<p>My d and I are thinking of looking at Bates and Bowdoin in ME.</p>
<p>We live in a small, unsophisticated town. My d is looking for a school that is not full of type A personalities and , for lack of a better term, "preppies". she is a good student, but doesn't like to be in a high pressure environment. </p>
<p>we will also need merit aid.</p>
<p>any feedback about these two schools? Trying to decide if it is worth the 9 hour drive to go visit them.</p>
<p>Neither Bowdoin nor Bates award much if any merit aid. This is generally true of the selective LACs in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, with the exception of women’s colleges or military academies.</p>
<p>Check out the Associated Colleges of the Midwest ([ACM</a> ? Associated Colleges of the Midwest — Home](<a href=“http://www.acm.edu/index.html]ACM”>http://www.acm.edu/index.html)). Most of these schools (other than Carleton, the most selective one) do offer merit aid, as well as a college experience similar to what you’d find at Bowdoin or Bates. </p>
<p>You also might want to check out 2 public LACs, SUNY Geneseo and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. SMCM is about $10-$15K cheaper for OOS students than a school like Bowdoin, has a beautiful campus and good academics, and would be a good choice for someone who wants the more laid-back atmosphere you describe.</p>
<p>thanks tk. that is kind of what I gleaned from their websites. we are already looking at the midwest schools b/c it seemed as though they were more generous with merit aid.</p>
<p>If your daughter is allergic to preppies, she is probably not a good fit with Bowdoin. It is among the preppiest of the LACs that we visited. Bates is somewhat more laid back. I second tk’s advise re midwest and St. Mary’s.</p>
<p>^ My D & I thought Bates was crawling with preppies when we visited. D described it as “a college for kids who went to prep schools, liked it, and wanted to continue the experience for four more years.” Then again, maybe we just met an unrepresentative sample of the student body. Without question, the Midwest LACs will give more merit-based aid. Check out Earlham for a laid-back yet strongly academic environment plus good merit aid.</p>
<p>Below are some figures on merit aid, etc., at some Midwestern LACs.
Sources: recent Common Data Set reports from each school (columns 2-4); USNWR (columns 5 and 6). </p>
<p>
School Class Size Awards Avg_Amnt Tuition&Fees Admit Rate</p>
<p>Oberlin 768 244 $11,019 $40,004 32.7% </p>
<p>Grinnell 464 93 $10,137 $36,476 43%</p>
<p>Colorado College 550 49 $10,098 $37,278 26%</p>
<p>Earlham 291 53 $8,981 $35,164 75.4%</p>
<p>Lawrence 382 90 $13,890 $34,596 58.8% </p>
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<p>Note that Grinnell’s acceptance rate dropped to 27% this year.</p>
<p>^ Right, all these numbers fluctuate from year to year. For Costs and admit rates, I used numbers currently posted on the USNWR rankings site. For the other numbers, I used the 2008-09 Common Data Sets.</p>
<p>The admit rate is a very crude indicator of selectivity, due to self-selection in the applicant pools. Grinnell, Oberlin, and Colorado College probably are much closer in selectivity than those numbers indicate; same, perhaps, with Earlham and Lawrence.</p>
<p>For comparison, note that Bowdoin’s tuition and fees amount to $40,020. When you subtract a typical merit grant from tuition and fees at an ACM college, you could be looking at a difference of about $15K/year compared to the typical NESCAC school.</p>
<p>thanks for all your feedback. I have been hesitant about Bates and Bowdoin already, now I feel my my doubts are confirmed.
Was already planning on looking at some of the suggested schools. Thanks !</p>
<p>Some good suggestions here. I will admit that when I read Bates and Bowdoin along with non-preppie and merit aid, I thought for a moment that the O.P. was just joking around. </p>
<p>Bates/Bowdoin is to preppie as M.I.T./ Cal Tech is to techie</p>
<p>ctyankee- I guess that sums it up for sure!</p>
<p>my d is an only child, first college search experience, I am product of state university system (my parents didn’t go to college), so my knowledge of private schools prior to beginning this research was nil. One of the reasons why I am glad to draw on the knowledge base of CCrs.</p>
<p>^ I have to say, though, that although my own D generally has a highly allergic reaction to preppiness, that was not her reaction to Bowdoin. It had more of an intellectual, public service-oriented feel and a somewhat more laid-back vibe than a lot of top Northeastern LACs. It made her cut of schools to apply to. Proximity to some very beautiful stretches of the Maine coast, a very pleasant little host community in Brunswick, and easy access to Portland and Boston also helped.</p>
<p>Both get pretty positive reviews on the students review web site. Both get low marks for surrounding city and social life.</p>
<p>Personally, I didn’t find the students at Bates or Bowdoin to be nearly as preppy as their reputations would lead you to believe (as opposed to say, the students at Colby). The Bowdoin student body is noticeably the most racially diverse of the three, and there was a noticeable grunge element at Bates that would be right at home at Grinnell. On the other hand, we visited Bates on a Saturday morning and didn’t see any students till nearly noon when they started streaming into the commons, most of them wearing sweat pants that they likely slept in…</p>
<p>Interestingly, the prospies taking tours at both Bowdoin and Bates were by far the most polished and preppy looking bunches I’ve seen at any college. But the actual enrolled students, not so much.</p>
<p>Bottom line, I wouldn’t write off either Bates or Bowdoin as “too preppy” without seeing for myself.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you’re looking at midwest schools, check out Beloit - not preppie, and good merit aid.</p>
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<p>^^ I wouldn’t place any stock in the student review website. In the case of small LACs like Bowdoin and Bates, it reflects the views of a couple of dozen self-selected students—hardly a scientific sample. But FWIW, both schools get a B+ for social life, Bowdoin gets a B for surrounding city, and Bates gets a C+ in that category. I’d say that’s about right, but I’d give Bates a C or C- for surrounding city. By comparison, Williams gets a C+ for social life and C for surrounding city. Amherst gets a B for social life and B for surrounding city. Swarthmore gets a C+ for social life and C for surrounding city. So I’d hardly characterize Bowdoin as getting “low marks” in these categories.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross and Brandeis.</p>
<p>Can’t agree with the characterization of Maine schools. Lots of threads on CC have debated the meaning of “preppy”, and the most helpful explain it as an attitude of mind rather than clothing. If everyone at Bates, Bowdoin and Colby are wearing Patagonia and LL Bean, it’s because it’s WICKED COLD in Maine! 
You’ll find that the kids at these schools care about their academics, their activities, a variety of activist causes, the arts, and the big wide world faaaaaaaar more than what folks are wearing. You owe it to yourself to give them a fair shake, if your child is interested on paper. I’ve never met as friendly kids or faculty or administration as at Colby (D is frosh), and Bowdoin kids were equally amazing! (Sorry, didn’t see much of Bates!) So, move beyond the “labels” of all kinds and enjoy the college search!</p>