years.

My spouse and I both are Bates grads and have great jobs making a good amount of money (750K+). I don't have a graduate degree but my spouse does. Contrary to statements about people not caring or recognizing the value of a Bates degree I have had employers/interviewers call out my Bates degree as impressive - and I was an English major. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working at Starbucks but I'm not and never have! YMMV but that's my experience at one of these four schools. I highly recommend visiting all and looking at their strengths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bates grad who spent a good amount of time at both Bowdoin and Colby for sports. All three of these are great schools and have beautiful campus facilities and offer similar opportunities for students. Bowdoin is known to have more prestige and Colby has recently risen in the US News ranks by playing the ratings game well but honestly all are strong. Bowdoin is closer to Portland and has the nicest town whereas Colby is much more remote and Bates is in the middle (about 45 min to Portland and 25 to Freeport). Lewiston isn't winning any beauty contests but I've seen a lot of great changes over the years since I graduated in the 90's.

I wish I could go to the Bates of today because they have put a lot of money into the campus and have a new science center opening this fall and have built many new dorms and other buildings over the past few years. Bates is more outdoorsy IMO and has a very laid back vibe and a big focus on what they call "Purposeful Work" which means helping students target careers in their industry through alumni and parents. I'm only familiar with Bates' efforts here but they have been significant over the past 5-10 years.

My spouse and I both are Bates grads and have great jobs making a good amount of money (750K+). I don't have a graduate degree but my spouse does. Contrary to statements about people not caring or recognizing the value of a Bates degree I have had employers/interviewers call out my Bates degree as impressive - and I was an English major. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working at Starbucks but I'm not and never have! YMMV but that's my experience at one of these four schools. I highly recommend visiting all and looking at their strengths.

What jobs pay 750k+?

[Anonymous]

I love Bates (relatives and close friends have gone, and my daughter seriously considered it) but their endowment is considerably lower than peer colleges.

[Anonymous]

All four schools are more similar than different, as with most of the NESCAC schools. That said, they have different focuses and vibes. Although 3 are in Maine, their geos are very different. Bowdoin is the most “urban.” Bates is near Lewiston, which isn’t the prettiest town. Colby feels the most remost, next to Middlebury, which is all alone in a very quiet part of VT but has the most students. All 4 provide a top-notch education, if your kid is comfortable in a generally small and rural setting.

There are always some on this forum who disparage SLACs. I’m not sure why, other than pure name recognition which is clearly lower among the general population for SLACs vs. Ivys, USC, Ohio State, and other big schools or big sports programs, etc. But that’s a good thing, as their kids presumably aren’t applying. If they did, the admit rates for Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. would be even lower than 10-15%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And make dullards envious.

I have never heard of a human being being envious of those places. If anything the silently smirking response will be, sorry your kid got rejected from her first choices.

[Anonymous]

If you go to College Confidential and enter, say

Bowdoin vs. Middlebury

in the search box, you will encounter multiple threads comparing the schools you list, for example,

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/bowdoin-vs-middlebury/1850699/5

As is always the case, some of what you read will be well-informed, some based on hearsay more than anything else.

Also, check out the Fiske Guide and read it closely. It does a pretty good job of characterizing colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these four schools differ? What are their unique personas, or all they mainly very similar?

Very similar. Visiting is a good idea. Colby is the most isolated. 75 minutes to Portland.

Oregon?