<p>What are the main differences and similarities between these three schools? Which things distinguish them from each other? Which of them are most similar? Is there any that is clearly a "better" college than the others?</p>
<p>Everyone says that Bowdoin is the best. It is ranked higher than the other two and is located in a much nicer town. But I think its location (Brunswick) is the only thing it really has above Colby and Bates (people are sure to disagree with me here). All three schools have a beautiful campus and a strong academic reputation. I've always considered Bowdoin and Bates to be "better" than Colby, but thats propbably just because Colby is not really on my radar and is located farther away from me than the others. You will get very mixed opinions about the varying quality of the schools, but it really boils down to the fact that they are all excellent institutions with distinct "feels" to them. I've looked at a lot of past posts on the subject and I'll post some general conclusions...</p>
<p>Bowdoin: ranked higher, more widespread reputation, very nice town, close to the ocean
Bates: very intellectual, tends to be "artsy," amazing debate team, smaller endowment than the others
Colby: umm...i don't really know much about Colby...help me out here?</p>
<p>I've always thought Bowdoin was a notch above the other two. It is harder to get into, has stronger students, a better reputation and better job/grad school placement. </p>
<p>Colby and Bates are about the same in reputation, although would maybe give a slight edge to Colby. Colby is more in the mold of Dartmouth, Colgate, Bucknell, Trinity while Bates is more similar to Brown, Wesleyan, Skidmore, Connecticut College.</p>
<p>Bowdoin way better than colby which is WAY better than Bates (bates is awful - ugly town too)</p>
<p>How is Bates awful?</p>
<p>Colby is in Waterville where there is absolutely NOTHING. It's generally a little more prepped out than Bates, with more students dressing up for class, etc, and the campus is much more "big open spaces" like Bucknell's. Bates is in Lewiston, which isn't the greatest town but offers a lot of service learning opportunity and really serves to bond the Bates community closer to each other. The campus is pretty contained, but quite pretty. It gets the reputation of "crunchy" and hippie like, but that's really been changing in the past few years and it's growing more and more preppy. Generally Bowdoin is considered a notch above the other two - Brunswick is generally the best out of the three towns, but it has a reputation as "snobby" (not sure if that's true), and it's ranked a lot higher and pulls in a higher level of diversity. All three schools tend to attract New England prep school kids, and you'll get a (relatively) similar experience whichever one you go to.</p>
<p>Bowdoin is closer to Williams and Amherst while Colby and Bates are not as strong.</p>
<p>Could someone explain to me what makes Bowdoin so far superior without mentioning its rank?</p>
<p>Bowdoin is a top feeder for Grad Schools per Wall Street Journal
Rankings: WSJ top feeder schools for graduate schools </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wsjclassroom.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503%5B/url%5D">http://www.wsjclassroom.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503</a>.
1 Harvard University -- Cambridge, Mass.
2 Yale University -- New Haven, Conn.
3 Princeton University -- Princeton, N.J.
4 Stanford University -- Stanford, Calif.
5 Williams College -- Williamstown, Mass.
6 Duke University -- Durham, N.C.
7 Dartmouth College -- Hanover, N.H.
8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Cambridge, Mass.
