Questions about Bowdoin!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bowdoin College
1

<p>Bowdoin looks so gorgeous and the academics sound awesome! I was wondering about the social and quality of life there…does it get stifling? I’ve lived in a metropolis my whole life and I suppose a change of surroundings would be nice but I’m not sure if I’d get used to it. And the dorms…? I admit I’ve been pretty pampered my whole life so I’m always concerned about the quality of living in college, but I don’t think I’d make a big deal. </p>

<p>I’m thinking about getting into art history and business/economics, and maybe some Japanese language studies. How are these departments? Also, is the alumni network good?</p>

<p>And here goes the same old chancing game -</p>

<p>Asian senior, competitive international school and foreign passport</p>

<p>3.71 UW GPA
CW - 670
M - 650
W - 610</p>

<p>(SAT’s were horrible, retaking in November)</p>

<p>SATII’s
USHistory - 690
Bio E - 660</p>

<p>APUSH - 5
AP Bio - 5
AP Lang - 5
AP Psych - 5</p>

<p>Love community service; done four years of community service in local Chinese schools, Habitat for Humanity club officer, gone on a Habitat building trip in Philippines, Cerecare (taking care of kids with cerebral palsy) and visiting orphanage homes every week. Also in NHS and Prom Committee.</p>

<p>What I’m really worried about is my GPA, which went from a 3.8 for the first three semesters → 3.7 → 3.6 → 3.5 for my most recent semester, when I had some issues due to a parent death. Is this trend bad? Well I mean, yes it’s bad, but will it hurt my application a lot?</p>

<p>I also heard that Bowdoin doesn’t really put emphasis on SAT scores…I’m not a great test taker, so I’m hoping that’s true?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Hey there! It's so nice to hear from people who absolutely hate the SATs like myself. Yeah, i'm not a great testaker and I thought i'd do much better. Well, Bowdoin is SAT optional so that's really great for you. As for your SATIIs, I don't think they're bad at all and your APs are impressive!! If you have a great essay and teacher reccs, I think you can do it! Good luck to you...</p>

3

<p>Hi,
I'll try to tackle each of your questions, but if there's something that I leave out, feel free to PM me...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Social/quality of life - I haven't found that it gets stifling at all. Brunswick isn't a huge town, but it's also not completely isolated, and Bowdoin really is at the heart of the town. There are lots of things within walking distance and there's easy transportation into Cook's Corner, Freeport, and Portland. I lived in a small town all my life, so I'm coming at it from a different angle - but I really think Brunswick is the perfect size for a college town. </p></li>
<li><p>Dorms - The freshman dorms are amazing. All 8 have either been renovated within the past 2 years or were built within that time frame - so everything is pretty much brand new. Some are quads (two bedrooms + a common room), others are doubles (one bedroom + common room)... they all are really spacious and nice.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know much about Econ or Art History (I'm in an art history class right now though, and am enjoying it). As for Japanese, I know quite a few people who have studied Japanese here or studied abroad in Japan, and they've all loved it. Let me know if you want me to refer you to people who might have more direct experience with the program.</p></li>
<li><p>Alumni Network - I can't yet speak from experience, but the alumni network seems to be great (networking events, reunion weekend, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>I can't really speak specifically to your chances, because Admissions is pretty much impossible to predict, especially at a place like Bowdoin where factors like essay/recs/personal qualities come into play to a great extent. If there are factors that led to a substantial decrease in GPA, I would definitely address it somewhere in your application (don't just cross your fingers that they won't notice it).</p></li>
<li><p>As for SATs, if you don't get them to a place where you feel comfortable submitting them, don't worry too much about it - Bowdoin won't hold it against you in any way for not submitting scores if you so choose. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope this helps, at least a little... let me know if you have any other questions. :)</p>

4

<p>If you're worried about the quality of life in college, please consider Bowdoin. The new freshman dorms are downright luxurious and the food is outstanding. None of my friends at other schools (both big universities and small LACs) have rooms as nice as the ones freshman have here. The food is also ranked #1/#2 each year.</p>

<p>I'm also from a small town originally but Brunswick has plenty to offer within walking distance: coffee shops, grocery store, restaurants, bakeries, music store, some fun gift shops, a locally owned (small) movie theater, banks, etc, etc. If you want to drive between 5-15 minutes you can access both Target and Walmart, Best Buy, a movie theater, bookstore, clothing stores like J Crew, Gap, Old Navy, Polo, Burberry, LL Bean, Abercrombie, and some nice restaurants.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>