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Bowdoin College

5700 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011

Website: Bowdoin College

Photos:

Coles Tower, at 16 stories tall, stands just behind the main quad.
Coles Tower, at 16 stories tall, stands just behind the main quad.
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Bowdoin College School Description

Bowdoin College’s fundamental mission remains the offer of a challenging liberal education for undergraduates in a residential setting that supports the values of the common good while embracing and reflecting a complex and diverse world. We believe that the best undergraduate education benefits from opportunities for close interaction between faculty and students, and that to teach well in their disciplines faculty must be excellent and engaged scholars and artists. Moreover, we are committed to the creation of a vibrant intellectual community based upon the active scholarship of our faculty throughout their careers. Its residential character allows Bowdoin to extend students’ learning and growth as citizens and leaders beyond classrooms and laboratories.

Bowdoin is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational residential, undergraduate liberal arts institution founded in 1794. It is located in Brunswick, Maine, a town of 21,000 on the Maine coast. Study at Bowdoin leads to a bachelor of arts degree in one of over 40 departmental and interdisciplinary majors. Bowdoin enrolls approximately 1,710 students from across the country and around the world.

A liberal arts education at Bowdoin isn’t about being small and safe – it’s about having the support to take surprising risks. That means caring more about the questions than giving the right answers. Discovering you’re good at something you didn’t think was your strength. Making connections where none appears to exist.

You’ll soon find that a Bowdoin education is without boundaries. Subjects spill over each other – philosophy is not disconnected from politics, art can be a lens for understanding social change. Somewhere in your life here, you’ll get to the point where there is real beauty in what you’re doing. You’ll look up from your books and papers, scripts and canvases, and realize you’ve fallen in love with something. It may be a new way of thinking. Or whole new way of viewing yourself in the world.

More than 120 buildings are a part of the approximately 215-acre Bowdoin campus. They range from Massachusetts Hall, built in 1802, to Kanbar Hall, a 26,000-square-foot award-winning educational facility that was completed in 2004; LEED certified "green" residence halls completed in 2005; and a new recital hall, that opened in spring 2007. Bowdoin's Coastal Studies Center, located eight miles from campus on 118 acres of Orr's Island, was completed in 1998.

Our extended, natural campus offers students unparalleled opportunities for fieldwork with Bowdoin scientists, artists, and scholars:

* The Coastal Studies Institute, a nearby 118-acre tract of field, forest, and coastline.
* The 200-acre Kent Island Scientific Field Station in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada.
* Coleman Farm, an 83-acre coastal farm with salt marsh
* The Bowdoin Pines, 33-acres of white pines adjoining campus

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Bowdoin College

From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Bowdoin College (bo?d?n), founded in 1794, is a private liberal arts college located in the coastal New England town of Brunswick, Maine. The college enrolls approximately 1,700 students and has been coeducational since 1971. It offers 33 majors and 4 additional minors; the academic year consists of two four-course semesters, and the student-faculty ratio is 9:1. As of 2009, U.S. News and World Report currently ranks Bowdoin sixth among liberal arts colleges in the United States. Forbes ranks Bowdoin 15th overall for liberal arts colleges and universities combined. Furthermore, Bowdoin College was named a "New, Small Ivy" and one of the hottest schools in America by Newsweek. Brunswick is located on the shores of Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River, 12 miles (19 km) north of Freeport, Maine, 28 miles north of Portland, Maine, and 131 miles (211 km) north of Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin also operates a 118 acre (478,000 m²) coastal studies center on Orrs Island in Harpswell, Maine and a 200 acre (809,000 m²) scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy.

History

Bowdoin College was chartered in 1794 by Governor Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, of which Maine was then a district, and was named for former Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin, whose son James Bowdoin III was an early benefactor. At the time of its founding, it was the easternmost college in the United States. In 1806, 13 Harvard graduates opted to accept a Bowdoin degree along with their diploma from Harvard.

Bowdoin came into its own in the 1820s, a decade in which Maine became an independent state as a result of the Missouri Compromise and the college graduated a number of its most famous alumni, including future United States President Franklin Pierce, class of 1824, and writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, both of whom graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1825.

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Read the full entry on Wikipedia

Quick Facts

Chance of Admission:
Location:
Northeast
Setting:
Small Town Setting
Type:
Private
Size:
Small (Under 2,000 Undergrad)
Mascot:
Polar Bears

Students & Campus Life

Undergraduate Enrollment:
1,666
On Campus Housing:
Available
Full Time Students:
100%
Athletic Programs:
Available
More Students & Campus Life

Expenses

Average Tuition:
$ 36,370
Students Receiving Aid:
39%
More Expenses & Financial Aid

Admissions

Application Fee:
$ 60
Selectivity:
Most Selective
More Admissions

Bowdoin College Degree Programs

Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Learn more about Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Bowdoin College Students & Campus Life

General

Full-Time vs. Part-Time
Full-Time 100%
Part-Time 0%
Men vs. Women
Women 53%
Men 47%
Race/Ethnicity
Caucasian 72%
Asian 12%
Hispanic 6%
Other 5%
African-American 5%

Geography

In State vs. Out-of-State
Out-of-State 90%
In-State 10%
Top States for Incoming Freshman
Massachusetts 17%
New York 11%
Maine 10%
Connecticut 6%
California 5%
Percent of Students International: 3%

Housing

On-Campus Housing Available: Yes
Percent of Students Living On-Campus: 98%
Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: Yes

