first rejection and it’s really hitting me hard…any advice?
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If you state your child’s tentative academic interests, that could be helpful in this decision.
accepted!
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My advice? Don’t take it personally. There are a number of reasons that you wouldn’t get in. Could have been simply due to the fact that your admissions officer spilled coffee on their shirt 20 minutes before viewing your application. No one really knows. So trust that you are a great applicant and keep your head up high! If this is your first rejection then you probably already have some great options to be excited about!
U.S. News assigns Hamilton a selectivity rank of 5 in the liberal arts category, Bowdoin an 8, and Colby a 16, so it may be the Colby waitlist offer that is most surprising.
Note that Colby received a substantial boost (+13%) in their apps, while Bowdoin’s app pool decreased slightly. I would not be surprised if Colby had a lower acceptance rate than Bowdoin this year.
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Yeah acceptance rate doesn’t mean much. Colby gets a lot of apps too because they don’t have a supplement. Acceptance rate is just a measure of how many they accept out of total apps. Doesn’t always mean a school is more selective.
Fair. However, take a look at the numbers:
2025 App Pool: 15,700 (Colby) vs. 9,300 (Bowdoin). Colby received ~70% more apps than Bowdoin this year. Colby and Bowdoin’s undergrad student populations both range from 1800-2000.
SAT Range of 2024 admits: 1390-1530 (Colby) vs. 1340-1510 (Bowdoin).
Percentage Top 10% in class of 2024 admits: 83% (Colby) vs. 85% (Bowdoin)
Note that last year, Colby had considerably less applicants, and Bowdoin had slightly more, so these objective ranges are likely to shift this year.
Who knows about the more subjective stuff, but statistically speaking Colby is projected to be more selective than Bowdoin this year. That being said, both are VERY hard to get into and these small differences in selectivity are not sufficient to explain the decisions an applicant to both receives. 
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Also, Bowdoin’s supplement is completely optional! 
You asked for financial aid
?
Asked for financial aid?
Nope… international should never apply FA(unless you really need it). Besides, Bowdoin never gives FA to students from China.
Congrats for acceptance.
I had asked for FA and I got rejected.
Same here
He has a perfect reason to be! Ultimately, you only need to land one fantastic LAC!
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WOW!!! You have such great options! So happy for you!!
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PerformingDude- I like your energy. Your personality shines through in all your posts!
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Haha thank you!!
Thank you, I’M SO EXCITED! But hello? YOU HAVE GREAT OPTIONS TOO and decisions aren’t even nearly over yet?? I’m so happy for YOU. 
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We spoke and it looks like he’s leaning towards Bowdoin. All 3 schools are so good so no wrong choice. I feel like Colby especially has some strong tailwinds right now. I think it’s going to come down to the fact that Bowdoin is close to a "cool’ town (Portland), is arguably more diverse, has good coastal access and, well, legendary food.
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