ED2:Midd or Bowdoin? Please help :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bowdoin College
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<p>Hi guys.
I am an international applicant from China mainland. I know there are countless similar threads but I really can’t decide which to choose. So I would love to talk more about myself and see if you have any advice for me.</p>

<p>I love both schools and I know I’ll be happy in either one so it is hard for me to make a decision. I am passionate about social justice, but it will be somehow hard to find a job especially for an international students. So I think I am going to double major, one in economics, one in social science. I know both schools have prestigious economics programs and are targets for some consulting companies and banks but 'm not sure if it’s the same for international students.</p>

<p>For Midd, I really like the language department. I’ll absolutely learn another language, maybe French or Germany, during my college. But I’m not sure if Midd has a significant advantage over Bowdoin. I love skiing so Midd is perfect. I just don’t know how much time do students spend on skiing since I heard Midd has a comparatively heavy workload. Any current students? What worries me is that there are many Chinese applying for Midd too and for ED1, only 1 is admitted. I think Midd is a reach for me so…</p>

<p>That being said, Bowdoin is also a reach for me, but it is not that popular among Chinese so I think I might have a shot in ED2. To me, Bowdoin’s location is better than Midd. The committment to community really touches me. The food and dorms there are very attractve as well.I just wanna ask how is the language department in Bowdoin? Is it convenient for skiing?</p>

<p>Here are some questions that I really value:

  1. What’s the biggest difference in social life and student body? What’s the atmosphere like?
  2. Which school has a better social science department?
  3. In which school are international students more likely to find an intern?
  4. Which school has a better study abroad program?</p>

<p>I’ll be sooooo appreciated if anyone could give me some advice or comments </p>

<p>Here are some statistics and facts.
ACT: April 30
I took the October test but somehow the scores are still not available, which ruins my ED1 . I think I’ll probably get a 32 or above.</p>

<p>SAT2: Math 790 Phy 770 Chem 770
I know it’s bad for Asians…</p>

<p>TOEFL:110 </p>

<p>GPA: We don’t count GPA but I am 8/350 so I guess I’m fine.</p>

<p>EC:
Illustrator of a book written by an Austrian. I have about 20 drawings in it.
Illustrator of China Youth Daily, the second largest newspaper in China. I’m working for it for about 2 years and have about 40 illustrations.
Illustrator of a set a bookmarks for China Finance Museum. At least 500 sets are sold.
Founder of the first business competition in Beijing with about 60 participants and now preparing for the second one.
MUN blablaba…</p>

<p>Volunteer: this is absolutly my weakness. In China we have little time to do voluntary work since it is not required.
Worked in China Finance Museum and China Foundation Museum for about 80hs.
Volunteered in an orphanage for about 90hs.</p>

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<p>What high school do you go to? I lived in Beijing till I was 14.</p>

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<p>I hear u. though im not from China, Im a Korean international student. </p>

<p>I didn’t apply to Bowdoin in ED, I applied to Amherst and Swarthmore in ED 1 and 2 respectively. Waitlisted in Swarthmore, but couldn’t get in. </p>

<p>I managed to get into both Bowdoin and Midd in my regular decisions. </p>

<p>Both are good school but I chose Bowdoin. </p>

<p>I can’t really answer all of your questions but ill just mainly talk about reputation, social life and academics. </p>

<p>First for reputation, I mainly think mid and Bowdoin are nearly the same. Some say that Mid is better than Bowdoin based on US news but honestly Mid’s being ranked one level higher means virtually nothing. Several years ago, Bowdoin topped Mid and Mid topped bowdoin again and that just continues to go on… so rank is something not really absolute. I chose Bowdoin because of its relatively better location ( my friend who spent summer in Mid for language program changed her mind into NEVER going to Middlebury because of its hills and the whole campuses being really spread out) Bowdoin beats Mid on dining service as its ranked 1 in the nation. But frankly speaking, Bowdoin’s location isn’t all that good either. It is very secluded, sort of cut-out from civilization so to say :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I know you are really concerned about careers and all that after graduation and I can’t honestly answer cuz thats basically same for me. Ppl know UCLA and Berkeley but no LACs. Thats same in US too, ppl who matter know but not general public. </p>

<p>I got into NYU stern and Berkeley also nevertheless I chose Bowdoin</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Im thinking about law/grad school anyway. And it is bloody hard to get recommendations and care I need in order to get into grad school. LACs definitely better choice if you want to get into top tier grad school. </p></li>
<li><p>My English is not so perfect and i really needed to improve my English speaking. My writing and reading, I think, is at least on a similar level with most of the kids here. So I intentionally avoided going to schools with A MASSIVE NUMBER of Koreans, namely UCLA Berkeley and NYU. My friends who go there end up speaking in Korean every day, I never wanted that. Its basically the same for Chinese, NYU berkeley UCLA? Lots of Asians, not to mention Chinese too. Here, no one speaks a word of Korea except for a few dinners when Koreans gather together. </p></li>
<li><p>The reason I mentioned #2 is along with the same line. Having NYU and Berkeley degree may get you slightly better position when you find jobs in your homeland, but pretty much no one would pick you if you still have fragmented grammars when you speak in English. What is worth of 4 years of University education in America, which is wicked expensive, if you can’t even speak Englsish? ( well if your English is already nearly perfect, I guess that doesn’t apply…) </p></li>
</ol>

