Bowdoin vs Reed

College Search & Selection
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Hey world,

This is my first post here, so I don’t really know how this works, but here goes

I’m a senior in high school and I’ve narrowed my top list of colleges down to 2– Bowdoin College and Reed college. I know they are vastly different schools and usually aren’t compared, but I figured I’d ask anyway. I think what I’m wondering is how true the stereotypes of each of these schools are. I know they are both wonderful academically and I love a lot about each, but I’m wary of a couple of things at each.

For Bowdoin, I love the strength of the academics and quality of life (I adore Maine), and I got a good vibe when I visited. But I’m concerned that it will be a more jocky and cliquey place than I’d like— I love the outdoors and hiking and having an active and healthy lifestyle, but I loathe sports culture and the social divisions it breeds. I also am wary of a homogeneous, preppy, white and elitist student body that I see consistently talked about on the internet but that I didn’t really pick up on the one time I visited.

With reed, I’m concerned about pretty much the opposite. I’ve heard that it can be a druggie and pretentious place where identity politics and aggressive liberalism reign supreme. I guess it would make sense to mention that I’m a transgender guy who is also incidentally gay, and I’d like to be in an environment where that is something that would be accepted and wouldn’t set me apart from others, but I’m really not interested in getting involved with queer groups or activism. I really like the reported weirdness and eclecticism of the reed student body, but I’m wary of a pretentious, “art school” type image culture and drug scene (I don’t do drugs).

Thanks for reading that monstrosity. If you have any input I’d really appreciate it. If one of these schools stands out as maybe a better fit, or if you can think of some school that is kind of a mix of the things I liked about the two schools, please let me know.

(I figure I could briefly mention my basic info— I’m at a very average public school in PA but upper middle class, I’ve got a 4.5 gpa and 1550 sat, lotsa ap classes, and a very strong involvement in classical and folk/traditional music, and some jazz. I’ve got leadership roles in two extracurriculars and do a lot of photography/other art stuff in my free time.)

Thanks again

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Have you visited Reed? That may be the only way to determine if the stereotypes are valid, from your own perspective, and whether you’d feel comfortable there.

You also might want to check out Carleton, Colorado College, Grinnell, and Macalester. Or perhaps consider some larger/public schools if you want a more diverse demographic spread.

What about cost issues? Can your family afford ~$70K/year out of pocket? If not, have you run the online net price calculators for any schools that interest you? Have you talked to your parents about covering the Expected Family Contribution?

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Agree Mac and Grinnell are good options which balance out the possible extremes you are concerned about. For what it’s worth, we know a transgender student at Mac who is not into partying and is very happy.

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Welcome to College Confidential, @mrpierogi197 ! Remember when you hear stereotypes about any college that:

  1. Sometimes they are based on the college in the past and have not caught up with the college’s reality. The top colleges have diversified and changed in more recent years as they have moved from accepting mostly rich white elites to accepting academic superstars of all economic and racial backgrounds.
  2. Even stereotypes that hold a grain of truth are usually based on a minority of the students, although there can be an impact on overall feel or culture. Most students can find a group of friends like them wherever they go.

So, it really comes down to how comfortable YOU feel on the campus when you visit. Does it seem like a friendly, welcoming sort of place?

Also, have you reached out to student members of an LGBTQ+ organization to ask what their experience has been like on campus, even if you are not interested in joining their group?

Between Bowdoin and Reed: perhaps Vassar, Wesleyan or Skidmore? Those are all between Reed and Bowdoin in stereotypes of the culture. Bowdoin’s campus has some similarities to Vassar’s, which is also gorgeous. Vassar and Skidmore are near the Shawangunk Moutains/ Hudson Highlands (Vassar) and Adirondack Mountains (Skidmore), for good hiking. Wesleyan has a small nature park not far away that students frequent.

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To try and answer your question: Based on the knowledge I’ve gleaned from years on CC and knowing people who know those schools (IOW, no firsthand knowledge,) I think you would find more of your people at Reed. You sound like an intellectual person, and if one of those colleges has to be labelled as intellectual, I suspect most people would say Reed. Certainly, there will be intellectuals at all the of the colleges mentioned on this thread.

Both will have challenging academics. FWIW, my own D, whom I describe as a slightly alternative nerd, never considered Bowdoin, and rejected Reed. After reading up on Reed, she thought it sounded too intense for her. You are definitely going to have challenging academics at both colleges. Reed has apparently one ot the highest rates of acceptance into PhD programs. Bowdoin is probably more prestigious.

