Bowdoin vs. Middlebury vs. Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bowdoin College
1

<p>I’m having a tough time deciding between these three schools: I know they’re all good schools but I can’t decide! </p>

<p>I plan on majoring in something policy/polticial/international relations related. I applied to Cornell’s School of Human Ecology for Policy Analysis and Management major, and I would major in something related to those fields at Midd or Bowdoin. I’m looking for a school that will help me get into a top ranked graduate school and has a good reputation in those respective fields. Money, thankfully, is not an issue.</p>

<p>Can anyone lend some insight? </p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>I think the ultimate question you need to ask yourself is: where am I going to be the happiest for the next 4 years. That you won’t really know until you have visited all 3 schools. I personally favor the LACs over Cornell just because of the quality of a good liberal arts education. Besides, you can always go to Cornell for grad school. And in terms of quality of life (which I think it’s a major determinate of your happiness on campus), I really think Bowdoin comes out top. Good luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>I agree with Cookieis77, as does my son. He felt that for undergrad, LACs were the best option and that Ivies were a better option for grad school. That way you will have two sets of top notch networks to draw from and believe it or not, sometimes the LAC network is tighter than the Ivies. For location, there is no comparison, Bowdoin wins hands down. Cornell would be a distant third in my book (when I got in there for grad school, my alumni mentor actually dissuaded me from going there because of Ithaca itself).</p>

<p>For your major options, you will be fine at any of the schools and grad school is based on how well you do, so this is within your control as well as the recommendations you get. People get into grad schools from all sorts of schools and certainly lots of them from these schools. </p>

<p>This ends up being where you feel you fit best. I know that the admitted students weekends overlap, but I would really try to squeeze in time at all three places…</p>

4

<p>Bowdoin and Cornell Law grad here, so I have some perspective on the differences between the 2 schools. </p>

<p>I chose to go to CLS because it is a relatively small law school which in many ways mirrors the experience of a small liberal arts college, which I really loved.</p>

<p>Cornell undergrad is a very different story. It is a massive, research oriented school.</p>

<p>I can tell you that the education you will get at Bowdoin is excellent (every bit as good as the undergrads get at Cornell, if not better), and it is highly personalized. </p>

<p>By the time I was a junior, my upper level classes typically had less than 10 students, and sometimes as few a 5. Often, class was held in a professor’s house rather than a classroom. Your professors, especially in your major, will take a personal interest in you and your success. Even your upper level classes at Cornell will have dozens (if not hundreds) of students.</p>

<p>The freshman writing seminar youwill take at Bowdoin is small, interesting and very effective.</p>

<p>One thing which struck me about the differences in the two schools is that the undergrads at Cornell seemed highly focused on their education as a means to an end … which usually meant getting a Wall Street job. The Bowdoin undergrads, on the other hand, seemed more focused on ‘learning for learning’s sake’ … which maybe isn’t so surprising for students who choose to go to a LAC. You have to decide what atmosphere is better for you.</p>

<p>I think Bowdoin’s size is an asset. I knew almost everyone in my class, and most of them reasonably well. 20+ years later I feel like I could pick up the phone and call 90% of my classmates and they would know who I am and probably what town I came from. This will serve you well later in life.</p>

<p>If you do reasonably well at Bowdoin you will have no trouble at all getting into and Ivy or top tier grad school. The vast majority of my classmates who went to law school got into T-14 schools. For Med and B school it was similar.</p>

<p>The benefits of Cornell are the power of its name/Ivy status, the beauty of Ithaca (though I’d opt for the Maine Coast all day long) and a very large and diverse student body and curriculum where you can always find your niche academically and socially.</p>

<p>If I had to choose between the two for an undergrad education, I’d chose Bowdoin.</p>

<p>Congrats on your admission and best of luck.</p>

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<p>Thank you alum88! I’m worried about the cutthroat atmosphere at Cornell honestly. But, I really do enjoy the major at Cornell. Then again the other two LACs are awesome in that stuff too… I guess it’ll all be based on what feeling I get when I visit!</p>