Bowdoin College Top Questions

Rigorous and challenging. There is lots of support from TAs (who don't teach the classes, they only hold study sessions or time to come in with questions), Professors, peers, and much more.

Good professors

I have never been in a class where the professor has not known my name, and that includes my gigantic organic chemistry class as well (which, though I considered it gigantic was really only maybe 50-60 people max). Students study an average amount. There are definitely a number of students who are incredibly smart and are rarely seen doing work but get great grades. There are also those who lock themselves in the library for hours. Most people do work all day long all week long, Monday through Thursday, but dinners during the week are usually long and generally people hang out at night before everyone goes to bed. Students are not overly competitive, at least not against each other. Almost every student I have encountered is willing to explain a concept or help a classmate out, even if technically within the class, the students are competing against eachother for the higher grade. This is a great environment for learning because the only competition that people feel is generally with themselves, trying to improve their own grades, and not comparing themselves to anyone else's acheivements. As a chemistry major, since the department is tiny, there is a lot of contact between students and faculty, and you really get to know everyone in the department. The classes are challenging but the professors are great and very helpful. It is definitely possible to start helping a professor out in his/her lab even as a freshman, simply by asking. The chemistry department as really tried to increase their contact with the students by holding weekly lunches at Thorne dining hall, so that students and faculty have a chance to see eachother in a non-classroom setting. The requirements at Bowdoin are not bad, and most are fulfilled without even realizing it, especially as a freshman when students typically explore a little by taking classes outside one particular field.

professors are wonderful. don't limit yourself--take a hodgepodge of classes and when you connect with a professor, get to know her/him! you'll find your passions in the most unexpected places at bowdoin. professors are truly dedicated to the students, so take advantage of it! (find the art department and gender studies department) the atmosphere is not competitive between students at bowdoin. students seem to be more competitive with themselves (remember, learning is a privelege and fun- even when you're swamped, try to gain perspective!) while it may not happen until junior year, it is true-- professors have you over for dinner to their houses. i've been at least five times. there's nothing better than escaping campus for an evening to have a homecooked meal and experience the family side of the professor you've come to know so well, intellectually.

Academics here at Bowdoin are great. I feel that Bowdoin is a very academic driven school. Your whole life surrounds around academics. When I watch TV, I always feel guilty, because I know that I can be finishing that paper or reading a chapter of Marx or Foucault. My least favorite class was Computer Science 101 and Bio 76. I felt that Comp Sci was taught as if it were higher than an introductory course. Bio 76 is sooooo boring. Students study at Bowdoin all the time. There are even some losers who are in the library on the weekend when the sun is out...I've been one of them in the past. Class participation is usually common. There are always those times when the professor asks a question and no one responds. But in smaller classes, there is always discussion. The most unique class I took was Visual Arts 165. No reading!! But we had a different project due every week. The professors here are usually good. I have developed good relationships with some professors, while others I did not like them at all. One professor was ignorant to such a common fact. One professor I had was too outspoken.

Professors know your name and are very open to getting to know YOU outside of class and helping you with assignments. Students study alot and library is never empty. Class participation is very common, hardly ever an awkward silence. Bowdoin students have intellectual passions and often follow them outside of campus taking on multiple independent studies and pursuits. Students are not competative with each other but with themselves. Most unique class on Film Noir a freshman seminar also an class entitled Art & Life where a small group of students single-handedly curated an entire exhibition in the Bowdoin Museum. Art history department very popular and very accessible. Challenging and interesting, always reinventing new classes. Pyschology department one of the hardest on campu along with natural sciences. Great professors, respected in their field and always challenge students. Professors are always open to officehours and hours outside of that. Want to help you in life, will willingly write recommendations and encourage you. Bowdoin is very academically challenging and demanding, must put in effort to get good grades. Education is not geared toward getting jobs, no Business or Marketing offered.

Bowdoin is hard and you have to work hard. For the most part I have been extremely happy with the quality of the professors. Bowdoin students are not overtly competetive with each other--it is more like one is competetive with oneself. Everyone is extremely self-motivated and hard working. The professors in my major (Art History) are incredible. My advisor within the major is truly my champion and she inspires and challenges me, all the while being kind and supportive. Professors are always willing to see you outside of class. Education is geared for learning for its own sake, but having a Bowdoin education does open many doors in terms of getting a good job.

Academics at Bowdoin are difficult, but the professors do everything they can to make it easier on us. The bonds formed between professors and students are something I've never would have expected. All classes don't call for participation, but teachers do encourage asking questions. Outside of the classes there are "intellectual conversations", and there are also some non-intellectua converstations. The students here are very competitive and take bad grades harsly. I'm a major in the Geology department, and the professors are awesome. I can talk to anyone of them and receive help any time I need it. The great thing about living in Maine is the beautiful landscape. As a geology major, I often make fieldtrips that bring me closer to the beautiful area.

Small classes. You develop great relationships with professors. They have you to their house for dinner, they ask you about your sports games. They love Bowdoin as much as the students.

There are so many interesting classes and great professors at Bowdoin that I wish that I could take classes for my whole life.