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As for Williams: I have a few friends there who complain about the isolation of the students from one another in terms of socializing. They don't seem to interact that much because people are stressed.
My friends at Middleburry say that nobody there is very upbeat.
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<p>This is one of the most sweeping overgeneralizations that I’ve encountered on CC.</p>
<p>Bump? Bump! Bump.</p>
<p>A lot of people on this forum seem negative about Williams and Middlebury in relation to Bowdoin, but what about in relation to each other? They are my current top two, but I don't know which I'd prefer (if I get into both). Do any of you go to one of them or know of some definite advantage one has over the other?</p>
<p>I honestly didn't look that much at Swat, so I cannot comment there.
As for the "Be Happy or Else" policy at Bowdoin: everyone there is really happy which is probably what made it so difficult for me in the beginning. I seemed to be the only one who wasn't happy there. For example, one day during the first month I wasn't smiling in German class. As a result, my professor sent a "Comment Card" to my dean who also contacted my proctor and counseling because they were concerned. They did win because eventually I came around. I just thought it was funny how one person's observation generated such a commotion.</p>
<p>As a parent, I am impressed that a school and its faculty would make the effort to be aware of their students' emotional states and act upon a perceived concern.</p>
<p>D1 is a student at Bowdoin. From what we've observed and heard from her, social circles can be a little cliquey but that's true of anywhere. The general social atmosphere is very friendly. As parents, we've appreciated how supportive the faculty and staff have been. The campus and surrounding areas are beautiful. D1 absolutely loves Bowdoin and can't say enough good things about it. We also love visiting Bowdoin- the staff goes out of their way to make parents feel like they genuinely are part of the Bowdoin family. </p>
<p>D2 also really liked Bowdoin, but chose to apply to Williams ED. Visiting Williams banished the stereotype of overly-stressed, isolated students. D2 did the admissions tour, then did a "real tour" with D1's friend who's a student at Williams. As he took her around to the places the official tour misses, she met very happy students who were having fun hanging out together. I'm sure this would be different around exam time. D1's friend also couldn't say enough good things about his experiences at Williams. His only complaint was that career counseling is a little weak at Williams in his opinion. </p>
<p>Of course, all this is subjective. What makes one person happy may make the next person miserable. If you're deciding between these schools, the best thing to do is visit each campus and spend the night to help you get a better feel for the school.</p>
<p>Thanks. I know there is no ideal social scene and that people are people. The problem is that one weekend is usually not enough 'quality' time to assess a place. That is why current student reports are so helpful, so thanks so much for your input. Here's a pointed question: can people move between 'set' social groups at Bowdoin?</p>
<p>Izz. Just another parent's point of view about your question. First, I'll admit to not knowing what, exactly, you mean by 'set' social groups at Bowdoin, but beware of this need to generalize when thinking of any of the schools you mentioned. Your life is what you want to make of it in college and that is certainly true at Bowdoin, both socially and academically. My son, who is not a social butterfly, has had no problems making friends with a wide range of folks. Of course he met a small core of friends his freshman year and they sought housing together for their sophomore year but they all quickly branched out to new acquaintances during their second year as their interests and involvement in campus and life, and fields of study, evolved. The beauty of the experience, for him, is that as he is evolving so are his set of friendships. Each time he takes on a new activity he meets another group with similar interests. In fact he complains there are too many interesting people and too little time to get to know them all. He loves the location. With some friends he will head to the ocean for late night campfires, or star gazing. With others he'll walk downtown for coffee or meals, or they head to Portland for a night. Yet others it's off to the mountains with the outdoor club. With some he plays squash, with some it's ultimate frisbee, with others its weird movies. Sometimes friends over lap and sometimes they don't, but he says they are all nice people. The possibilities are endless and available, and for my son, that means socially, too. I suspect that by next year he will be so focused on his academic work that social worries will be a non issue and instead he will be glad for Bowdoins great faculty. But to keep it in perspective, my son is not like me, he is an optimist and happy sort and paints everything in a rosy, no worries, way. That makes it easier for him. And i don't know what this means but, for him, he says life at Bowdoin is not at all like high school. Well, duh! ;-)</p>
<p>Take all comments here with a grain of salt. Try to visit each place and ask questions about both the academic and social atmosphere--they do indeed overlap--and form your own insights to balance out with what you've heard.</p>
<p>Bottom line is they are all great schools and more similar than they are different. Just keep an open mind and you're sure to be happily surprised at any school.</p>
<p>good luck.</p>
<p>Morandi- Thanks for this very excellent post. And for the luck. You really addressed my concerns.You also sound like a very cool mom.</p>
<p>haha. . .i'm a dad;-)</p>
<p>and keep in mind, you're not hearing from a current student, you're hearing from the parent of a current student, albeit a happy student. that said, he might explain things differently than I and would, no doubt, offer a better perspective (and more personal insights) to your concerns. sadly, he is not available to directly answer b/c of spring break.</p>
<p>I agree with BowdoinGirl about the be happy or else..Most people are very happy so you feel like something is wrong with you if you don't like it but the College has soo many resources and so many people willing to help. Needless to say I LOVE BOWDOIN!</p>
<p>May I ask what made u unhappy, in general terms, and who and what helped? I mean I don't need gorey details, but whatever you want to share...It might help me get a sense of the place, and maybe other people really interested in attending Bowdoin who are reading this thread...</p>
<p>oh, and morandi, sorry I called you a mom. Guess I have social gender stereotyping problems...thanks anyway tho.</p>
<p>Hello, Izz, from a mom making her first post! :) </p>
