<p>I got into both these schools RD, and they are my top two choices.
I'm interested on people's opinions between the two schools (regarding the students, social atmosphere, academics, etc)</p>
<p>I am planning on majoring in the social sciences (government/poli sci)</p>
<p>i posted this question under the bowdoin section aswell</p>
<p>Again, choosing a school represents three factors: fit, fore-seeabilty and financial aid. If any one of these are irrelevant, then you eliminate one for the remaining other. Otherwise, find the school that best matches your person. </p>
<p>What environment do you want? What about the student body? Do you know who you are and what you want? Do you know anything about the school, when it was founded, why it was founded, what its mission and purpose is? My father taught me well in assessing an appreciation for an institution on numerous points.</p>
<p>We are defined by our prejudices. What is important to you. This should be your guide, rather than the drumroll of supporters for their banner or flag. Have you been to either school? Never judge initial experiences until you manage the data. Ask questions and doggedly pursue your hosts. Use your time to the fullest. You have nothing to lose and all to gain.</p>
<p>Undergraduate degrees are merely preliminary courses to a defense of a PhD. Your undergraduate time is personal. That is why I am spending my time this summer researching graduate schools and programmes that articulate our changing times and how I may utilize the resources given. The rest is in absorbing the beauty, the inordinate climate that nurtures the body for the fondness that we cherish in the forest we seek to assuage our souls.</p>
<p>Remember, your success is built upon the choices you make.</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
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<p>I don’t know if I agree with this statement, but I will suggest that if you want to get inside the head of a school, you might try reading through their school papers, including the archives and letters to the editors (especially ltrs to the editor). While just one lens, I have found over the years that it provides a good insight into the values of the student population, their agreement with the administration or lack there of, and the pride and pitfalls of an institution in real time.</p>
<p>Article in current Fortune magazine (with Buffett on the cover.) Article covers trials and tribulations of Middlebury, how its debt has “ballooned”, and how demand for private education at schools other than the IVY’s (i.e., Midd) may wane with the economy struggling. Mentions Midd not even having endowment of Stanford or Williams etc. to weather the storm as well as those schools. No doubt quality of applicant pool At Midd will begin declining at least marginally starting this year.</p>
<p>How is that different from Bowdoin?</p>
<p>According to article middlebury’s endowment down 200 million in last six months. According to Bowdoin published articles Bowdoin endowment not rocked as hard and school not over extended.</p>
<p>Bowdoin apparently just issued $118M in bonds, some taxable, some tax-exempt (between 5% and 6.6% interest); it’s per student debt is now probably the same or more than Middlebury and Williams (and not as large as Amherst’s). Midd’s endowment, according to the College website, was down $200M over 8 months (July 1 to Feb 28), which it says is about 22%. I doubt Bowdoin’s decline is markedly different from all that one can glean from its released information, which has not been all that much.</p>
<p>The recent Bowdoin bonds are almost entirely tax exempt and are routine bonds that were issued primarily to refinance $112M in existing debt associated with past capital projects. So they did not add anything other than $6M to Bowdoin’s indebtedness.</p>
<p>OK, tenfour, you have to read the whole article not just choose bits and pieces. The article was written to point out how Middlebury is doing an exemplary job of dealing with the economic crisis. Also, you’re operating under the assumption that Midd and Bowdoin are starting off on equal footing regarding endowment, but Midd’s is a good deal larger. </p>
<p>Look, choosing between Bowdoin and Midd is like choosing between Mercedes and BMW, Pepsi and Coke, Burger King and McDonalds. They’re all great. Which one do YOU prefer?</p>
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<p>Say what??? Yes, Middlebury’s endowment was slightly larger than Bowdoin’s prior to the current economic crisis but Bowdoin is a lot smaller than Middlebury in terms of student population and has a larger endowment on a per/student basis (that’s how endowment is accurately measured) and of course it has much less long-term debt than Middlebury.</p>
<p>Which one has the better campus? Which one is more prestigious?</p>
<p>Fair enough torasee, but tenfour suggests that this problem is unique to Midd, and won’t have any impact on Bowdoin. Last time I checked (which wasn’t in the past week), Bowdoin was only two spots ahead of Midd in terms of per student endowment, not to mention the fact that there were a ton of top schools behind Midd in the per student endowment rankings . . . including, Duke, WUSTL, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, and Georgetown. His logic suggests that those schools should be just as concerned, but Bowdoin, a mere two steps higher, is living the high life.</p>
<p>Neither school is more prestigious than the other. Recently, Midd has been ranked more highly than Bowdoin in USNWR, but in the past Bowdoin had been. They’re both very attractive campuses. I prefer Midd’s but only because I like Mountains and I’m more familiar with it. </p>
<p>You can’t ask us to tell you our opinions as if they were facts. Determining which school has a prettier campus, is a matter of opinion. Prestige is something that can’t honestly be delineated at this level. </p>
<p>But Midd is WAY better ;)</p>
<p>I get the impression that they are really more similar than different. Midd’s campus has sort of a grand feel to it, especially so for a small LAC. Midd’s facilities seem nicer. Bowdoin’s campus feels more intimate. Midd’s location is a little isolated.</p>
<p>Neither can compete with the big name ivies and top universities for name-recognition.</p>
<p>Going to college in the '90s, I always thought that Bowdoin was considered a little bit better school. However, they’re close enough that I would hardly choose on that basis. For starters, I would view Bowdoin as just too small for me, so would pick Middlebury if I had to choose between the two. It’s a decision that no one can really help you with other to clarify objective differences between the two because only you know what you’re really driven by.</p>
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<p>The numbers are straightforward - Bowdoin’s endowment is about $483K/FT student while Middlebury’s endowment is about $364K/FT student ($831M endowment for Bowdoin as of June 2008 and 1719 full-time students in the fall of 2008; $885M endowment for Middlebury as of June 2008 and 2430 full-time students in the fall of 2008). Plus Middlebury has incurred a lot more long-term debt due to its building spree than Bowdoin has (something like $270M for Middlebury versus about $120M for Bowdoin).</p>
<p>Bcash, just to be clear, neither Bowdoin nor Midd can compete with HYP or the University of Florida or Ohio State for name recognition among average Joes, but when applying to grad schools or for jobs where your undergrad matters you’ll find that both Bowdoin and Midd are near the top for name recognition.</p>
<p>So then you admit it Torasee, Midd has better facilities.</p>
<h2>“Bcash, just to be clear, neither Bowdoin nor Midd can compete with HYP or the University of Florida or Ohio State for name recognition among average Joes.”</h2>
<p>Yeah I know. And I wasn’t even talking about the big state Us,which are not what I would consider “top” schools. I was refering to the likes of U Chicago,Stanford, MIT, Duke. And I don’t care what average Joes know or do not know (They probably wouldn’t know U chicago either). </p>
<h2>"when applying to grad schools or for jobs where your undergrad matters you’ll find that both Bowdoin and Midd are near the top for name recognition. "</h2>
<p>Grad schools yes. But judging from what I heard, I’m not absolutely sure about their name recognition when it comes to employment. Since I’m trying to make a decision that involves one of these two schools I’ve been paying attention to such things.</p>