Hey,
I am very interested in both colleges, however, I am confused as to which school I should ED to. Could you help break down the pros and cons?
Thank you 
Tentative academic interests?
S19 was accepted at both and narrowed it down to the two. He had plans to visit both after acceptances but visited Bowdoin first and then decided that was it. Didnât need to go to Davidson. We did visit Davidson in the spring of junior year and he also spent a lot of time talking to two students from our high school who are there. We are in the Chicago suburbs and our school sends very few kids to liberal arts schools so we did a LOT of visits and research.
First, I would say the two schools are more alike than different. S19 is undecided but leaning towards math as a major so that didnât come into play. In the end, he just went with vibe. He felt that Davidson was a little more intense yet definitely still collaborative. Thought the kids were a little more pre-professional than the kids at Bowdoin. Overall, he thought the kids at Bowdoin were more outdoorsy, more sporty, more friendly. He liked that it was D3 and can run on the XC/track teams (wasnât recruited but has been in contact with the coach and is welcome on the team). He would have joined the running club at Davidson or played ultimate. Food was way better at Bowdoin. Dorms were bigger, nicer. I see the weather in Maine as a downside and I donât like that Southwest doesnât fly to Portland except with layovers. Davidson is beautiful and warmer and a direct flight for us. S19 loves the outdoors and the ocean (which makes Bowdoin stand out as one of the few LACs with geology and oceanography classes at their center on the ocean). Itâs a small thing but Davidson offered him nothing for NMF and Bowdoin is giving him $2000/year. Just seemed a little odd that Davidson doesnât do anything for those kids. We are full pay so I canât comment on financial aid packages.
The two schools have SO much in common when it comes to small class size, beautiful art buildings, great science centers, good job placement, strong alumni, professors who really care about the kids. I would have been thrilled to have him at Davidson. In the end, he just felt he fit better at Bowdoin. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
As for ED, donât ED anywhere you havenât visited. Youâll see the differences between the two when you step foot on the campuses.
Also, while both schools have kids from all over the US, Bowdoin feels more âMaineâ and Davidson more âsouthernâ. Maine isnât like Boston or NY, itâs more relaxed. Larger percent of kids from southern states at Davidson. S19 wasnât sure about working and staying in the south and preferred the NE if he doesnât end up coming back to the Midwest. Not sure how much emphasis he should have placed on that. Iâm sure both schools have good reputations everywhere. Bowdoin very well known in the NE, though. Way more than Davidson.
One last thing! S19 and my husband both thought the kids they met at Bowdoin were wicked smart but also humble. S19 ended up staying two nights instead of one because one of the boys he met the first night offered to take him to ultimate practice the next day and to host him for a second night. S19 felt like every student he met was very welcoming and interested in him as a person. He didnât give Davidson a chance to see if his hosts would be like that but felt comfortable making his final decision after spending the two days at Bowdoin. If you look through their website, they talk about heart. It seems they do a very good job at finding the nice kids.
Both great schools with a lot to offer!
My D is a rising sophomore at Davidson so I can share some insights, but really it comes down to what youâre looking for. What are your priorities for college? Do you know what youâll study?
My D chose Davidson b/c of its highly regarded biology program and new science facilities, the sense of community and honor code, nice weather, very strong outdoors program, and she really clicked with the folks she met during an overnight program after she was accepted. (She did not ED anywhere.)
Also, while sheâs liberal, she likes the fact that itâs not as much of a liberal bubble as some LACs â she wants to be around students with a lot of perspectives.
She did not visit Bowdoin but did visit Middlebury and she felt a little turned off by a wealthy, prep school vibe. Not sure how much that translates to Bowdoin. She feels like Davidson students are pretty down to earth â though Iâm not sure they differ economically from other top LACs to be honest.
Davidson is known for being very rigorous with some grade deflation. My D found that to be a pro and likes to push herself. Others may see it differently.
Again, if you share more about yourself that might spur other input.
Good luck!!
As other people have said, theyâre really similar schools (as most top LACs tend to be). The biggest difference is probably the weather. You should also consider what region of the country you may want to work in after graduating.
Two great schools. Research and visit. If youâre a sports person, Davidson is the rare case of a small LAC that has Div I basketball.