<p>My D is a student at Bowdoin who has loved, loved, loved every minute she has spent there! She has never found it cliquey, and her biggest shock was the people from all over the world she's met whose resources far exceed any of her friends' - great wealth, something we didn't really experience in our small town - but she has never found that to be off-putting or divisive. She has friends from all classes, from social service clubs, her sports team and her residence; she dates - basically her dad and I are so happy that essentially, she is in heaven. (Not a drinker before she went to Bowdoin, she drinks only occasionally now. We'd heard the stories, and she says there IS quite a bit of drinking at most social house parties, mostly beer, but it's not a big deal if she doesn't drink.) </p>
<p>Additionally, the faculty is caring and friendly - she really feels connected to her professors and meets with them frequently. (Our son went to a larger school and had the opposite experience, both socially and academically, so we know how lucky she is!) She thought the form the school had students fill out for roommates was amazing, because all the roommates in her freshman housing loved each other! (that probably isn't 100 percent, but she thought so!) Plus, the school gives freshmen more than one room - two-room doubles, three-room quads - so there's always somewhere to go for privacy.</p>
<p>I guess what I want to say, though, is that there are other reasons to choose Williams, Midd or Bowdoin, besides the social life. Obviously they're all BEAUTIFUL, GREAT schools! For one, Portland was one reason my D picked Bowdoin - that and the ocean. (She's been able to surf and sail and beach comb - really great opportunities for a ocean lover - and she's also been skiing!) Portland is a short hop, and it's an charming port city with pro sports teams, great restaurants and shopping! Brunswick is a great college town, a quick walk from Bowdoin, but Bowdoin is separate and a pedestrian campus, more like Midd in that regard. D said she didn't want to cross a highway to go to class, as she would have to do at Williams. Plus, Williams is isolated - there's no getting around it. Midd is too, somewhat. When we visited, we ran into awful traffic on the main road up there - we drove from Williams and it took forever to get through construction - and I think that sealed the deal for her before we even got there!</p>
<p>But besides Bowdoin's location - and the fact that the freshman dorms offer that extra space - D liked the fact that Bowdoin had no winter term (she didn't want to go back early in Jan to take a fun class - she wanted to work and see her home friends). Bowdoin also has a two-week spring break, different, I think, from Williams and Midd. As a result, she could come home AND go on spring break trip! You may like the winter term and one-week break - many do - but she was quite drawn to Bowdoin's schedule. I would say the location, schedule, and freshman dorms were the deal breakers for her.</p>
<p>So there are other big things to consider, in addition to the social life! The schools are all amazing, and so much alike, so differences in terms of lifestyle (you just can't be in a somewhat big city 25 min from Williams or Midd - maybe you don't want to) and a different schedule might be bigger deals than you realize! I'm not saying Bowdoin is the best, just why it was best for my D. Look at the intangibles, the things you may have overlooked, and make a decision based on THOSE; the social stuff will fall into place.</p>
<p>And of course, look at the strength of the major you're looking for... but I assume you've already done that! </p>
<p>Much good luck to you! I hope you are as happy at your school as D is at Bowdoin! :)</p>
<p>Hey thanks. The issue really is that I love Bowdoin for its government dept. which is renowned, its outing club which rocks, and also Maine, where my family has spent many a summer. I've always gone to small schools where I'm used to a lot of faculty involvement. BUT I have had family members in the past who have NOT had great social lives at B. They found it a little hard to break out of a set group, and one had a roommate nightmare. I do know that this can happen at any school, really I am not that clueless. But I would like to feel really good about B. cos I feel so good about most of it, and I just want to know that the experiences I have heard about (one first hand, the other second) are just your typical college stuff, and not specific to Bowdoin. Cos I think it is my favorite over the others...especially cos I love the outdoors, but most of all the water.So thanks for the info. Any other replies from current students? Thanks</p>
<p>well I'm not being one who has had a bad experience so I may not be qualified but you just wait till that 4-5 week long winter break and you will be WANTING Bowdoin back in your life. Some people have culture shock and there is a fair amount of drinking. I think the key to Bowdoin is that you have to search out things and a lot of people look for liberal arts colleges to nurture you and while they can do that, Bowdoin teaches you to reach out and take risks</p>
<p>That said, I know someone who doesn't like it but he is just not adjusting to the Northeast very well and would rather move back to the sunny West Coast and have a school that doesn't drink with more Asians. To each his own. Bobo is THE BEST.</p>
<p>Thanks, Youngn-011</p>
<p>Izz, pardon my curiousity but what have family members shared about breaking out of set groups? what years were they there? what were they confronted with? this does not have much to do with anything except my curious nature. believe me, all colleges have this dynamic--life would be boring otherwise;-) but seriously, when in such a small school one wants to feel accepted and able to experience the whole spectrum of available experiences, so i understand your questions.</p>
<p>Right. You get my point. Well, one family member graduated about three years ago (I think) and freshman year it seemed just natural that he and his roommates all went to meals together and such--but then he decided they were not the best group for him, like they had less in common with him, but when he tried to branch out and make new connections, everyone already seemed stuck in their groove. Not a lot of movement between groups, in other words. He slowly widened his circle but it took time, and he could not wait to go away junior year. All in all he loved the place for the academics and made some good friends, but he had some tough times. The other story is worse-a girl whose roommate started out fine but turned out to be pretty unkind to her-and didnt really tell her why. but then kinda turned against her and turned the floor against her-it was subtle-not out and out warfare, but really hurtful. It was very high school. But it also happens, maybe in small schools with a lot of in breeding. Maybe these are random stories but they freaked me out a bit since some of that in/out group stuff went on in my high school and it could be ugly. And I do know that the first person is very cool and not like a problem child in the least. So who knows? I have heard some very good stories too-but maybe you have to be a very "group" person to go to B?</p>