<p>So my suggestion is just to do your best in Bowdoin or Middlebury, cuz choosing Universities over College have a comparable opportunitiy costs and vice versa. Especially the ppl who recruit you are not so stupid as to not even search for a university the applicant graduated. </p>

<p>2, For social life. I can’t say I really love it. Something like 66 percent are athletes and everyone seems to be super good at something already. I didn’t get to find so many interesting activities here so far. I played sports back in home, but here the commitment, and this whole capacity you need in order to play sports is quite different. But if you play instruments or some sort, i think you’ll eventually find something. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, ppl are really nice all friendly and thats GREAT. Professors are really caring and not ‘*****y’ like some university professors who don;t even know who they teach. That being said, the quality of education here is just never even comparable to university education. </p>

<ol>
<li>For admission, I’d say also go for Bowdoin since Bowdoin puts a lot more emphasis on extracurricular activities than test scores. In fact it doesn’t require test scores. Middlebury I think considers more of scores based on my observation. </li>
</ol>

<p>I honestly don’t know exactly what got me into Mid or Bowdoin but I did get invovled in a few extra curriculars nothing special, just some awards from debate and so. My SAT score wasn’t that high either compared to my friends, i think it was 2290 combined. I had 11 APs but I think, when it comes to admission none of these really matter. I don’t think taking that many APs helped me get into any school . Its somewhat really random… </p>

<p>But my advice is definitely apply to Bowdoin than Mid.</p>

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<p>I don’t think Bowdoin’s location is bad at all!! You are 2.5 hrs away from Boston by car, 0.5 away from Portland, a major city, 10 mins away from Freeport, a wonderful shopping center, and the town of Brunswick is super nice! Also, the Amtrak stops at Brunswick now, which means you can get to Boston easily even without a car. Brunswick isn’t your big city, but it certainly isn’t rural.</p>

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<p>-Cookieis77
I go to Beijing No.171 High School in Dongcheng district. Which school did you go to? Are you a current student or an applicant?</p>

<p>-joycool9567
Thanks a lot for your opinions. </p>

<p>I definitely agree on practicing English as much as possible and try to hang out with people from different cultures.You mentioned grad schools. Do most international graduates enter grad schools or they just find a job? </p>

<p>As for social life, what do you mean by “but here the commitment, and this whole capacity you need in order to play sports is quite different ?” What if I’m just going to play for fun instead of getting into varsity?</p>

<p>Do you know anything about the arts program in Bowdoin? Although I might not major in arts, I still want to take courses during college.</p>

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<p>I will PM you.</p>

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<p>that just really depends. Many simply go for jobs but my Korean alumni of Bowdoin got into Stanford grad school which is pretty awesome. I also intend to go to grad school. For internship opportunities, I think it’d be really hard for international schools not just in Bowdoin but pretty much anywhere unless you have a us citizenship ( legal problems, language etc.) but if you try there are a lot of internship opportunities in career center. Personally, I am planning to do my internships back in Korea</p>

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<p>lol @ “I know it’s bad for Asians…”</p>

<p>And, zombie, you look good, real good, for getting into either school. Middleburied students ski a lot on the weekends. The schedule is work M-Th, ski F-Sat, recompress Sunday after waking up at 12 noon. My roommate used to drive to Middlebury where his bro was an upperclassman to ski on their mountain. They also went to Sunday River, Sugarloaf. Mostly Sugarloaf. If you want to ski, choose Middlebury.</p>

<p>If you want a bit less isolation, Bowdoin now has train service direct to Boston, et cetera. Best of Luck.</p>

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<p>-joycool9567
I might also go to grad school but I just want to work for maybe 2 years before entering grad school. Thanks for the information.</p>

<p>-PolarBearVsShark
I think I would like to have less isolation than skiing. How is it like for Bowdoin students to ski? I think there are some ski resorts around Bowdoin like Sunday River and Sugarloaf.</p>

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<p>I am also a Chinese…And I am going to apply Bowdoin. Actually I think Bowdoin isn’t “not that famous” as you said in China; Bowdoin is just too selective so rarely applicants can get in. </p>

<p>“I know it’s bad for Asians”…=.=…Don’t know what to say, my score is lower than yours.
You are really good, but I think the most important thing is essay. </p>

<p>Well, happy New year, and happy spring festival(though it’s so early…)</p>

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<p>-Echooo
Hi, it’s nice to meet a Chinese here. Which city are you from? </p>

<p>Yes,Bowdoin is very selective and hopefully we can get in :). I am struggling with the essays a little bit but I think I will figure it out.</p>

<p>Happy New Year and best of luck with your application.</p>