One more quick note â if youâre interested in Humanities, Davidson just re-did the program and it seemed like the first-years my D knew had an amazing experience. They did a summer trip b4 college started, went to Greece together, etc. All underwritten by the college, I think? https://www.davidson.edu/academic-departments/humanities
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Hey!
I am leaning towards Political Science as a major, my other interests would lie with sociology, philosophy, literature, and history.
I think you canât go wrong at either college with those interests. Spend some time looking on the website at course descriptions and professors and see what resonates with you.
Have you visited both?
Given your screen name, OP, Bowdoin may be the place for you:)
With respect to academics, either of these schools would align well with your interest in the study of subjects such as government and history. You could comfortably choose between them based on their general attributes.
My S was interested in both these schools; they are actually quite similar in many ways. Incidentally, I have friends who summer in Brunswick, ME (where Bowdoin is located) and winter in Davidson, NC, precisely because they are similar and thatâs the atmosphere they enjoy.
My S loves cold weather and applied ED to Bowdoin. He was admitted so he had to withdraw his Davidson application.
The food is amazing at Bowdoin. Although my S loves cold weather, he wasnât prepared for how dark it gets so early in the afternoon in the winter, since it is so far east.
We were seeking schools that met financial need, which both do, but Davidson does offer a few very competitive merit scholarships, so thatâs a difference.
The town of Davidson is more charming/nicer than the town of Brunswick.
The nearest airport to Davidson is Charlotte, which is a major airport. Nearest airport to Bowdoin is Portland, which has fewer flights. But Brunswick has Amtrak, so if offers another way to get there.
They are both fabulous schools!
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I have kids at both of these colleges. Though my son at Bowdoin is older so I have more experience with it. As others have said, they are very similar. Similar class size, similar liberal arts philosophy, etc. To be clear, they are both excellent. Since you are looking for pro/cons, I would suggest a few:
â Davidson has meaningfully better weather
â Davidson is closer to a larger major metro than Bowdoin, though Portland is a cool small city near Bowdoin with a decent arts and culture scene and an airport that can get you to most places (some with connections)
â Davidson has more merit scholarships than Bowdoin
â Davidson has a well-established reputation as a tougher grader than Bowdoin or itâs Northeastern LAC peers.
â Bowdoin is a bit harder to get and has a larger endowment into which positively correlates to its reputation
â Any student can get a job at Bowdoin regardless of financial need and with no job placement preference for those on work study since there is work for everyone. This means that even if you are full-pay you are more likely to get paid for doing something you love, like working crew for the theater, and not need a separate job in dining, etc. Bowdoin has to fill most dining jobs with adults from the community since they offer so many jobs students would find more engaging.
â Bowdoin has an incredible amount of paid fellowships so that virtually any student who wants to do summer research or even just creative writing or whatever can do so while getting paid and with free housing
â Davidson has far more distribution requirements than Bowdoin or most of its Northeastern liberal arts peers. Thereâs 15 requirements unrelated to your major. You can get out of a couple with AP scores and a few more if you pass out of the 3-level foreign language requirement, but itâs still more than Bowdoinâs 7 requirements or the total lack of requirements at schools like Wesleyan, Hamilton (or Brown)
â Bowdoinâs dorms give every room combo a living room in addition to a bedroom. So if you are a double you get 2 rooms, if you are a triple, quad or quint, you get 3 rooms with one being a shared living room.
â On the other hand, Davidson gives everyone a double Freshman year so no risk of getting a quint (where three people share one bedroom) like Bowdoin. Also, Davidsonâs dorms all have in-room sinks which Bowdoinâs do not
â Their process for registering for classes couldnât be more different. At Bowdoin incoming Freshman donât get to register until a couple days before classes start during orientation. Itâs a mulit-phase process where you request your preferred classes, wait for results, try a second times for the slots you didnât fill, wait again, then panic and have to beg teachers or bid to get into whatever random classes arenât full. On the plus side, after first semester you do it well in advance during your previous semester and itâs much easier. At Davidson every grade uses an online program called âWeb Treeâ where you basically provide it a complex flow-chart of if/then decisions in advance: If I donât get my first choice class, switch to another branch because my other choices may change too, etc. You basically have to pre-populate about 20 slots, then wait for the computer to process everyone and see how you ended up. Despite all this, you can still end up with less than a full load of classes then you have to wait until registration just before the semester begins to rush like at Bowdoin and get into open classes or beg teachers. We didnât like the last minute stress of the first time at Bowdoin versus knowing months in advance at Davidson. But after the first time, I think you have more control with the Bowdoin system and itâs far less complex.
