Founded in 1794, Bowdoin College. is a Private college. Located in Maine, which is a city setting in Maine, the campus itself is Town. The campus is home to 1,806 full time undergraduate students, and 0 full time graduate students.
The Bowdoin College Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 9:1. There are 200 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at Bowdoin College include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.
Quick Facts
Acceptance Rate
14%
Application Deadline
November 15 and January 1
Application Fee
65
SAT Range
ACT Range
Admissions at are considered Most Selective, with ,20% of all applicants being admitted.
In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 7 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.
100% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 97% were in the top quarter, and 83% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.
STUDENT LIFE Reviews
We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at Bowdoin College.
3%
“We”re apathetic”
26%
“We know about current events and vote”
66%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
4%
“We save it for the classroom”
18%
“Sometimes, but not often”
55%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
23%
“All the time, including weekends”
1%
“I”m always terrified”
2%
“I only go out in groups”
12%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
85%
“I feel extremely safe”
1%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
70%
“We bought the gear”
29%
“We live for the big game”
2%
“It”s not really our thing”
25%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
64%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
9%
“We”re a very artistic group”
1%
“Haven”t met them”
3%
“Available in class”
29%
“They keep regular office hours”
67%
“They”re always available”
91%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
7%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
3%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
0%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
1%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
3%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
69%
“We only party on weekends”
27%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
15%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
69%
“There might be people who do”
17%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
0%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
3%
“We”re apathetic”
26%
“We know about current events and vote”
66%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
4%
“We save it for the classroom”
18%
“Sometimes, but not often”
55%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
23%
“All the time, including weekends”
1%
“I”m always terrified”
2%
“I only go out in groups”
12%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
85%
“I feel extremely safe”
1%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
70%
“We bought the gear”
29%
“We live for the big game”
2%
“It”s not really our thing”
25%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
64%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
9%
“We”re a very artistic group”
1%
“Haven”t met them”
3%
“Available in class”
29%
“They keep regular office hours”
67%
“They”re always available”
91%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
7%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
3%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
0%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
41 Students rated on-campus housing 4.5 stars. 56 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate off-campus housing?
24 Students rated off-campus housing 3.3 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus food?
41 Students rated campus food 4.9 stars. 88 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus facilities?
41 Students rated campus facilities 4.7 stars. 76 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate class size?
41 Students rated class size 4.6 stars. 66 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate school activities?
41 Students rated school activities 4.3 stars. 49 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate local services?
41 Students rated local services 4.3 stars. 49 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate academics?
41 Students rated academics 4.3 stars. 56 % gave the school a 5.0.
Bowdoin College REVIEWS
What's your overall opinion of Bowdoin College?
13 Students rated Bowdoin College
Remus
Prospective04/17/2025
Very good college. Food was only okay, but very very selective. Pretty campus as well, it has a very outdoorsy/forest-y feel to it.
Temuulen
11/09/2021
oho
Zachary
12/27/2020
Bowdoin College is the perfect all around college experience! With exceptional academics, professors, reputation, and career services, in combination with the welcoming and inclusive culture, Bowdoin College has a class, club, or group for everyone. The school events are always done extremely well, and the school to student communication is top notch, especially for enrolled students. Student-athletes can compete in the NESCAC, while maintaining strong academics with understanding coaches. Bowdoin College is rich with history, as well as the quaint and friendly town of Brunswick, home of the college, with many stores, restaurants, and attractions for current students, families, visitors, and community members. Lastly, Bowdoin College professors teach with passion and pride, while allowing for the freedom of thought and opinion. Every opinion and thought is valued, and looked upon for conversation and productivity. Everyone has a home and everyone is valued. I truly believe Bowdoin College is the perfect overall college experience, that will foster a happy, healthy, and productive lifestyle, during, and after college.
Duncan
06/23/2020
Bowdoin seems like a great campus. I'm particularly looking forward to meeting James Pwuid one of the English Rugby coaches as I need to work on my game!
Georgina
06/22/2020
James Pwuid, on the coaching staff is awesome. Always there to help out when I don't do good on field, and his British accent is cool too. Great to have an experienced rugby coach in the staff, go Bowdoin! James Pwuid Rules!
Patrick
10/07/2019
doi doi doi doi doi doi doi doi doi doi dio doi oid ido idoi odi bowdion!!!!!!!!!wo hoo! bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbboooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwddddddddddddddddddddddddooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yea!
Kenya
07/16/2019
This year will be my first year at Bowdoin and I am so glad I chose this school. At first, I didn't really know I wanted to go to Bowdoin, but after I visited I knew it was the place for me. Not only were the people kind, but they were also willing to challenge and learn from each other. The classes that I observed were engaging and intimate. It was nice to know that professors genuinely care about each and every one of their students. I am super excited to attend Bowdoin and could not have made a better choice!
Sydney
05/31/2018
The experiences that students have at this institution falls along a large spectrum. For myself, I'd like to think that my own experience was unlike my peers for numerous reasons. Firstly, I am a student-athlete of color at a predominantly white, liberal, private institution. If that did not alienate me enough, unlike the majority of my classmates, I did not have the privilege of attaining my prior education from a prestigious high school and I felt that gap in my everyday experience there. Additionally, my urban background was unrelatable to most. This ranged from everyday vernacular and slang to extracurricular activities, familial experiences and more. Although I think of myself to be fairly extroverted, I felt that a lot of the relationships that I formed with my peers were initially superficial and manufactured.
With that being said, it has been an experience that I have enjoyed thoroughly. The extensive learning from my peers as well as my professors have challenged me and pushed me to unforeseen heights. No doubt there have been struggles along the way, but it has transcended me to become a better man, scholar and community member. The acceptance of the community for a range of identities and ideas is unmatched in my opinion.
