<p>Looking at the class sizes (bio in particular) they aren’t as small as expected- intro bio 109 can be up to 90 students, almost all others run up to 35 students and appear to fill up. Any thoughts from current students- how much student- faculty interaction, are classes hard to get, is summer research readily available, or is it only available for a few students?</p>
<p>My D is a soph science major. Sciences are becoming increasingly popular at Bowdoin and the departments are reflecting that interest by becoming amongst the strongest at the college. My D had only 1 large intro science class of about 50-60 students. The labs associated with the class are smaller, 20 students max, ALL taught by full professors. Early in her freshman year all of her profs knew her name provided her with the 1on1 that you expect at a small LAC like Bowdoin. The science classes do fill up and she was initially locked out from a popular class but after a short meeting with the prof, she was admitted. There are numerious Summer research opportunities on campus and some profs are wooing her but she is looking for something specific and has applied to elsewhere.</p>
<p>Doonerak,</p>
<p>I am in Biology 109 right now, so I have first-hand experience about most of your concerns.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Bio 109 can have a lot of students, depending on the way the department teaches it. It is a very popular class because most students test into it for biology and you rarely place out of introductory biology. In the fall semester, Bio 109 was taught in a lecture hall of 60+ students. This semester, they decided to make a change, and have two separate sections of about 30 students each, which is great. The majority of the intro/intermediate sciences will have less than 30 people and it only decreases as classes become more advanced.</p></li>
<li><p>faculty-student interaction is not difficult at all and the faculty will know your name and you can easily find 1-1 interaction, as office hours are available and you should/can take advantage of them. </p></li>
<li><p>Some classes are hard to get into and some students cannot get into classes, but there is a priority system based on your major (for juniors and seniors) and class level. That being said, there is often a wait list and if you are proactive, you can/will get into the classes you want.</p></li>
<li><p>Summer Research is readily available in the forms of grants/scholarships/stipends, but they are often limited by how many students a professor can have. Some popular professors can only take a maximum amount of students, so that can sometimes be an issue (normally for juniors/seniors). Also because grants are competitive, students usually have to have a good gpa or area of interest (especially in a popular program like biology) to qualify for summer research. Many juniors/seniors find the grants to stay on campus during their summers.</p></li>
</ol>