<p>i was accepted to both. which should i take? i don’t know what major/concentration i should pursue. i want a solid liberal arts foundation for grad school. brown has the ivy league rep…bowdoin? i want a good college experience, close faculty…</p>
<p>Hey zburton, first of all I’d like to say congrats on your acceptances! Both schools are stellar academic schools that will offer you a strong liberal arts education that will be highly recognized and revered in the grad school admission process, as well as preparing you for success during your continued education at grad school. However, you mentioned that you wanted a solid liberal arts education, and I must say that Bowdoin will give you that preference more than Brown will. Brown has a great academic program that is highly respected and is geared towards liberal arts, but does not fully pride itself on its approach to a liberal education, like Bowdoin. The fact that Bowdoin’s approach to education, professor’s, faculty, and administration focus solely on undergraduate edification, should say a lot as to what kind of professors will be teaching you at Bowdoin and the strong relationship you’ll be able to build with them. Relatively speaking, Brown’s reputation will give you a reverential status among family, friends, etc., but when it comes to recognition in the realm of academia, both will get you far. Bowdoin is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most selective and academic institutions for higher learning in America. As far as the college experience goes, you really can’t go wrong going to either. I don’t know exactly what the people are like at Brown, but I’m sure the admissions office at both Bowdoin and Brown have worked very hard to select a student body diverse in respects to beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, and interests, in order to offer a culturally pluralistic campus that fosters individuality as well as varying interests. A huge factor I would consider if I were you would be the overall size of each school. Brown is a lot bigger than Bowdoin. I can tell you this, however, Bowdoin’s size will not only offer you a very close relationship with professors and administrators, but it will also provide you with a familial intimacy with your fellow classmates and friends. The closeness you will be able to establish with your friends at Bowdoin, I think, will be a lot more rewarding. This is one aspect that I think is very great about Bowdoin and one that, ultimately, can last a lifetime. </p>
<p>Hope my ranting was somewhat of a help! I wish you all the luck my friend.</p>
<p>hey there. congrats. they’re both great schools. i would say visit to see which feels more comfortable. </p>
<p>brown has a great small city vibe. it’s a funny place. my best friend went to brown. i went to bowdoin. i think we would both agree that i had a more intimate and perhaps even “better” education given the extensive and personal contact i had with my professors, and we would also probably both agree that brown as a university was more self-sustaining a place to live and be for four years than bowdoin. bowdoin’s always, in my opinion, going to be a small place. brown, when i visited (and i did a lot), never felt very small. but it also felt decentralized. i think it depends on what feels better for you and what type of grad school you want to go to. if you want to get a PhD in the humanities, i think it might be easier for you to find role models at bowdoin. in the sciences, the kind of research being conducted at brown might make it a better place. </p>
<p>i don’t know…a friend from undergrad had your same choice to make and she chose bowdoin by telling people on, say, monday that she was going to brown and assessing how that felt, and then telling people (maybe different people?) a few days later that she was going to bowdoin and assessing how that felt. so she came to bowdoin. maybe you do the same thing and brown feels better. </p>
<p>again, congrats on a great choice. you can’t really go wrong, so i say just go with your gut.</p>
<p>Before applying ED, I had the same dilemma about which school I should pick.
Here’s what made me pick Bowdoin:
- smaller town, more centralized
- I just felt really comfortable at Bowdoin–a smaller school will give you more interaction with professors, smaller classes, etc.
- I wanted a school with very little to no greek life, and Bowdoin’s greek-free.
- housing: I liked that most Bowdoin kids tend to live on campus all four years, and I preferred the common room for freshmen at Bowdoin.
- food. need I say more? :)</p>
<p>on the other hand, Brown has more course offerings, more to do off-campus, and it is an Ivy, so you might get more connections after graduation (though Bowdoin still has great post-grad possibilities).
