Bowdoin College Top Questions

I dog sit for my proffessor and know them as people. hey are unbeleiveably supportive .

Academics are great; challenging but not unreasonable. Best prof I've had is is Patrick Rael of the history department. Phenomenal teacher. The history department is pretty solid as a whole. Classes are generally pretty small and participation is generally expected. The amount of work you do depends on your major. History, English, Gov, and the sciences stand out as the most demanding. Sociology, Religion, Gender and Women's studies are all bullshit areas of study and are much easier.

Academics are great, and the school is small enough that it's easy to find out which classes and professors are exceptional and which are to be avoided (these are very few). Bowdoin's small size also makes it easy to get classes and easy to do independent projects. The small class sizes are also a plus and you really get to know your professors. I took an ecology class that included netting and tagging birds in the professor's back yard.

Classes vary at Bowdoin, like any other college, and range from easy lecture classes with 50 people looking for an easy A, or in-depth seminars with a group of intelligent, enthusiastic students. In general, I was disappointed by what I saw as a lack of intellectual curiosity on campus, and I think this still needs to be improved, but I have also had many really great classes and professors, especially as I have gotten beyond freshman year. Professors will be very helpful for the most part if you seek them out, and I think the close interaction between students and professors is one of Bowdoin's strengths. I am in the Environmental Studies and History departments, and have been happy with them so far. Bowdoin's environmental studies program is large and very good, but it also requires you to complete another major in addition, which has been a pain for me. The workload will definitely be heavy, although you can get by without doing that much if you really want to.

Every single of my professors knows my name, and I feel that i can approach them about problems or questions I have very freely. Bowdoin is competitive, but not so much so that it is a drain on the quality of life.

Professors here know your name. Many classes are discussions around a table. People study a lot, and have many intellectual (but not pretentious) discussions outside of class. However, people here are not competitive at all. Some majors are better than others. Academics are what you make of them. If you are close with professors and listen to upperclassmen about which classes to take, you will be fine. Otherwise things could be negative.

Classes are small which can be a good or bad thing. It's great because teachers know your name; it's bad because they know when you're not in class. Most students genuinely want to do well, and therefore work hard. There's not a lot of competition between students, but people put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well. Students know how to work hard and know how to play hard.

Academics at Bowdoin are what you make of them and who the professor is. There are some really wonderful, inspirational teachers here, but there are - of course - classes that have been a little blah. This goes for seminar classes and larger ones, too. I have nothing but good things to say about the German department, every professor knows my name, even though I haven't taken classes with all of them yet. Thats just the nature of Bowdoin I guess, everybody knows everybody.

There are great relationships here with professors - they are attentive without being overbearing; friendly without being too intrusive. I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge they seem to have. I am impressed almost every day by it. Students are competitive in a healthy way - that is, I don't know a lot of cutthroat people, but people definitely work hard and want to do well. The Classics department is pretty small but they are very flexible in terms of counting classes toward the major that aren't in the department. I don't particularly like the requirements, but I can see that as a liberal arts college, Bowdoin needs to have them. That said, I did not get anything out of my math class or enjoy it, but I had to take it because it was required. But i understand the point of them.

I know all my professors and talk to them frequently outside of class. I even feel comfortable having lunch or dinner with them and talking about non-academic subjects. Bowdoin students do study a lot, but most make time for other activities that they enjoy, as well as social activities on the weekends. It's not uncommon to overhear/participate in intellectual conversations outside of class, especially politics and international news headlines. There is certainly a competitive side of Bowdoin, but in my opinion it is more of a personal drive than a desire to out-do other students. As a liberal arts college, students are encouraged to take a wide variety of classes outside of major requirements and career based subjects. At the same time, the Career Planning Center is an incredible resource for students who know what they want to do.