9 Amherst College -- Amherst, Mass.
10 Swarthmore College -- Swarthmore, Pa.
11 Columbia University -- New York
12 Brown University -- Providence, R.I.
13 Pomona College -- Claremont, Calif.
14 University of Chicago -- Chicago
15 Wellesley College -- Wellesley, Mass.
16 University of Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
17 Georgetown University -- Washington, D.C.
18 Haverford College -- Haverford, Pa.
19 Bowdoin College -- Brunswick, Maine
20 Rice University -- Houston</p>
<h1>40 is Bates and # 46 is Colby</h1>
<p>Bowdoin's Government Studies is ranked very high
<a href="http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/001355.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/001355.shtml</a>
Bowdoin's Government and Legal Studies Named Top College Political Science Department Worldwide</p>
<p>Go to Academic SpotlightStory posted October 29, 2003</p>
<p>Bowdoin College's Department of Government and Legal Studies has been ranked the top small college political science department in the world in a study conducted at the London School of Economics and Political Science.</p>
<p>The study was conducted by Dr. Simon Hix at LSE, and results were published in the report "A Global Ranking of Political Science Departments" (February 2003).</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Bowdoin is top producer of Fullbright Scholars # 5 on this list</p>
<p>Fulbright Rankings
<a href="http://www.iienetwork.org/?p=FulbrightRankings%5B/url%5D">http://www.iienetwork.org/?p=FulbrightRankings</a></p>
<p>Fulbright Rankings 2006-2007<br>
The October 20, 2006 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education contains a special feature on the Fulbright Program. The article lists "Top Producing" schools - those campuses in each Carnegie Classification that had the highest number of students who received Fulbright grants this year. </p>
<p>The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. You can find out more about the Fulbright Program at <a href="http://www.fulbrightonline.org%5B/url%5D">www.fulbrightonline.org</a>, or on the State Department website, at <a href="http://exchanges.state.gov/education/fulbright/%5B/url%5D">http://exchanges.state.gov/education/fulbright/</a>. . </p>
<p>TOP PRODUCERS OF FULBRIGHT AWARDS FOR U.S. STUDENTS 2006-7
BY TYPE OF INSTITUTION </p>
<p>Bachelor's institutions Awards Applicants<br>
Award # followed by applicant # </p>
<p>Smith College 16 38<br>
Pitzer College 15 49<br>
Pomona College 11 32<br>
Swarthmore College 10 29<br>
Bowdoin College 9 22<br>
Kenyon College 9 15<br>
Middlebury College 8 16<br>
Williams College 8 12<br>
Grinnell College 7 17<br>
U. of Puget Sound 7 19<br>
Wellesley College 7 24<br>
Amherst College 6 22<br>
St. Olaf College 5 17<br>
Wesleyan U. 5 23</p>
<p>I'm bitter because I should have applied to Bowdoin early but I wanted to keep my options open. I was rejected regular decision and my teachers were really surprised because they thought I was definitely in. It was embarrasing. I applied to Bates last minute because of their debate team, and thats where I will be going this Fall but I don't know much aboutt it. I'm constantly trying to reassure myself and get reassurance from others, but I'm so worried that its not going to be the kind of place I envision myself at. Also, I plan to study government, so Bowdoin would have really been my top choice if I had been thinking clearly during application time. It's so frustrating because I am always trying to get information about Bates but I don't know where to turn. I don't know anyone there, I get mixed information from this board, and the website doesn't work with my internet connection at home. Ahhh...sorry about that, I'm just so depressed and worried.</p>
<p>Bates is an excellent school, but not as good as Bowdoin. </p>
<p>Also think a/b what type of person you are. I personally would attend Bates over Bowdoin regardless of the rankings as Bates, as people have said, is more artsy and weird whereas Bowdoin is more preppy.</p>
<p>It depends on how you pick a college. I wouldn't pick a college because it is artsy and weird or for that matter because it is preppy. I think Bates is an excellant college with a nice campus so don't worry cinnamon862 I love Bowdoin but it doesn't have a debate team! I liked Bates a lot when I toured there. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Ok, so from what I gather from this thread, Bowdoin is maybe slightly better academically and has a somewhat preppy/snobby student body, while Bates is more artsy/wierd/hippish, and Colby is preppier than Bates but less so than Bowdoin. Does Colby have any other, more distinguishing "feel" to it? I've heard that it is quite international; is that true?</p>
<p>Cinnamon, you mentioned that Bates has a smaller endowment. Does that mean that Bates gives worse financial aid than the others?</p>
<p>I got excellent financial aid from Bates and most people I talked to did as well. I don't think its significant, and I don't think its a problem.</p>
<p>the impression that i always got, psychgirl, was that colby was <em>more</em> preppy and snobby than bowdoin. but perhaps the fact that i went to bowdoin means that i am somewhat biased.</p>
<p>My S attends Bowdoin, so perhaps I am also biased. He describes the student body as intelligent, funny, creative, and very friendly and states that he enjoys always feeling welcome at any social gathering. Unlike his high school, the student body is not clicky.</p>
<p>I have been looking into Bowdoin and everything seems great, from the open-mindedness of the administration, to the look of the campus, to grad school placement. My one big concern is that Bowdoin is too much of a drinkers campus. In quite a few reviews and discriptions of Bowdoin, the school is discribed as preppy, and drink happy. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutly no problem with alcohol and it's use but I don't want another drinkers school. Basically I'm asking, is the student body a more right wing, christian, drinkers, prep-fest or is it blown out of proportion?</p>
<p>as far as the "right wing, christian prep-fest" part goes, that's definitely blown way out of proportion - however, bowdoin <em>is</em> a "beer campus" (as opposed to pot, or some other chemical substance...), and that's something that you need to recognize. though there is plenty of substance-free college programming, it's important to note that a lot of social events center on beer. it's the biggest issue i had with bowdoin, personally (but i still really liked the school).</p>
<p>All three are excellent colleges with different personalities. Bates is an excellent school and on the rise. If you debate, it is hands down the best of the three with a long and deep national reputation as being one of the finest. To the poster who is worried, fear not - with an open mind you will be very happy. The food is outstanding; the students terrific and in my opinion, it has a more ecclectic mix of students, which to me is a good thing. Lewiston/Auburn is really turning itself around. The Bates campus is beautiful and much more spacious than Bowdoin which I find to be cramped. Colby is the most remote of the three and beautiful as well. It just got a huge donation of some sort and also appears on the rise. You can't go wrong with any of the three.</p>