Amherst vs Bowdoin

<p>^^Is Amherst need-blind for transfers?</p>

<p>^ Yes it is, but apparently schools have different definitions of “need”</p>

<p>^Oof. Got it.</p>

<p>Arcadia, you are totally fogetting about the ACT. Amherst accepts the ACT in place of the SAT, so a good percentage of their admitted students go that route and don’t accept an SAT.</p>

<p>So, basically Amherst’s slogan should be, “Our SATs are 30 points higher than everyone else’s and we’re in a pretty good town. W00t!”</p>

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<p>I know that Amherst accepts the ACT in lieu of the SAT. Find me a top LAC that doesn’t. The point is, despite very similar applicant pools, Amherst only reports SATs for 68% of its enrolling students. Compare that to Williams (which reports them for 86% of enrolling students), Swarthmore (84%), Pomona (83%), Wellesley (78%), Wesleyan (78%), and Middlebury (76%). Either Amherst has a hell of a lot more ACT submitters than its peers, or it cherry picks and reports only the highest scores when students submit both ACT and SAT scores. I don’t have the answer–I just find it odd.</p>

<p>OP, you will have access to the ocean and the peninsular coast of Maine at Bowdoin. The college has an “edge of civilization” feel to it, like that feel the first time you drive up to Mount Desert Island in the winter. This is a feel that many students go for. The academics and reputation are good enough to get you into a good grad school or professional school, so I think your decision is more about what meets your ‘feel’ of where you’ll be most comfortable. As for the party scene, I would think it varies year to year with the students. If you’re really more concerned about academic differences, then you should be shooting for the Ivies.</p>

<p>S just graduated from Bowdoin. All of your impressions of Bowdoin are correct. Students are very bright, cooperative, and outdoorsy. The weather is NOT that cold since Bowdoin is on the coast. Freeport is 15 minutes away. Portland is fantastic and an easy 30 minute drive. The food at Bowdoin is absolutely amazing. It truly deserves its number one rating from the Princeton Review. You should read student reviews of Amherst food - very different, I’m afraid.</p>

<p>Hi dcsmiss, i saw your post about transferring to both Amherst and Dartmouth, so i just wonder that would you like to share some of your perspectives on the application and if at all possible, give me some advice, and take a look at my essays? im an int’l student in a big public school thinking of transferring, and i would really appreciate your thoughts! thanks! if you could pm me that would be great :)</p>