although i havent visited either school, i feel like bowdoin and middlebury are very similar. can someone tell me the differences between them (academics, greek life, social life and parties, sports, local area, and anything else you think is important to mention). thanks!
My S was accepted to both and visited a few times including overnights. So that’s my credentials for what it’s worth. Actual students opinions are probably better…
Middlebury has a larger student population (2,500 vs. 1,800). Middlebury’s campus is far more spread out, which my S didn’t like. Bowdoin is exceptionally contained for it’s peers – you can pretty much get everywhere on campus except the athletic center within 5 minutes or less. Middlebury has great architecture but some like it more than others – I did. It’s mostly pale colored stone buildings. Bowdoin is more traditional red brick but has a few exceptions.
Middlebury is extremely rural. There’s a nice little village town next to it but otherwise you are surrounded by farmland. Bowdoin is more suburban. It’s in a town that’s a tourist destination in the summer, but surrounded by residential areas and other suburban development, yet you can still take walking or biking trails straight to the ocean.
Neither has greek life; both still party, including in some former Greek houses now owned by the schools. Middlebury is known for trying to control it a bit more, but neither are as relaxed about it as Wesleyan. Both have high percentages of student athletes – 35-40%.
Both are great schools and I honestly didn’t find the vibe that different. Midd has a bit more of a jock (“Bro”) reputation than Bowdoin. Midd looked like it had invested more in large new building projects and upgrades than Bowdoin, despite Bowdoin having a larger endowment.
Good luck.
D15 also looked most closely between Midd and Bowdoin. I think the above assessment is pretty accurate. Both campuses have a very similar culture. I agree biggest differences seem to campus size and location (Bowdoin is more suburban than it is rural). She knew it was splitting hairs to some degree trying to decide between the two. For my D she eventually chose Midd over Bowdoin for ED because she liked Midd’s mountainous location better and she liked the bigger campus. She preferred the academic calendar with a January term over Bowdoin’s straight two semester system. She was drawn to Midd’s dance department and its environmental studies department. She is thriving at Middlebury, has truly found a home.
Great responses above. Similar schools but Midd is larger and Bowdoin is on a train line to Boston and in a more populous vacation area. Middlebury’s athletic facilities are somewhat better overall. The only point I would add is that Bowdoin has become a slightly tougher admit in recent years. Bowdoin’s admit rate is below 15% and average test scores are somewhat higher at Bowdoin, although one needs to factor in that about 25 percent of Bowdoin’s class does not submit test scores.
A few additional thoughts as I was running out the door before…
I personally really loved the rural area around Middlebury. Very pretty. Bowdoin is attractive too but it doesn’t have that wow factor of the endless seemingly undeveloped mountains barely in the distance. Though at Bowdoin you are very close the incredible Maine Coast and the school and Outing Club each own parts of or entire islands there. Middlebury owns a small ski resort.
Bowdoin is known for its ourdoorsy culture and it’s student-run Outing Club is incredibly well-resourced and produces many activities that are virtually free (after a $500 annual membership). Middlebury is outdoorsy too with the ski resort and rural location.
Bowdoin is famous for its food (though that is mostly lost on my non-foody son).
Where Bowdoin has a distinct advantage between the two is convenience to major transportation options. There’s an Amtrak station across the street from the school that can get you to/from Boston or the nearly city of Portland, Maine which is about 30 minutes away and is a great city for restaurants, culture, shopping. Portland also has an airport with tons of direct flights to the New York area (I can’t speak for other locations). I was shocked how many daily direct flights. Also, Bowdoin is about 15 minutes from the shopping mecca of Freeport, Maine which is also the headquarters of LL Bean which operates a massive 24 hour/365 day store there (the doors don’t even have locks and the only time they closed was for the memorial service of their founder, when the local police guarded the unlocked doors out of respect). And it’s about a 1 hour flight. By comparison, Middlebury is about 45 minutes from Burlingame, VT, and that’s about it for major urban areas. Midd is close to endless recreational and rural locations, including Lake George, Lake Champlain, etc.
Neither of these schools, in my opinion, are in the same league as Wesleyan or Vassar when it comes to organizing a variety of entertainment activities on campus. Wesleyan is insane in that regard with usually numerous competing activities every single Thurs-Sat among other days. Bowdoin seems pretty sleepy by comparison with a handful of plays, dance, art or concerts over a semester; the social houses (the school-controlled former frats that every student is affiliated with as a Freshman) dominate the party scene. I’m not criticizing – to each their own – just observing.
1 Like
@ReallyOk Echoing your comments, the athletic facilities as Midd are incredible. I was practically open jawed at how nice they were for a small LAC – many big universities don’t have as nice. And per your Bowdoin point, Bowdoin’s RD admit rate is now below 12% – crazy. Applying ED is a major advantage. Midd is only a few percentage points behind so still in the same league of difficulty.
1 Like
To be perfectly clear about the acceptance rate difference between the two schools, Bowdoin is 25% smaller and gets a lot of applicants simply because it does not require test scores. I would say that accounts for almost all of the small difference in acceptance rate between the two schools. The cross-admit rate between the two is enormous. It would be hard to find two schools that are more similar. While Bowdoin enjoys a natural rivalry with Bates and Colby, perhaps the rivalry between Bowdoin and Middlebury would be a better one to celebrate.
1 Like
It’s also ~128 mi. from Montreal, which isn’t too much farther (in mileage anyway) than Bowdoin is from Boston (~107 mi.)
Since Amtrak has been mentioned a few times, I thought it worth noting that Amtrak recently announced plans to build a train station in Middlebury and upgrade an existing freight rail line that’ll connect the village to New York City and Burlington.
@arcadia I agree it will be great if/when Amtrak has a station in Middlebury. I presume it will happen eventually. That said, they announced it in 2012 and 4 years later haven’t really started. It’s very controversial in the local area and it faced a lot of opposition. Back in the day when freight trains used the tracks there were lots of derailments. The most recent article I saw made it sound like best case for completion was now 2020. So it may not help current or upcoming prospective students.
That said, consistent with their more hands-on approach, I found Middlebury did far more to provide transportation options for students than Bowdoin does. Bowdoin does nothing actually, beyond the local area. Sometimes the student government organizes shuttles near the major breaks, but very limited. Nothing like the bus services that Middelbury provides. For the most part if you aren’t taking Amtrak, students are on their own to book tickets on buses, use Uber or whatever.
Construction is expected to begin in 2017. Yes, current students won’t benefit, but it’s nonetheless great news for the town.
Bowdoin: Near perfect LAC size.
Middlebury: Views of the Adirondacks from McCardell.
Something I have found to be true at Bowdoin which may be true at the other LAC’s too but I don’t know, is they are extremely generous with student jobs. My S is not on financial aid and has no work study requirement, but he already has 3 paying jobs, two of which are activities he would have likely done for free. Minimum wage on campus is $9.25/hr, and you get automatic raises with time.
Middlebury: Near perfect LAC size
Bowdoin: Access to the Maine Coast