<p>I’m having trouble deciding between these three schools after being accepted to all. I have heard different opinions depending on who I ask. I plan on double-majoring in biology and psychology. What can you tell me about them in regards to professors, dorms, food, volunteer opportunities, outdoor adventures :), academic advising (do we get advisors?), partying, students (mainstream or independent, preppy or artsy), etc… anything I cant really find in a college catalog. I will be visiting in a couple weeks and would love some insight from any of you. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>You should come to Bowdoin! Because that’s where I am going haha.</p>
<p>Hi Taylor…I had an opportunity to visit each of the three schools during the summer. I had Amherst and Bowdoin ranked 1A and 1B. Middlebury for me was a distant fourth. There was something about Mid that I did not find appealing. I visited the campus with my parents on a Sunday afternoon. I was scheduled to do a tour and talk to some people on campus on Monday. I decided after walking around the campus on Sunday that this was not the place I wanted to spend the next four years. I know some people Mid but it just didn’t click for me. I opted not to do the tour and we left Middlebury later that evening.</p>
<p>From Vermont we drove to Dartmouth. I liked D. My parents loved it. This would have been my third choice. I spoke with faculty and did the tour. From Dartmouth we moved to Bowdoin. I really loved Bowdoin. We were in Brunswick for three days. I toured the campus, spoke with 3 profs and the crew coach. I hit it off immediately with everyone. I am from Michigan and we have the upper peninsula. Maine reminded me so much of the UP. It is very earthy but extremly friendly, laid-back, and charming. I loved the town of Brunswick. Bowdoin has a fab Outing Club that anyone would enjoy. I am majoring in poly sci/gov. Bowdoin is one of the top schols in this area. During our stay in Brunswick we drove to Bates college (45 min drive). Bates is nice, too, but I prefer Bowdoin. Bowdoin has fantastic food. It was so good we ate many of our meals on campus.</p>
<p>Our last stop was Amherst. In some ways, Amherst is similar to Bowdoin, with respect to friendliness, people, town, etc. I loved Amherst at first sight and have grown even more fond of the school since my initial visit. My tour gouide was absolutely wonderful. Her spirit, enthusiasm, and love for her school really shone through. The town of Amherst is just the right size. It is very close to town and very close to the eateries and cafes. The dorms are extremely nice and very spacious. The one factor that hit me the most during my stay at Bowdoin and Amherst was the fact that everyone seemed genuinely happy to be where they were. Amherst is part of the 5-college consortum. We drove to each of the other 4 schools. All are very nice and unique in their own way. I guess what sold me on Amherst was my tour guide. She seemed really passionate about her school. She gave us many examples of how her profs took a personal interst in her success and welfare. She had many friends. It just seemed like the perfect place to be. Amherst also has a great gov program, as well as other areas of study. The town of Northampton, which is nearby, is very nice (for a quick get away).</p>
<p>I decided that since Amherst had an early decision period, and Bowdoin had two early decision periods, that I would apply ED I to Amherst. If I was turned down I would apply ED II to Bowdoin. As it turned out, I was accepted to Amherst ED I last December. I will be attending Amherst this fall.</p>
<p>I hope you can glean some information from what I’ve written. I can honestly tell you that I would have been just as happy if I had gotten into Bowdoin. I love both schools. So visit all of your choices, ask good questions, talk to as many students, profs, admissions people as you can and then take a few days to sort everything out and make your decision. You can’t make a bad choice. It comes downs to what is a good fit for you. Best of Luck, Taylor!!! I would be happy to answer any other questions.</p>
<p>Nickoftime- I visited all 3 as well, had the same thoughts as you, and did the same thing as you. So I’ll second everything that was said. Amherst & Bowdoin were the only two schools I really wanted to go to.</p>
<p>Amherst is on a level far above Middlebury and Bowdoin. It’s in a fabulous college town, you can take classes at four other colleges EASILY, and it’s less remote and cold. Amherst!</p>
<p>Anon, did you choose Amherst? Class of 2013?</p>
<p>Yeah, I went ED to Amherst, planning on EDII at Bowdoin if I didn’t get in. I got in though, so I’m headed to Mass next year for '13</p>
<p>My daughter loves the psychology profs at Amherst!</p>
<p>endicott, there is nothing to substantiate your claim that amherst is on a level “far” above middlebury and bowdoin. the statistics don’t suggest your claim is true. amherst is more selective and has a stronger student body numerically than both middlebury and bowdoin. no one argues that. but exaggerating the difference is misleading and unhelpful. amherst is on a level “far” above middlebury and bowdoin if princeton is on a level “far” above brown.</p>
<p>pb2002 - although you are so quick to assume, I don’t think endicott’s post had anything to do with prestige/selectivity/other useless rankings people love to get defensive about. Endicott said that it was a level far above Midd and Bowdoin simply because the oppurtunities/environment at Amherst is much superior to Midd and Bowdoin. </p>
<p>it’s so easy to make these threads about the relative prestige of these colleges, PB2002, but it’s simply a waste of time and the original poster obviously realizes there is more to a college than its acceptance rate and statistics.</p>
<p>atom<em>and</em>eve, while endicott’s post refers to the consortium, and to location and weather, the use of “far above” implies ranking. even on the opportunity front, which you assume endicott is referring to, i can’t see how amherst is at a level “far above” the other two. my criticism, i’ll reiterate is the “far” and not the “above.” the point is to make these conversations less histrionic for students making such decisions. and to be specific, i wasn’t referring prestige at all. i think prestige is not a particularly useful unit of measure when deciding between colleges such as these. i was referring to the relative strength of the student bodies, which can be a useful measure and which students do use to distinguish colleges.</p>
<p>i wasn’t saying i agreed with endicott’s argument (that there are more oppurtunities at Amherst than at Midd), just restating his argument. but I agree with you pb2002, I think it is important to take into account the strength of student bodies, and I think that the differences in “selectivity” between the three colleges are so marginal that it’s fair to say that at all three colleges you will receive an excellent education surrounded by motivated and bright students.</p>
<p>I think that Midd seems to be the odd one out on your list – it has about 1,000 more students than at either Amherst or Bowdoin, which is really a matter of personal preference. </p>
<p>*Something to consider is that amherst DOES have an open curriculum, meaning that since there are no distribution requirements it is easier to double major or triple major (that might be a little ambitious). </p>
<p><em>in terms of the towns, i don’t know much about Midd’s town, but I know that Bowdoin has a very good relationship with the town (which sounds like a weird factor to consider, but I think it’s important). Amherst is a part of the 5 colleges, and so obviously the town of Amherst feels more burdened by the thousands of college students mulling around. However I do think the town of Amherst really provides *true</em> diversity – not just in terms of ethnicity but also in terms of interests, level of intellect, background, social class etc – I mean with Hampshire and U-Mass so close what would you expect? It feels like less of a bubble of a privileged, brilliant, succesfull 18-22 year olds.</p>