Marie
05/03/2018
When I visited Bowdoin college for the Admitted students weekend, I fell in love with the school. Everyone is welcoming and kind. The food is great, it's rated number three in the country. One is never alone and never feels alone, because the support system at Bowdoin is outstanding; from the professors to the medical team. I am excited to be attending such a prestigious college with a welcoming atmosphere and excellent academics. Even the community that Bowdoin is in, Brunswick, is as beautiful and welcoming as Bowdoin. The School is great. When it was time to leave, I did not want to go back home, despite how much I missed my family. The school captured my heart and I cannot wait to be a Bowdoin student officially.
Lorenzo
12/05/2017
This is the college of my dreams! Class sizes are perfect, and all professors are not only always available, but they take a real interest in getting to know their students. The campus is beautiful, there are a wealth of opportunities and resources available, and the town of Brunswick is a perfectly quaint college town
Jack
11/04/2017
Don't go here. The kids are overly sensitive, and spit hate at each other if you disagree with them. The students are single minded, and the school supports that. Many people are afraid to say what they believe and as a result, less learning is done.
SYDNEY
01/17/2017
Bowdoin College is a tight-knight community in which its students and faculty embrace the process of learning and understanding each others backgrounds, experiences and identities within a safe space. The teacher community is caring and classes are exciting to be a part of as everyone gets to thoroughly experience the material with our small class sizes. The food is amazing compared to what I have heard from other schools. Athletics are supported by the administration and there seems to be no discrimination based on athleticism, ethnicity, or other common fields of this sort.
Valeria
01/01/2017
Bowdoin College is exceptional. Although the college is small and does not really offer the very specific majors, classes are rich in variety and topics. Class size is considerably small (my biggest class has been 50 students and it was an intro class) so it is great to get individual attention.
Professors are friendly and always willing to help. Besides their regular office hours, professor are most of the time willing to make appointments.
I think that Bowdoin students are friendly and always willing to help others. Its easy to make friends.
Brunswick is small and there isn't much to do outside of campus (which is okay since there is something going on almost every weekend), but you could always hop on a train or Bowdoin shuttle to visit Portland or Boston
The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Bowdoin College is 14%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020, _____ students were offered admission.
Describe the students at your school.
My classmates are extremely bright and engaging. They are attentive and ask questions if they do not understand a concept. They are quite and respectful to the professors.
Academics are great here, though I hated a lot of intro level classes that I took freshman year. The course catalogue made them seem so interesting, and I didn't have a good sense of what I wanted to study when I got here. But there were some really awful ones. Sociology 101 comes to mind.
Best thing about Bowdoin? Probably academics and food. Worst thing about Bowdoin? the size—it's too damn small. In many respects—particularly social aspects of the school—it is like high school.
Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
Yes, for the most part—the Admissions office certainly plays up the ethnic, racial, geographical diversity that is on campus. And to their credit, it has become more diverse than I'm sure it was 10, 15 years ago. Still, the place is fundamentally an institution catering to New England, intelligent, upper-middle class white kids. And it's doubtful that this will change dramtically in the future.
What are the most popular student activities/groups?
Athletics dominate the activity/social scene. I played sports freshman year, but quit because it was too large of a time commitment, and wasn't worth the supposed social benefits that came with it. Plenty of drinking (beer and hard stuff) on the weekends. If you don't drink, there's not a whole lot else to do on the weekends. I mean, it is Brunswick, not NYC-you can't just decide you'll go see a show on broadway or listen to some live jazz.
Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
Although it's small, it seemed to be the most economically diverse schools I looked at. There is a great balance between working hard, playing hard, and athletics. Generally students are very happy at Bowdoin and love being at school. It's a very close knit community and the alumni network is strong.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
It's not always the most enjoyable part of the search, but I strongly recommend taking a good look at the academics that are offered at the school and meeting with the professors and administrators at the school. Even if the school has a great reputation for academics, it's important to make sure that the school offers the things that you are interested in. Also, it was very helpful for me to make a list ranking everything that I was looking for in a school such as extracurriculars, academics, financial aid, study abroad opportunities, etc. There are enough schools out there that there is going to be one that offers everything that you need without having to make compromises. It's your education. Not only did you earn it by being accepted, but you'll also have to pay for it, so you shouldn't have to compromise.
Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.
Bowdoin cares about you, wants your best work, is full of extracurricular activities to spark your interests, and will give you an education for the best four years of your life!
someone who likes small classes where there is a lot of discussions and attention on you and constant contact and access with professors. Students should like a very academic environment and small close knit communities. you'll be in a pretty isolated surburb with enough to do, but will lack access to the big city, so if that is not something you're used to, be prepared for a new experience.
The guys. All of the guys are really down to earth good people and fun to hang out with. The facilities are also beautiful and well maintained. The location is wonderful, it is clean and beautiful.
What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?
At Bowdoin I met some of the smartest people I have ever known. Both my professors and peers were very strong academically and it made for a great learning environment. When everyone around you is working hard, you're pushed to work hard too. So I'd say I brag about the people I went to school with and the people who taught me at Bowdoin.
What kind of person should not attend this school?
someone who does not like attention on them during classes, who want s to have large classes and wants to be in a big city. Someone who does not like being in cold temperatures.
What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
The most frustrating thing about Bowdoin is how small it seems to get by your senior year. The small size of the school offers amazing one-on-one contact with professors, but socially it become extremely hard to make new friends or reinvent yourself with only about 1500 other students in the entire school.
All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA.
Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.
49% of students attending Bowdoin College receive some sort of financial aid.
14% were awarded federal grants.18%received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.