<p>I’m thinking about applying early to Bowdoin.
I researched stuff on the internet, read reviews and thought it was the right school for me.
but I’m kinda afraid that I might have gotten a wrong impression…idk
I’d like someone from Bowdoin to tell what Bowdoin is really like!
(and there are not many postings on this issue which i find really weird.
maybe bowdoin students don’t do CC???)
So here are my questions;
I’m interested in biology. How is biology department? Are there many lab internship opportunities?
I don’t really believe in rankings, but Bowdoin’s ranking is quite high, right below WAS.
How is Bowdoin compared to, say, Williams? Is the student body significantly less smart?
Are they similar academically? What about Middlebury? Any difference in reputation?
How is the overall atmosphere? just a tight-knit community?
I’m also wondering about school pride…how Bowdoin students feel about their lives.</p>
<p>I really like bowdoin in general and i think i’ll be happy there.
but like, there is no strong attachment to it.
i would also love to talk to bowdoin students on msn …
pm me your email addresses if ur interested :)</p>
<p>^torasee, with all due respect, visiting is not as helpful as people make it out to be. I visisted for 4 days, when classes were in session (2 days class were in session, 2 days was weekend).</p>
<p>I’m a current student (first year, been here for 2 weeks with pre-o) and I don’t like it here. The only thing I love here is the academics. Academics at Bowdin is really creme de la creme and I’ve only been to two of my classes. Now social life, so far (it’s still early so things could change) sucks. My advice to you would be if you really want a friend to be around/hang out with a lot you better (1) be a drinker (2) clique up as fast as you can during orientation with either students or your roommate(s). Also the whole “happiest place on earth” and “people here are so friendly” is by far overrated. When I read the reviews when I was considering coming here, I was thinking something else. I guess the word friendly takes on differet definitions amongst people. Now don’t think peope here walk around with mean faces/angry but I was expecting people to be more willing to talk to others, strike convos, etc. I’ve yet to see this happen. While we’re on the topic of social life, drinking = Bowdoin’s social life. If you don’t drink, good luck having fun/finding others who don’t because it really is luck (unless you opt into chem free dorms but that’s not even a gaurantee bc there are ppl in chem free who do drink still). </p>
<p>I signed up for clubs (haven’t had any meetings yet), the sport I want to do doesn’t start to winter, haven’t started my job yet and this week I only had 3 classes. So hey, maybe things may get better, but atm, taking away academics, I don’t like it here. I’ve only been here 2 weeks and thinking about transferring. Darn I should’ve picked Vassar! haha</p>
<p>oh…okay i hope things get better too, collegestud
so you mean there are cliques and ppl don’t socialize with those outside of their cliques?
i thought that was so highschool-ish :/</p>
<p>With all due respect, sadcollegestud, you could not figure out Bowdoin during your 4-day pre-college visit but now you know everything after 8 days on campus and 3 classes??</p>
<p>sadcollegestud, you need to start drinking - that’s what college social life is all about. It will make you happy and more social. Remember the old saying “the girls all look better at closing time.”</p>
<p>sadcollegestud, transitioning to any college can be very difficult. the glowing portraits of social life one reads about when choosing among college offers are usually formed over a couple of years of living at the college and by students who have already found their community on campus. moving to a new place, even as an adult, usually comes with a sometimes lengthy period of feeling alienated and alone. community is really the only thing that makes people happy. i say give it some time. it took me a while to find my footing at bowdoin, but i was grateful i stayed and made a go of it. and, while it may seem that all there is to do on campus is drink, there is a large minority of students who don’t need it or want it to have fun. i say be patient, be curious, enjoy the academics for now, and know that you’ll find your community soon (even if a little later than others).</p>
<p>pb, good points
and sadcollegestud, i’m sorry things aren’t working out for you so far…keep a positive attitude though, and they will get better
can you offer some answers to the OPs questions?</p>
<p>Thanks guys. and yes starrgirl. People don’t really leave out of their cliques. When you try to talk to cliques they make it known that they’re fine with their cliques and don’t need to know anyone else. But like the latest posters said here, maybe things will change overtime. It’s still early; I haven’t even had my first official week of class (full week of class starts next week aka tomorrow). So I won’t give up hope. Maybe things will get better; we’ll see.</p>
<p>i can tell you about my experiences at the college but they’re about 5 years dated. since i graduated, bowdoin has become more diverse and selective, enrolls statistically better students, and has almost fully refurbished its physical plant. that notwithstanding, i think my answers to your questions won’t be substantially different than the answers of current students. </p>
<p>bowdoin is exceptionally strong in biology. especially coastal biology. the resources are tremendous and students typically serve as research assistants to bio professors doing original research. they will occasionally co-author papers. many bio majors aspire to academia or med school and bowdoin’s success in admission is very high to both. </p>
<p>bowdoin is essentially filled with identical students to those at williams and middlebury. re: williams, bowdoin students score, statistically speaking, a few points less on the SATs and are slightly less likely to be in the top 10 percent of their high school class, but these differences don’t contribute to a meaningful substantive difference in education. i think bowdoin’s reputation is unquestioned among liberal arts colleges. it is one of the oldest and has always been one of the best. the distinctions among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in USNews are not important in the long run. </p>
<p>the atmosphere, as i remember it, is challenging. academically, it’s a difficult school. there isn’t much competition among students, but the material is challenging. socially, it’s a rather interesting place. i always thought it had far more diversity of opinion than one would expect given its size. i was in the chem free dorm, so i didn’t drink for most of my time at bowdoin and that probably influenced my experience there. the overall atmosphere, i’d say, at least for me, was seriously all about what i was learning. that was my primary and at times sole concern. there was school pride, certainly, but re: things like sports events…i just never got into them. so my pride in bowdoin was focused more on its sense of place and unique place in academia than on whether we were winning a football game or a hockey match. tight-knit is a good word for bowdoin; nurturing is another. but there was also a sense of obligation to explore, create, and do well that i found to be pretty wide-spread. </p>
<p>and sadcollegestud - i think kids coming straight from high school don’t really know what else to do when placed in a completely new place with a bunch of strangers than cling to immediate and familiar people. i found things got better when clubs started, and i met upperclassmen who were engaging in a way that first years typically aren’t. i think it will get better. in my experience the cliques subsided pretty quickly. or you find a clique of people you enjoy. good luck though with the first week of school!</p>
<p>starrrgirl: S is a first-year and his experience is very different from sadcollegestud’s at this point. In the few conversations we’ve had, he’s mentioned each time how nice everyone (students, administration, faculty, coaches) is. Bowdoin, Williams and Midd attract many of the same students (including S) and I think ultimately that a student who’d be happy and successful at one would be happy and successful at the others. Each is small and in a pretty small town (with good amenities) and rather remote, though Brunswick, being 40 minutes from Portland and 2 hours from Boston is closer to “civilization” than the others. Academics the top priority at each, but athletics a very big factor in reputation and name recognition, especially at Williams and Midd. S is interested in bio, but not his greatest interest, so I’m not sure if there are meaningful distinctions among W, M and B in bio. Excellent facilities.</p>
i already like bowdoin a lot!</p>