Bates v. Bowdoin v. Colby -- which one is best for an artsy student?

<p>Considering Bates, Bowdoin and Colby, as well as several other colleges around the country. Which one would be best for an artsy student, and why? Is the correct answer “none of the above”?</p>

<p>More data needed before any kind of reasonable answer can be provided.</p>

<p>Do you attend one of them? You don’t sound very artsy. (Just kidding; but I knew the question was lacking in “data,” and I had hoped that the open-ended nature of the question would inspire a wider range of responses.)</p>

<p>No, as my user name implies, I went to Middlebury. But I am very familiar with all three of the Maine NESCAC schools. And you’re right, I’m not “artsy.” I also don’t like open ended questions, especially on an internet forum such as this, so hopefully someone else will chime in. If you have more specific questions that you would like to ask, perhaps I can assist.</p>

<p>What school did you choose @AmazingBlue?</p>

<p>No choice to make yet.</p>

<p>Bates by far. I’ve visited and had to choose between them… Bates will cater to an “artsy” student better. The culture is just so different and better at Bates, and relatively Bowdoin, as compared to Colby at least. </p>

<p>" Is the correct answer “none of the above”?"</p>

<p>Yes! Look closer to civilization. All three are insular NESCAC jock colleges.</p>

<p>@rhg3rd‌ Says the person who attends and has connected with all three communities? Just because you see statistics and what not about these places has no bearing on your knowledge. Anyway, visit and learn. </p>

<p>My son is a rising Senior at Bates and we just had this conversation last night. In his opinion, Bates is definitely “artsier” than both Colby and Bowdoin. He feels the culture at Colby and Bowdoin are more similar than at Bates (preppier snd more jocky.) He has had a lot of exposure to the other schools due to being on Student Govt ( they meet frequently with the other NESCAC schools,) his sport and going to parties and events at the other schools. My son is far from artsy but knowing what he does about Colby and Bowdoin he is happy he is at Bates. </p>

<p>That being said, I think it’s very important to visit all these schools if you are interested in all three. My son visited Bates and Bowdoin, but had no interest in Colby at all so he didn’t bother. </p>

<p>I can’t comment on Bates or Colby, but I can tell you Bowdoin devotes a massive amount of resources to its arts programs.</p>

<p>The most recent example is the recently completed Edwards Center for Art and Dance…</p>

<p><a href=“http://community.bowdoin.edu/news/2013/10/virtual-tour-of-new-edwards-center-for-art-and-dance/”>http://community.bowdoin.edu/news/2013/10/virtual-tour-of-new-edwards-center-for-art-and-dance/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Another in example of this commitment is the Studzinski Recital hall, which is an award winning, state of the art concert hall <a href=“http://www.bowdoin.edu/about/campus/tour/studzinski-recital-hall-kanbar-auditorium/”>http://www.bowdoin.edu/about/campus/tour/studzinski-recital-hall-kanbar-auditorium/&lt;/a&gt; which has attracted students like this to Bowdoin: <a href=“Faces of Bowdoin: Hassan Muhammad - YouTube”>Faces of Bowdoin: Hassan Muhammad - YouTube;

<p>Beyond all this, Bowdoin is home to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, which is one of of the finest college art museums in the country, to which Bowdoin recently did a $20M renovation. <a href=“Museum of Art | Bowdoin College”>http://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Overall, I think it’s fair to say that Bowdoin is heavy in the arts. </p>

<p>" but I can tell you Bowdoin devotes a massive amount of resources to its arts programs."</p>

<p>I am sure that is true and no doubt the artsy student can get a wonderful education at Bowdoin. I was looking at it in a more general way - as in which campus has a more artsy vibe/culture. </p>

<p>Regardless, the OP should look at all the schools and see which one(s) he/she likes and is a good fit. It’s possible all 3 might fit the OP’s requirement and OP applies to all 3. </p>

<p>Bates is the artsiest when it comes to the student body, although it’s true that Bowdoin has excellent facilities and a fine college art museum.</p>

<p>And if you want “the arts,” look at Skidmore. Or some will add Bard, for vibe and the arts.
But yes, the question should have made it clear whether you mean atmosphere or art studies.</p>

<p>Colby is the preppiest (and probably least comfortable for an artsy student) out of the three. Bates and Bowdoin are the best bets. Bowdoin has a beautiful art museum (hosts Raphael and many other notable artists). Bowdoin is the best. Boo colby and bates (i’m a bowdoin kid, i’m kidding - kind of)</p>

<p>With the opening of the new arts center at Bowdoin last year, I would put it a notch above the other two Maine schools, but I think there are other LACs that are much stronger in this regard than all three of them, such as Vassar and Wesleyan.</p>

Changing focus to colleges in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest instead. For example, Beloit, Lawrence, Wooster, Earlham, Knox, Oberlin, Grinnell, Macalester, Carleton, Puget Sound, Willamette, and Whitman all seem great.

I see this is an old thread and the OP may be long gone, but I can’t help rehashing an earlier post that’s apropos:

One widget you might have fun playing around with is the Dept. of Ed’s college navigator site: http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
If you enter the name of a college, click on the resulting college link and then go to “Programs/Majors”, you can get a sense of how much art stuff is happening at a given school by scrolling down to the “Visual and Performing Arts” section. I find it interesting to look at the total number of majors in visual and performing arts relative to the number of majors in all disciplines. I’ve done this for a bunch of LAC’s, and have arrived at the following rough framework:

Under 3% = probably a real jock school, or at least a minimally artsy one; 3-6% = not particularly artsy; 6-10% = pretty artsy; Over 10% = seriously artsy. That’s all just based on feel and playing around, so take it for what it’s worth. In the northeast, Vassar, Wesleyan, Bard and Skidmore score very high.

The other nice thing about that site is it has the arts broken down by sub-discipline, so if you’re particularly interested in fine/studio arts, for instance, you can see how many folks majored in that.

For the schools in question:
Bates 6.3%
Bowdoin 4.9%
Colby 3.1%

Just in the Northeast, compare that to:
Skidmore 17.4%
Wesleyan 12.9%
Vassar 11.7%
Conn College 10.1%

Hi,

I am rather new to CC and was wondering if I could get some insights from those who are knowledgeable about these three schools. (Bates, Colby and Bowdoin)

My son started his own research but is having a difficult time. He said it has been difficult to see differences among those schools in terms of school vibe and culture. He said all three promote openness and diversity, have a strong sense of community and leadership. But it would be hard for an outsider to get differentiating factors just by reading.

I am not asking for too much details and I would appreciate it if any one could give us one or two distinguished characters or what we must know about each school briefly. Is there any one big thing that we shouldn’t miss at each school in terms of anything? We are trying to find a fit with any of these schools.

Thank you, in advance, so much for your help.

@jyc1230, It sounds to me like you’re looking for general comments on the three schools, not necessarily on their artsiness. If that’s the case you may want to start a new thread. I’d also suggest doing a search for subjects like “Bates vs. Colby,” and “Bowdoin, Bates Colby.” You’ll find this topic has been discussed a number of times. I’m happy to repost my opinions, but many other people have made valuable posts on the topic in these older threads.
You’ll also get more useful responses if you give us a little information about what your son is looking for-possible major, campus feel, specific sports, outside interests, etc.