Also, what do you want to study? The schools’ individual programs might be able to help you decide.</p>
<p>brown is awesome!</p>
<p>I have the same dilemma. I will most likely major in econ. How is the econ dept at Bowdoin? Also how is the comp science dept? I sort of prefer Bowdoin’s more intimate setting, but I’m worried of it feeling too small after the first year.</p>
<p>I’m facing the same decision as you two. Going to be the hardest choice of my life, I love both so much.</p>
<p>Bowdoin. Is. So. Glorious.</p>
<p>zbarton and Hiphopopoyamus78,</p>
<p>My sincerest congratulations on your acceptance to both institutions – it speaks highly of you. I agree with much of what has been posted already. Like you, I was in a similar dilemma. Ultimately I declined the larger, research-oriented university in favor of a small liberal arts college and have never regretted it. I have no affiliation with either Bowdoin or Brown, but have a number of friends and colleagues that have either attended or are knowledgeable of both. The prevailing wisdom, and one that I fully endorse, is that it is best for most, although not all, to attend an excellent, wholly undergraduate liberal arts college to receive your bachelors degree and then later, if you choose to continue your formal education, to attend a larger, prestigious university for one’s graduate degree(s). Think of it as having the best of both worlds. My personal experience in addition to exchanging information with several thoughtful folks in field of higher education over the years has only reinforced that belief. </p>
<p>In the universe of higher education, both institutions occupy a special place. Like Brown, Bowdoin is truly remarkable in virtually every respect and has produced an usually high number of notable individuals and I would be delighted to join their ranks. Your hard work has earned you the enviable choice that relatively few enjoy. I have thought quite bit about this quandary and have no doubt that, if I were in your position, I’d eagerly be saying “hello” to Brunswick this fall. Of course, in the end, the decision rests with you alone. I feel strongly enough about this matter that this constitutes my inaugural post on this forum. I wish you only the best in whatever decision you choose.</p>
<p>I applied to both so I have respect for both and I am a Brown alum. That said there are some skewed statements on this thread.</p>
<p>"but does not fully pride itself on its approach to a liberal education, like Bowdoin. "
“The closeness you will be able to establish with your friends at Bowdoin, I think, will be a lot more rewarding.”</p>
<p>Neither of those is really true at all.</p>
<p>“i had a more intimate and perhaps even “better” education given the extensive and personal contact i had with my professors,”</p>
<p>Hmm, that’s also a loosey goosey statement. It’s not hard to know professors personally at Brown either. Maybe you have to seek it out more (maybe) but it’s not hard. Also, the geek life, err, greek life is very un-greek at Brown (it is Brown after all). The only exception may be the football frat who may be found streaking a couple times per year.</p>
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<p>Three years ago I was making this same decision between Brown and Bowdoin… I chose Bowdoin and couldn’t be happier. Here are my thoughts:</p>
<p>If you got accepted to both, you are an outstanding student and person. You probably have huge dreams for the future and are hoping that your college time will help you get wherever you want to go. </p>
<p>I think size is something that distinguishes the two schools academically. One HS teacher of mine posed it this way: do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond? The biggest class I have had at Bowdoin is 35 people and I’m sure that it would’ve been much harder to have so many small classes at Brown.</p>
<p>Bdude… Bowdoin has a kick-ass RoboCup team and regularly places in the top three in the world championships. The computer science department is surprisingly strong at Bowdoin (I say surprisingly because small LAC are not normally known for their comp sci depts)… Check out [Northern</a> Bites Blog](<a href=“http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/blog/]Northern”>http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/blog/) if you’re interested in more info. Bowdoin can get small-ish after a few years there, but a) it gives you a great excuse to study abroad and b) it hasn’t gotten so small (for me at least) that I know everyone or even 50% of people on campus. </p>
<p>Also, regardless of the size of the school you go to, your core friend group is going to be about the same size… In other words even if you start with more people to potentially be friends with when you enter college, you will ultimately make friends and make your social scene smaller. In other words, seen from a social perspective I don’t think size makes all that much of a difference (at least not between Brown and Bowdoin).</p>