Just got accepted to Bowdoin - super excited!! I was wondering do we have a choice in deciding our roommate(s) by filling out a survey or something? Also are the dorms nice in terms of available space and facilities? How are the various buildings different?
It’d be great if someone could let me know, still haven’t visited or had a chance to talk to any current students. :-/
In terms of space, Bowdoin Freshman dorms are awesome because every single dorm room has a living room and separate bedroom – whether you have a double with two rooms total or a triple, quad or occasional quint with 3 rooms total. So you will share a bedroom with usually 1 other person but then have study desks and room for a coach, chair and TV, etc. in the living room. Most of the Freshman dorms are similar – older buildings in the heart of the campus – most of the upperclassman housing is either off the core campus or further on the periphery of it. There are two newer dorms that get a mix of Freshman and some Sophomores that are all doubles. But you don’t get to pick so it’s luck. You do fill out a survey that helps with their matching. It’s not as hardcore a survey as some schools but it seems to average a decent result. By Sophomore year you have a decent shot at basically an apartment (often converted from real apartments) with 2-3 other rooms mates that will have in addition to the living room and two bedrooms a full kitchen and it’s own bathroom.
Does anyone know if the doubles for freshman (in Osher) have a couch in the living room part of their room? When my S visited, he only saw quads and they all had couches but I’m not sure if the doubles also get one. @citivas do you know?
@homerdog Yes, they should have at least a couch and two desks and desk chairs in the living room. Depending, there may be a bookshelf or extra credenza or an extra chair.
@citivas thanks. You’re the best. 
My S lived in Osher his first year - the outer room had a little sofa, and the desks, 2 closets (no doors - they were open) and a bookshelf. Then they had 2 beds in the other room, with drawers built in underneath them.
@college_query Oh thanks! So, no under-bed boxes then? There are built in drawers under the beds? Sweet! And the closets are in the outer room? Yikes on that lol. Maybe there’s some way to hang a sheet or something to cover that hot mess.
Hi! My daughter will be in Osher @ Bowdoin this fall. We are getting ready to take her to Maine and have a question about the dressers too - do the dressers come literally built in under the bed? Or are they moveable, so that she could also stack them somewhere else in the room? Thank you!!
@orchid00 there’s a video online if you google Bowdoin dorm video. It’s one of the first two that pop up. Looks like the drawers would not be movable or, if they are, there wouldn’t be anywhere to move them. Looks like a ton of storage in general. The closets look big.
@Orchid00 I don’t know that the video is from Osher but it is a double. The other video is of a quad and that room has dressers to the side of the beds not under. I have heard from multiple Bowdoin students that Osher is one of the best dorms so yea!
@homerdog Awesome, thank you! My daughter will be happy to hear that :).
@homerdog @Orchid00 the drawers are moveable but you are correct that there’s probably not a good spot to put them. In my experience, Bowdoin first year dorms/dorms in general are shaped certain ways so there are not too many possible orientations of furniture that don’t make the room feel crowded. That being said, there is a ton of space both for storage and in general. I wouldn’t bother getting any sort of extra storage before moving in and seeing the space - I anticipated needing to buy this and never ended up doing so because there was so much. Bed raisers are also completely unnecessary; the beds raise high enough for under bed storage on their own.
@youwillbefound Thanks! I know S19’s friends are buying other “carts” etc for more storage but we will not. S19 will also have a big bookcase in addition to the drawers and the closet so a lot of misc stuff can go there. So excited for move in!