If I had to sum up in one word what those two colleges are like (anyone feel free to correct me) I would describe Bowdoin as intelligent and Reed as intellectual. There’s a difference. In terms of vibe, Bowdoin is probably a little on the preppy side, and Reed is probably more “alternative.” I will mention that there is allegedly a fair amount of drug use at Reed, but Bowdoin kids are more into drinking. There will be people doing both at all colleges though.

I agree with a lot of the colleges suggested above. I definitely think you should especially consider Wesleyan. It was the college I thought of first. I also think Grinnell and Oberlin sound like good fits for you. Good luck. I’d love to hear which you college you decide on!

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Agree with @TheGreyKing: you will find some people who fit the stereotype at both colleges- and I think that your Bowdoin experience is instructive in that regard. Both schools, as well as all the others suggested above, are going to be full of students who will be somewhere between completely ‘live & let live’ and keen to show that they are about people > labels.

Be careful on the cost front: no point falling in love with the unaffordable.

ps, my modest experience of Bowdoin is that team sports players represent a very strong part of the student body- but I will also say that the 3 3-season student athletes that I know there (all female, fwiw) are genuinely nice kids- even the LAX ones :slight_smile:

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If you don’t reach resolution with these two schools (though you should continue to try to do so), Vassar seems to fall in a zone you might appreciate.

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Thanks everyone so much for responding.

@tk21769 In terms of cost, we will only have to pay a small fraction of tuition and full room and board, and while that’s still a lot, we’ve talked about it and have savings and it should be doable. So that is less of an issue. I’ve looked pretty extensively at carleton and really liked the impression I got, but there isn’t much that really stands out to me. It feels like it’s pretty much my “second best” on all fronts, which I realize might ultimately make it the best choice, ironically. But I haven’t visited, so I guess I can’t really say.

@merc81 and @TheGreyKing mentioned Vassar. I actually visited, and I liked it. However, I was struck by the “Hipsterness” of a lot of the students I was sitting near in the student center area. I guess that should concern me about Reed, but I’ve also heard from some that Reed has more of a “weirdo” culture and less of a “hipster” one. idk

I guess I didn’t really emphasize as much how much I love the things Bowdoin has to offer. I really am attached to Maine (and particularly the traditional music scene-- I’ve been playing traditional/folk music there in the summers for the past five years, and have made connections with some of the most awesome and well-known trad music folks up there, and I really would love to be able to stay connected to that community. I guess I’m also using those people as a reference point for the kind of people I love being around-- they’re all really weird and interesting and nature-loving and sorta hippieish, but none of them are stuck up or pretentious. Mad down to earth vibes. I feel really at ease and like I fit in when I’m around them. I guess that’s what I’m looking for in college too, so Maine holds a bit of a special place in that regard.) I also loved the music and visual arts buildings and the few professors I met at Bowdoin. And the dorms and organic/local food are just top notch. They also have a fairly strong neuroscience department, which is a field I’m quite interested in. I know this is starting to sound like a love letter to Bowdoin, but I just really do love the place. I guess I’m really just wondering if I’d be able to find a large population of Reed-like weirdos or just interesting and eclectic people in general at Bowdoin, because the internet has told me overwhelmingly that the culture there is one I’d want to flee from (sports, preppiness, etc.). But I’m being redundant.

Yeah. Any comments on Bowdoin in particular? I do really, really like what I’ve read about the academics and student body at Reed (obviously, hence it occupying my #2 spot) but I really am sort of in love with the idea of Bowdoin. I guess the realistic situation here is that if I can find enough solid evidence that I would feel wildly out of place and uncomfortable at Bowodin, I will apply early to reed. If not, it’s probably Bowdoin.

Also @collegemom3717 mentioned knowing some nice sports kids at Bowdoin-- do they also interact with non-sports people? Do they have other more “artistic/alternative” interests? “Nice” is ALWAYS great, but I guess I’m also interested in being surrounded by interesting, varied people who are excited about a lot of different things.

Sorry for rambling, I just feel kinda lost and am looking for all the info I can get. Thanks again!!

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Have you considered applying to Bates? It’s not as preppy as Bowdoin, close to Portland, and has more of a hippy nature-loving arty vibe than Bowdoin. Bates was founded on inclusivity. It’s never had greek life and is well-known for being test-optional. It was one of the first to admit women and African-Americans. No idea what your stats are, but if your ED to Bowdoin doesn’t work out, you ought to consider Bates.