â Everyone raves about the food at Bowdoin, but to be clear thatâs true if you are a foodie or like imposed variety. Bowdoin focuses on a few great dishes a day that constantly vary plus only a few staples. If like my son you are a picky-eater, you may not appreciate Bowdoinâs food as much as at Davidson which is more like a traditional cafeteria with more staples available every day. My family of picky eaters all liked the food at Davidson more. Sacrilege, I know.
Itâs all subjective but in response to a comment above I donât think Davidson has a better college town than Bowdoin does in Brunswick. Davidson is tiny. I asked a few times where the rest of the town was. Brunswick by comparison has far more restaurants, shops, theaters, etc. Davidson is a beautiful area for sure, but itâs a really, really small town. But for the college, it is basically a commuting suburb of Charolette, whereas Brunswick is a destination in its own right.
Iâm sure thereâs more, but thatâs what I have off the top of my head.
If you have any specific questions, ask awayâŠ
With regards to reputation/prestige, which other posters have touched on, I think that any differences between the two schools will be regional. Bowdoin will have a better rep in the northeast and Davidson will have a better rep in the southeast.
@writingpumpkin03 True to a point. And I donât think the prestige within the range of either of these schools is statistically or qualitatively relevant. But itâs objectively true that most if not all major ranking sites (USN, Forbes, Niche, etc.) have Bowdoin ahead of Davidson. And thereâs no question it has a larger endowment, reflecting its fundraising prowess of which prestige is one factor. Anecdotally, many of our friends and family on the West Coast (therefore representing neither home region) had heard of Bowdoin but pretty much none had heard of Davidson except the major sports fans who said âIs that where Steph Curry went?â (and that was the extent of their knowledge about it). To be clear, Iâm not personally making the case for one over the other. They both are awesome.
@citivas can you comment at all on the difference in the vibe? These were S19âs final two and he went with Bowdoin. Felt the kids were friendly at both schools but Davidson kids were a little more buttoned up. He also thought that Davidson was more homogeneous and Bowdoin seemed less regional in its student body. I was surprised that he wasnât swayed by Davidsonâs weather but he was won over by the warm welcome he got at Bowdoin.
Iâm curious if both of your kids applied to both schools or if they each had a preference for the one where they ultimately landed. Where S19 applied to both, I think D21 will apply to Davidson but not Bowdoin. She does not want Maine weather and sheâs also looking for a little bit more social life and rah rah than Bowdoin offers.
My D is a rising sophomore at Davidson and there are only 7 courses in the Ways of Knowing. But maybe youâre including foreign language requirements and the gym courses? There are a few additional âanglesâ that you must check the box on (like 'justice, equity, and community 'but you can double count those â i.e., one of your Ways of Knowing courses can also check the âjustice & equityâ box.
Anywho, hereâs the link to look firsthand â https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/registrar/graduation-requirements/ways-knowing-requirements
I agree Bowdoin is better known by John Q Public b/c itâs a NEASC college. I think employers and graduate schools know and value them pretty much equally. Iâve heard grad schools view Swarthmore and Davidson as the two most rigorous LACs. Bowdoin may have a leg up on Wall Street hiring.
This is purely anecdotal and doesnât compare to Bowdoin, but we have a good family friend who recently retired from teaching law school at UNC and he said on the whole his best students over 30 + years of teaching were from Davidson, and specifically said they were better prepared than students from Duke, UNC, or WF. That made an impression on my D!
PS â Is OP still here?
@AlmostThere2018 Off the top-of-my head, thereâs the 7 ways of knowing, 3 foreign language, 1 justice, 1 cultural diversity plus the freshman writing requirement, all in addition to the P.E. requirements. So I guess thatâs 13 without p.e. and 16 with it. Compared to any of the other NESCAC LACâs, thatâs a lot of requirements. I went to UCLA and had at least that many there, but the Northeast LACâs have definitely trended to less structured requirements.