<p>Does anyone know what Bowdoin considers a first gen college student? My father has his associates and my mother didn’t go to college.</p>
<p>I applied ED! @enlevego You would not be considered first generation. If both of your parents did not go to college you would be considered first gen. Good luck!</p>
<p>@hillyer300 oh ok, I was just wondering because some colleges consider you first generation if neither of your parents have their Bachelor’s. you too 
</p>
<p>Class of 2019 ED1 applicants went up 10.7% from last year (662 applicants). Good luck everyone!!!</p>
<p>@enlevego, Bowdoin uses the federal definition of first generation college student which is if neither of your parents received a degree from a four year college. Your parents can have attended ( but not graduated from ) a 4 year college or finished a 2 year college and you are still considered first gen. In fact, if you lived with only one parent and that parent did not complete college you can still be considered first gen.
This is the federal definition:
A) an individual both of whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree; or
B) in the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, an individual whose only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree.</p>
<p>Keep in mind the most important point of identifying first generation students is to give extra support in transitioning into college, not to create another ‘hook’ for students to try to self identify and boost their admission chances.</p>
<p>@LyricalLacuna, thanks so much. Your response is really helpful. Neither of my parents know much about college nowadays (my dad got his degree 50 years ago), so I’ve had to support myself during the process.</p>
<p>@enlevego, the multicultural coalition at Bowdoin has their own facility and programs to support groups including first gen students. <a href=“Center for Multicultural Life | Bowdoin College”>Center for Multicultural Life | Bowdoin College;
I don’t know about Bowdoin but at some colleges they even bring the first gen students to campus a couple days early to provide extra support and help getting organized and started at college.
Good luck at Bowdoin or wherever you end up! </p>
<p>@mdw1519 what are your sources on the applicant pool? </p>
<p>@wilden the Bowdoin Orient </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>My daughter who is a hs sophomore is in love with Bowdoin already (I kinda am too). She fell in love online and then we took her for a visit and she is hooked due to the strong academics but laid back atmosphere. We have a long way to go in her search so was wondering if anyone has come across other schools like Bowdoin. She would thrive in a more collaborate type environment over a competitive one.</p>
<p>Accepted today to Bowdoin class of 2019. Couldn’t be happier <3</p>
<p>@lyricallacuna How were you notified? I was told ED decisions wouldn’t be out until Dec 12 at the earliest??</p>
<p>Are you international @lyricallacuna </p>
<p>@bananacream LyricalLacuna is a Questbridge student. Questbridge announced matches today. Pretty cool!</p>
<p>@tganns, I spent a few days at Bates College in Maine which has some of the same really nice qualities as Bowdoin. The classes I attended were interesting and the student body was warm and welcoming. I would have added Bates to my list if I hadn’t been accepted early to Bowdoin – but it didn’t really make me fall in love like Bowdoin did. Pomona College in the Claremont Consortium is similar to Bowdoin in many ways - probably most similar in combining friendly relaxed culture with rigorous but not stressful academics. Some people compare Middlebury and Bowdoin favorably – the outdoor culture etc. but I found Middlebury to be less interesting and diverse and somewhat more full of itself. My best friend goes to Middlebury though and loves it. The women’s colleges (Smith, Bryn Mawr, Holyoke etc.) are a good place to find supportive environments (except perhaps Wellesley) plus rigorous scholarship and very active student bodies. Vassar has a different campus feel from Bowdoin but I also found many aspects appealing although ultimately too many negatives (personally for me). Fortunately, you have lots of time to visit and explore options! </p>
<p>While the campus culture differs greatly [it’s more artsy than outdoorsy], I think the “collaborative” approach to rigorous academics rather than just competitiveness is definitely also present at Wesleyan. And like @LyricalLacuna said, Bates & Middlebury fall in line with this, while additionally having a similar campus feel to Bowdoin.</p>
<p>@tganns Haverford right outside of Philadelphia and Colby (also in Maine) feel very much like Bowdoin! At least for me, anyway Good luck to your daughter!!</p>
<p>@LyricalLacuna congrats! do you know how many other bowdoin questbridge applicants were accepted?</p>
<p>yes 8 of us so we are the first 8 polar bears of the class of 2019 <3</p>