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Note that your ‘things you love’ about Maine is appreciably longer than your ‘things you love’ about Bowdoin itself- and that the former is specific and the latter rather generic (ie, you can find those elements at many, many places). Be careful not to mix them up. I like @Lindagaf’s suggestion of Bates- fits all your Maine vibes, but is a nice middle ground between Bowdoin & Reed.

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@Lindagaf Funny that you mention Bates. It was on the very top of my list for quite a while–I loved everything I read about it. However, when I visited (I spent the whole day hanging around campus, did a tour and info session, and ate in the dining hall) I felt like the vibe really wasn’t what I had heard about. It seemed very sporty and almost everyone seemed to hang around in groups of people who all looked mostly the same. I was expecting a more crunchy, collaborative, and artsy, down to earth feeling, because that’s what people on the internet overwhelmingly said the vibe was like, but I didn’t get that sense at all. I don’t know, maybe I visited at a bad time or didn’t hang around the right places, but yeah. Everyone seemed very nice there though and the campus is of course very beautiful.

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Bowdoin is high on my D’s list. We’ve visited a few times. I think the preppy elitist stereotype is overblown. Didn’t strike us that way. Seemed very friendly, outdoorsy and inclusive. Got the feeling that students work hard and are challenged, but are able to find balance. Never visited Reed, but have a neighbor whose kid transferred out. They were looking for a liberal college, but said Reed was way over the top in that regard and that the hard drug use reputation is very true. Have you looked at Vassar? That seems to fit you. Not sporty, welcoming, liberal, beautiful setting…

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Have you run the net price calculators on the school website at every school on your list? Make sure you do that before applying.

I interpret your post as saying you may want to ED to one of these schools. I do NOT think you should. I think you should apply to both RD, along with maybe another couple of reaches, a couple more matches, and a couple of safeties. Then decide after you have acceptances and FA packages in hand. ED is really best for students who have ONE clear favorite, and the FA package on the NPC is clearly workable (student has no need to compare FA offers). You have good stats and a good GPA. Apply more broadly in the RD cycle and see what shakes out.

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In case it got lost, the OP indicated a 4.5(W?) GPA with extensive APs, a 1550 SAT and an array of ECs in which he has expressed passion and leadership.

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I think of Bowdoin as a fairly balanced LAC socially and politically – there will be crunchy, preppy, artsy and sporty kids there (and many who fit into multiple groups). Schools somewhat like Bowdoin could include Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, the Claremonts (viewed collectively), Carleton, Hamilton.

Reed is thought to be more liberal overall. There will be some sporty and preppy kids, but fewer than at Bowdoin. If you consider both the rigor/intellectualism and liberal vibe of Reed, schools approaching it could include schools like Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Vassar, Hampshire, Oberlin.

A lot of LACs are generally liberal overall and the love of humanities and social sciences breeds a culture of intellectualism. There will be plenty of both at both Reed and Bowdoin. Bowdoin, to me, seems a bit less extremely liberal, a bit less intellectual, and a bit more balanced socially. Reed is kind of a bastion of crunchiness and rigor/intellectualism. Swat without the shirt-and-tie; Grinnell and Haverford with a bit more of a judgmental bent/a bit less friendliness; and Bard, but with more hard-core intellectualism and rigor.

As liberal as Reed is, though, they greatly respect the ability to research and argue a point… so if you have thoughts that run counter to the mores of the place, i believe you’ll be heard and respected, if not necessarily espoused. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Reed is the militant echo chamber we are led to believe Oberlin is.

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If Bates is too sporty you may need to re-think Bowdoin, which is at least as sporty as Bates.

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On recent full-day visits, Bowdoin had a higher proportion of sporty and/or preppy students than did Amherst, Williams or Hamilton. There were noticeably fewer artsy and alternative students at Bowdoin. I visited Bates and Colby in between summer and fall sessions, so can’t make meaningful observations/comparisons on those two, nor have I visited Reed.

@wisteria100 Re: Reed and hard drug use, I would be interested in hearing more about that, as I have mainly heard there is much marijuana use but hadn’t heard of prevalent hard drug use

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@prezbucky Good explanation!

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Thanks @wisteria100

Sometimes I feel like a poser, since among those schools I have only ever actually spent time on the Bowdoin campus, but I try to retain what i read on these boards and store it for regurgitation to help answer threads like this. :slight_smile:

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@Mwfan1921 I will pm you