Middlebury vs. Bowdoin vs. Cornell

<p>I'm having a tough time deciding between these three schools: I know they're all good schools but I can't decide! </p>

<p>I plan on majoring in something policy/polticial/international relations related. I applied to Cornell's School of Human Ecology for Policy Analysis and Management major, and I would major in something related to those fields at Midd or Bowdoin. I'm looking for a school that will help me get into a top ranked graduate school and has a good reputation in those respective fields. Money, thankfully, is not an issue.</p>

<p>Can anyone lend some insight? </p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

<p>Have you visited the three schools? If not, a visit should be in order. That may help you make up your mind.</p>

<p>I concur. Visit and go with your gut. They offer very similar benefits with respect to graduate school in those fields.</p>

<p>I’m visiting Cornell next week (for Cornell days) and Midd/Bow the following week for their admit weekends. Hopefully that’ll help!</p>

<p>^^^I’m confident that you’ll have a much better sense of where you belong after your visits. Congrats on three great options!</p>

<p>Attended Midd for undergrad and Cornell for grad school. Extremely different schools. Both offer great educations and have great reputations, but I felt I would have been lost there as an undergrad. I was grateful to have attended a smaller school for undergrad. My $.02</p>

<p>I agree with Urban. I know Cornell has lots to offer, but in your intro class of 275 people, it’s hard to stand out. You also will find most of your work is graded by teaching assistants, and your labs or discussion sessions are not taught by actual professors.</p>

<p>My H went to MIT and Cornell for undergrad and grad school respectively. I went to Bates, of course. He couldn’t believe the contrast in our undergraduate experiences. I went back to Bates a couple years ago and found professors of mine in their offices who knew me by name after more than 20 years! You won’t get that at Cornell. If you have the choice, an excellent LAC will give you a much more personal experience and just as many opportunities as a large Ivy. Go there for grad school. Those are the students to whom they pay more attention.</p>

<p>Between Bowdoin and Midd, not so much. Others may disagree but I find Bowdoin to be much more preppy than even Midd! Bowdoin was not coed until the 70s, so the tradition is more male and old New England frat boy than Midd, which has a longer and more liberal/egalitarian tradition. Both schools have excellent faculty, small class size, and fabulous facilities. Coastal Maine is a bit warmer and cloudier than upstate Vermont. Bowdoin is close to Portland, a depressed NE city, and Midd to Burlington, which is similar. Visit both and make your choice. My boys chose Midd.</p>

<p>OBD, as usual, is right. I was one of those teaching assistants. Let me tell you, I would be upset if my child had been paying for a Cornell education and had me as a teacher! Teaching assistants teach so many courses there it’s ridiculous (and if they were as focused on their graduate studies as I was, they’re teaching poorly). Professors teach grad students. Of course, I’m not saying you will have no professors and only be taught by teaching assistants, but you’ll be surprised at how much is taught by the assistants. Get the incomparable experience of a top LAC for undergrad and then go to one of the Ivies for grad. It’s a great tradition. I won’t go into why I think Middlebury is better than Bowdoin. The two schools are extremely similar (with some differences as pointed out by OBD). I love the size and feel of Midd, but many students at Bowdoin would surely say they love the size and feel of Bow-Doyn, or however you say it. ;)</p>

<p>Woah, I’m astounded to hear that about how many teaching assistants teach the class, thank you for that piece of advice! After my visit hopefully I’ll have a more clear cut solution</p>

<p>Urbanslaughter, what department were you in? My experience at Cornell was different. That said, I don’t think the undergrad academic experience is as rich at Cornell as it is at a top notch LAC. My son went to Bowdoin and his wonderful experiences there could not have been reproduced at a school like Cornell but I really think it depends on the school and department within the larger university. Good luck, Barvoets, on your visits. Hope they provide some good insights.</p>

<p>For international relations, though, Middlebury is generally acknowledged to have the edge over Bowdoin. Middlebury is about 400 students larger, I think, which makes a little difference—could be a pro or a con but most would consider it a pro-- and the campus is more spread out. (again, maybe pro maybe con). Also, I’m not sure if Bowdoin has J-term which adds some variety to the types of academic choices and to the tempo of the school year.</p>

<p>so barvoets, did the visits shed any light on things for you?</p>

<p>I would go to Middlebury.</p>

<p>I would go to Midd or Bowdoin. If you attended Cornell Days, I am curious what you thought. Very little effort on Cornell’s part IMHO to demonstrate all the school has to offer.</p>

<p>Hey guys! So after my visits, I’ve sort of narrowed it down to Bowdoin and Middlebury. I LOVED cornell and I know I could be happy there, but I feel that a LAC experience will probably benefit me more in the long run and I will have the most happiness there. I can’t fully decide between the two LACs though. Each seemed to offer something that the other one didn’t.</p>

<p>Well you already know the way many of us would vote if in your stead. Good luck in your decision. But as Bigman said, we are looking forward to hearing your decision. They are both great schools!</p>

<p>Just though I’d follow-up: I ultimately chose Bowdoin. It was mainly a combination of quality of life and strength of their government major. I’m so excited to start, but the decision between the two LACs were super close, so I know I could’ve been happy at either.</p>

<p>Hearty congratulations! You won’t regret it!</p>

<p>Congrats! Have a wonderful 4 years ahead!</p>

<p>You had great choices for a special experience no matter your decision, but Bowdoin is a truly wonderful place…Best wishes for a fulfilling next four years!</p>