Bowdoin vs. Oberlin

College Search & Selection
1

Having a tough time choosing between these schools, Bowdoin seems to make a little more sense, but it’s also a fair bit more expensive than Oberlin, (not anything crazy, probably 20k vs 30k in debt) and as the academics seem pretty much tied, I’m curious if it’s worth the extra money. After visiting both this week, I’ve compiled this list of pros and cons:

Bowdoin
Pros: More presitgious, and incredibly beautiful. Their food and dorms are amazing. The outing club seems great, and its right on the water. More what I imagined when I pictured a ‘collegiate’ atmosphere. The endowment is huge and it is rated high on Forbes for return on investment, as well as on the Princeton Review for quality of life (a good mix).

Cons: Seems preppy and sort of elitist, really small campus/student body. There seems to be less of a sense of community than Oberlin, as people are more conventional, and thus less approachable. I’m probably stranger than the average Bowdoin student but far less strange than the average Oberlin student.

Oberlin
Pros: There’s a million things to do, with all the concerts put on by the conservatory, I don’t think I’d ever be bored. It’s a good size at a little over 3000 students, and a bigger physical campus than Bowdoin. Seems like there’s a larger number of things to do with your time, but maybe activities of a lesser quality than Bowdoin.

Cons: People seem obsessed with image/not getting ready for the real world, always trying staying in their comfort zone. While the campus is pretty, and has lots of things to do, Ohio seems boring and kind of ugly. Both schools felt like bubbles, but it seemed like Oberlin really does not prepare you for the outside world.

A little about me: I am from just outside Boston (so travel to Bowdoin would be way easier) and I’m hispanic. I’m a progressive guy who values an intellectual armoshere, as well as artistic and outdoorsy opportunities, but mainy wants somewhere serious and quiet to go and learn for four years. I am more humanities focused and will probably study english lit, maybe religious studies/philosophy, and either go pre-law or try and become a journalist/writer (either way, will likely be applying to grad school).

Any advice or input would be great!

2

Both schools can get you where you want to go. Bottom line to me is it seems like you prefer Bowdin but Oberlin is also a fine school and is cheaper. So it begs the question – does the difference in cost make a difference to your family especially knowing that law school could be down the road?

3

I went to college in Maine (Bates) and hailed from the Boston area so have a lot of respect for Bowdoin but it is so incredibly cold in Maine! Not that Oberlin is tropical by any means but I can’t imagine it’s Maine cold. Anyhow, Brunswick is a great town but is sort of precious and it seems like you’re not looking for that. My DD is headed to Oberlin as a first year this fall and she fell in love with the town actually. I might also describe her as stranger than the average Bowdoin student and less strange than the average Oberlin student (she is also biracial) - I was amused by how you put that actually. FWIW we went to the DC area Oberlin welcome reception this week and I have to say that most kids looked a lot “like” her - thoughtful, studious, and not extreme - lots of her crowd who loved listening to quirky podcasts like Welcome to Nightvale, playing Cards Against Humanity and reading Harry Potter.

What do you plan to study?

4

Hmm, I just checked the Common Data Sets for each, to see how diverse they are and was surprised to see that Bowdoin is 64% white and Oberlin 66% white, with about 10% of entering class at Bowdoin is Hispanic and about 7% at Oberlin. According to that article on colleges with highest numbers of students from the top “1%” of earners, Bowdoin does have more 1% families than Oberlin – 20% vs. about 9.3%, though Bowdoin has more in the "bottom 60% (families earning less than $65k) – 17.5% vs. 13.3%. So, there may be more people who come from “money” at Bowdoin, but there are going to be more kids from the other end of the economic spectrum at Bowdoin than at Oberlin. Perhaps the lower “quirk” factor at Bowdoin means kids tend to “blend in more” so seems more homogenous?

I’ve heard that Oberlin is trying to move away from being pigeon-holed as the anti-reality school and I will say that, as we met with students there during my own kid’s recruiting process, the Oberlin athletes were indistinguishable from athletes at any top LAC. Still Oberlin is higher on the “quirk” factor – we were on campus in the fall to watch a sporting event, and there was a student riding a unicycle dressed as an ear of corn, telling everyone he was a “unicorn.” It was getting close to Halloween, and it made us laugh, but I’m guessing that might not happen at Bowdoin.

Can you explore online info about career services/grad school etc. at each school? Two great choices to have, sorry I don’t have more specific info to help with the decision!

5

‘we were on campus in the fall to watch a sporting event, and there was a student riding a unicycle dressed as an ear of corn, telling everyone he was a “unicorn.” It was getting close to Halloween, and it made us laugh, but I’m guessing that might not happen at Bowdoin’

you are mistaken.

6

@morandi – I stand corrected!

7

Two great choices! Both are excellent if you want to go on to law school. I think you’ve summed them up well. I’d just choose the one you’d feel more at home with.

8

@Troyus @happy1 @Midwestmomofboys @morandi @LMC9902 Thanks for all your help! I was still pretty torn even after your excellent advice but Bowdoin called yesterday and gave me a few thousand more dollars and that sold it for me. Thanks again though!

9

Thanks for sharing that great news! Congrats and have a wonderful 4 years at Bowdoin.

10

Congrats! Make sure to stock up on LL Bean stuff - or better yet you can go when at school. For people at Bates we loved going in the middle of the night because it’s open 24 hours and almost nobody was there. Good memories of Maine!

11

I am actually making the exact same decision. I haven’t visited Bowdoin yet, but I just visited Oberlin. I feel the same way you do with the schools, especially with the financial concern. Did you tell Bowdoin you needed more $$?

12

@agentp104 yeah! I emailed them better offers from Oberlin and Reed College and they were very happy to help. Also this article (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/the-new-activism-of-liberal-arts-colleges) helped make my decision, it really added to the concerns I already had about Oberlin. Good luck with your decision!