<p>Which is the best academically? socially? athletically?
Which is the safest? most liberal? most conservative? </p>
<p>Best Party scene? interesting perks? (ie Bowdoin has super snacks) best location?</p>
<p>WE ALL GOTTA LOVE MAINE</p>
<p>I have a house near Bow. and Brunswick (The town it’s in) is a very interesting college town. I am not sure of the night life but they have a great Main Street with a plethora of shops, restaurants and an indie movie theatre within a 5 minute walk of the campus. They did have a large Naval Air Base, which contributed to a lot of the population/economy, but it is now ( or in the process of) closed. SO that could hurt the atmosphere…</p>
<p>I have a friend who attends Bates and she says she loves the night life. She doesn’t have problems finding parties etc…Lewiston is not the greatest town, but from what I can tell the area near campus is really nice. She was worried about the small school size, (smaller than our high school), but it has yet to disappoint her. Plus academics keep her pretty occupied.</p>
<p>I got nothin for ya on Colby…hope this helps</p>
<p>These are just my quick impressions after visiting all three with my son.</p>
<p>All three are great academically. Bowdoin is the most selective. Bates seemed the most liberal, Bowdoin the most diverse, and Colby the most preppie. Don’t know too much about athletics, but from what I gather the Colby and Bowdoin sports teams generally have it over Bates in recent years. The food at Bates and Bowdoin was great; didn’t get to try the food at Colby, unfortunately.</p>
<p>My son liked the locations of Bates and Bowdoin. Colby felt too isolated insofar as the campus is set off a ways from the town.</p>
<p>Visit all three if you get the chance; they all have much to offer.</p>
<p>We love Colby–lots of activities, great classes, VERY accessible faculty, VERY good food! D is ecstatically happy frosh. She doesn’t find it too isolated–lots to do on campus (sometimes too much!), and somebody is always going into town for a movie, dinner out, shopping, etc., so that’s never been an issue. Colby seems to have an attitude of “tell us what you’d like to do, we’ll help you make it happen”, which is great. Also, the most incredibly friendly kids.</p>
<p>Suggestion: Pull up the student newspapers and read the back issues. We found it gave us a lot of insight into what was on matriculated students’ minds and the issues they had with the university admin, local town, etc… </p>
<p>All of them have strong academics, great outdooring programs and very good food. All are relatively liberal but preppy (Bates least so).</p>
<p>Bowdoin has the stronger academic reputation.</p>
<p>Which has the best jazz/music/ethnomusicology program and language program?</p>
<p>IMO Bowdoin>Bates>Colby</p>
<p>Academically Bowdoin reportedly has the edge, while Bates is perhaps a bit better than Colby, but they are very close. They are all good. At our HS, that would be the pecking order of students who go to the schools.</p>
<p>Bowdoin is very safe, Bates a bit less so due to location in economically depressed old mill town (although the area around campus is fine). Colby, I don’t know, but I’d assume it was a tad less safe than Bowdoin because Waterville is less upscale than Brunswick. Generally, though, it is important to realize that Maine is incredibly safe in comparison to other places.</p>
<p>Socially, Bowdoin students are in a pretty little town with some hip features, such as the aforementioned great indie movie theater (the Evening Star), and within less than half an hour of Portland, which is a very cool little city with a good music (many styles)/arts/bar scene and plenty of other college-age people. (The ease of transportation to P if you don’t have a car is something to look into.) Lewiston (Bates)is becoming more hip, but it’s a little farther to Portland. Don’t know about Waterville, and it is a hike to Portland from there.</p>
<p>Athletically, Bowdoin is probably the best. But not necessarily by much. Top athletes from our HS have been recruited at both Bowdoin and Bates.</p>
<p>I think that all three are probably similar in terms of liberal/conservative, although Bates may be a tad more liberal. All of them have a significant preppy contingent. I don’t know about diversity, but since Bowdoin has better FA than Bates it is likely more diverse. Don’t know about Colby FA.</p>
<p>I live within half an hour of both Bowdoin and Bates, and am familiar with both campuses and know kids at both, but I’ve never been to Colby.</p>
<p>
Waterville (home of Colby) and Lewiston (home of Bates) are both old mill towns that have suffered from economic decline. However, many people find that Bates feels significantly more urban than Colby. This is partly because the Lewiston-Auburn area has a much larger population than the Waterville area, and partly because Bates is located in town, while Colby is located on the outskirts of town. Colby was originally located in central Waterville, but moved to a new, larger campus on a hill outside of town in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Any idea which has a jazz music program?</p>