I’m class of 2022’ and I was lucky enough to be accepted to all three. I now have a tough choice. I’m leaning towards Bowdoin and Colby, because from what I’ve heard Bates has a slightly ragged/depressed town. I visited Bowdoin before and liked it a lot. I haven’t visited Colby & Bates.
A bit about me: I applied as an English major to all three so strong English dep. is very important to me. I am interested in economics and history, possibly as a minor, as well, so I also value strong departments in those. I am a big outdoorsy person so nearby proximity to mountains, trails, lakes etc is important. I value peers who are passionate, creative, and outodoorsy/athletics oriented, not necessarily “artsy” though. Obviously, I value world-class professors. I want to play soccer, tennis, ski and other sports recreationally in college. I would also like to have at least a town area nearby with shops and food.
Thank you so much guys for your help guys! FYI I am also an international so it may be hard for me to visit Colby or Bates before May 1.
If you search college confidential, you’ll probably find all sort of discussions about these schools. Some may be a few years old, but probably still relevant.
That said, each school really has their unique environment, town, culture – and being that they are all in Maine and within an hour of each other, probably a lot of similarities too. You may want to look at the classes they offer in your intended major. And see what their distribution or core requirements are (e.g., foreign language? freshman writing seminar? science, social science, etc.?).
One big difference between the schools is their calendar program. Bowdoin is straight semester (you get about a month off from mid-December to mid-January). Bates has a 4-4-1 program – They have what is called a Short Term from April-May which a 5-week program in which students take one class, or do an internship or study abroad. Colby has a similar program but theirs in 4-1-4 and their 5-week program is called JanPlan because it’s from early January-February.
So…I think you should spend a lot of time between now and May 1, do a little “homework” – Peruse their websites, look at the course catalog, read about graduation requirements, check out videos of the campuses on YouTube, etc. And if you’re interested in the towns they are in, maybe do a Yelp or TripAdvisor search of each to see what people say.
Invest your time in researching so you feel you’ve made an informed decision. No one knows what you want and like more than you do.
Take a look at the course catalogs and the requirements for majors you are considering.
Of the 2 you’re considering, Bowdoin has the nicer town and easy access to Amtrak so getting to Boston is east. Colby is closest to Maine’s biggest ski area (and Jan Plan provides a fair amount of time for that if that’s an important part of the choice.) There are tons of outdoor sports opportunities in Maine, but Colby, further north, probably has the reputation of being the most outdoorsy.
There are a million threads comparing these 3, and they are all great choices.
thanks for mentioning the distribution requirements, that may factor in as I’m not too much of a science person and I think bowdoin has some science requirements. i shall do some homework!
Many congratulations! Luckily, you can’t go wrong!
My daughter and I visited all 3 - Colby and Bates twice. We really liked all 3, but my daughter decided to apply ED to Colby. She liked the fact that the large campus was slightly removed from town. As an athlete she is looking forward to using the up-to-the-minute athletic center that will open in 2020. She also enjoys studying languages and Colby has more on offer than Bates. She attended some classes on campus and had a great time.
I know you said you aren’t artsy, but the art gallery on campus is quite extraordinary for a college. I also like the dynamism of the newish president, who is initiating great changes. Waterville has not been considered an asset by many, but a feeling of change is palpable downtown as the college is opening dorms, a boutique hotel and a contemporary art gallery, in addition to the one on campus. We were surprised to find so many good places to eat. That said, I had the best ice cream I’ve ever had in America, in Brunswick.
For a student who values the outdoors and athletic pursuits, as well as academics, I think Colby is an excellent choice. But Bowdoin and Bates are clearly great colleges. Like you, I am foreign, and I would have enjoyed attending any of them. I would probably give a slight edge to Colby and Bowdoin, but it’s a tough call.
Access to alpine skiing, I would give the edge to Bates, rather than Colby, since there is lighted night skiing available at Lost Valley across the river in Auburn, and the Mount Abram (also with lights) and Sunday River resorts are both a bit closer to Bates than Sugarloaf is to Colby.
Can’t speak to the relative strengths of the academic programs you are interested in, but in terms of some of the other aspects of your inquiry, I would probably give the edge to Colby - definitely outdoorsy/athletic, not that the other two aren’t, but I think it is even moreso at Colby.
Congratulations @aroving! You have great choices and I imagine you will be happy at any of these schools. My D and I toured all three. She applied ED to Colby and is now a sophomore. Honestly, I think she would have been happy at Bates, Bowdoin or Colby. The other posters are right, there are lots of threads comparing the schools. Once you decide, my recommendation is to not look back and get excited about this next step! Good luck to you. We have fallen in love with Maine!
I spend a lot of time in Maine and have visited all 3.
Bowdoin: very nice looking place, cute town nearby, easier access to the ocean and drive down to Portland for real society. Portland is a fun town. Bowdoin may have the most " high stats" kids attending. Kind of preppy in a LL Bean kind of way. Bowdoin might have the most " prestige" in Maine, if that’s actually a thing, lol.
Colby: More sporty, nice campus, new stuff being built. Not as easy to get around. More rural. Town is decent, nothing great. Students are bright and hard working. Like is said, more sporty.
Bates: seems more arty than the other 2. Sits just outside the downtown of an old mill town that has everything a kid would need. Not glamorous, but not dangerous. The campus is nice, but some of the buildings seemed older. The best access to skiing, Sunday River is an 45-60 minutes away. I ride the chairlift i with Bates kids all the time. Smart kids, involved with a lot of things, but I think it’s the kind of place where kids love theatre, arts, literature etc. Not as sporty, but there are a decent amount of athletes on campus like all of the Nescacs.
You can’t really go wrong with any of those schools. Good luck.
(Posting this on the Bates and Bowdoin threads as well)
I don’t want to violate the CC TOS but if you google “educational consultant” plus the name of the school(s) on a popular video hosting site you’ll find a series of short videos by a consultant with the first name Mark who has travelled to numerous schools and posted about them and various topics germane to his visits. I believe Colby’s is about the “Colby bubble”, the Bates visit is addressed in a 5 part series, and Bowdoin’s is primarily about ED at Bowdoin.
[I have no connection to the consultant in question but I watched a couple of his Bates videos and found them useful and accurate.]
If you’re really outdoorsy, Colby might be the best fit for you. I’m a current student, who likes the outdoors but isn’t super keen on hiking, but Colby’s ‘COC’ Colby Outing Club is huge both in terms of resources and membership. There are multiple trips to Katadhin and other mountains every weekend, snowshoeing on campus, close proximity to sugarloaf, and if I’m not mistaken Colby has its own hiking and biking trails. From when I visited all three schools colby is also the most rural, which may be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The Hume Center at Colby is on the nearby Messalonskee Lake, the crew team practices there and its a beautiful place in general. I’d visit all three schools but if outdoors is a big part of what you are looking for Colby seems to have the reputation of being the most outdoorsy.