Athletics

Member of: NAA, NCAA
Sports Include: Football (New England Small College Ath Conf)
Basketball (New England Small College Ath Conf)
Baseball (New England Small College Ath Conf)
Track (New England Small College Ath Conf)

Bowdoin College Expenses (Tuition & Fees)

Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) Expenses  
Published Tuition and Fees:
 $ 36,370    
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads:
 $ 35,990    
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads:
 $ 380    
Financial Aid Avg. Amount Received % of Students Receiving Aid  
Federal Grants:
 $ 4,532 13%  
State and Local Grants:
 $ 926 6%  
Institutional Grants:
 $ 24,069 38%  
Student Loans:
 $ 3,644 30%  
Any Aid:
   39%  

Bowdoin College Admissions

Acceptance Rate: 19% (Most Selective)
Test Scores  
SAT Scores:  
% of Students Submitting SAT Scores: 74%
Bottom 25th Percentile: Verbal: 650, Math: 650
Top 75th Percentile: Verbal: 740, Math: 730
ACT Scores:  
% of Students Submitting ACT Scores: 20%
Bottom 25th Percentile: Composite: 29, Verbal: 29, Math: 28
Top 75th Percentile: Composite: 33, Verbal: 34, Math: 33

Application Requirements (Undergraduate Only)

Application Fee: $ 60.00
Formal Demonstration of Competencies: Not Required
High School Diploma or Equivalent: Recommended
High School GPA: Recommended
High School Rank: Recommended
High School Record: Required
Recommendations: Required
TOEFL: Required
Test Scores: Not Required

College Advice on Bowdoin College

Yahoo
elizabeth m
elizabe...

Question: Bowdoin Early Decision?

I was wondering whether or not I had a chance of getting into Bowdoin College early decision. Especially if you personally got in. I go to a small private school in North Carolina. I'm a rising senior who makes mostly straight As with the occasional B+. I taking all the hardest classes. SAT scores: Critical reading: 650 Math: 670 Writing: 690 Subject: Literature: 680 US History: 730 AP scores: US History: 5 English Lang: 4 Euro Hist: 3
31 months ago
quepie
quepie

Best Answer

SAT Critical Reading: 650 - 750 SAT Math: 650 - 730 You're just at the bottom of the mid-50% range in terms of SATs. Your subject tests also seem to be in line with those numbers. AP scores aren't always used in admissions. Your GPA sounds fine. Your courseload sounds fine. Based on the info you've provided, you do have a chance. Remember, though, that grades and scores are two of several factors that go into admissions. No judgement can be made on solely those two. Essays, recommendations, and activities are extremely important.
good vibrations.
good vi...

Question: Out of these colleges which has the best economics and history programs?

-Reed -Bates -Kenyon -Bowdoin -Conn College -Skidmore
33 months ago
donlockwood36
donlo...

Best Answer

despite what frankie said, that's a very good list of schools. they all have reputable history programs, and i imagine good economic programs, too, but off the top of my head i would say bowdoin is the strongest. all of them are excellent liberal arts colleges, though.
infusionismusic
infusio...

Question: Which of these Maine schools/colleges do you consider the best, and why, also what I need to get in?

I'm interested in Environmental Science and Writing. I'm looking into Bates, Colby, and Bowdoin. COA looks kind of neat, but the size is not what I'm looking for in a school, and I want someplace where I can meet more people but at the same time find a tight knit group I fit into. Bates...and the others are reaches for me. I'm a Junior, but hey if I got into one of them then that would be amazing. I plan on a 3.5 gpa end of senior year, working really hard this year and next. I'm not so hot at testing, looking at 600s in the english portion, but probably a 550 on the math section SAT. I'm a smart kid but math isn't my strong point. Good at talking and stuff so definitely will interview! So if any alums or current students or super smart college guru kind of people want to give me some advice about them, and what I need to get in that'd be wonderful. Thanks a bunch=) infusionismusic
37 months ago
matt
matt

Best Answer

All three of these schools are highly respected and will give you a good education. They are similar in many ways, but each has its own feel. I think you definitely need to visit in order to decide. Hopefully some alumni from these schools will see your question and give you an answer. If not, try again. You might also try posting a question on the Princeton Review chat boards. There are a lot of kids on there who might have something useful to say.
exnavykds
exnavykds

Question: My son is very interested in attending Bowdoin College in Maine, can anyone tell me more about it?

We live in Oklahoma and I've researched it a little but I'd like to hear first-hand from someone who knows more about it. Thanks!
40 months ago
polar_b_pr
polar...

Best Answer

Hi, Glad to know your son is interested in Bowdoin! I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. My name is Scott Hood. I am vice president for communications and public affairs at Bowdoin. I'm not a Bowdoin grad, but I've worked at the college for over 17 years and would be glad to help. What would you like to know?

Photos

  • Coles Tower, at 16 stories tall, stands just behind the main quad.
    Coles Tower, at 16 stories tall, stands just behind the main quad. [source]
  • Italianate residence of the college's president in circa 1920
    Italianate residence of the college's president in circa 1920 [source]
  • Bowdoin's archetypal Hubbard Hall, once the college's library
    Bowdoin's archetypal Hubbard Hall, once the college's library [source]
  • Class of 1875 Gateway
    Class of 1875 Gateway [source]
  • Bowdoin College
    Bowdoin College [source]
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Bowdoin College
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