Unsure about attending Bowdoin

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bowdoin College
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<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>I recently made the very tough decision to enroll at Bowdoin instead of Dartmouth. </p>

<p>On paper, Bowdoin seems perfect - academics are just as good, it has very personal and engaged professors, medical school acceptance rates are stellar (I plan to be pre-med), its outing club is amazing, and the food and dorms are some of the best in the country to boot. Dartmouth, although it has a med school and arguably more resources/research opportunities, really turned me off with its overwhelmingly prevalent Greek system/partying, general preppiness, pre-Wall Street feel, and total isolation. </p>

<p>I visited both this week, and I really liked Dartmouth’s campus, the students I talked to seemed nice, and I sat in on a really awesome women’s studies class. I stayed overnight at Bowdoin’s open house weekend, and in the panel discussions, I was extremely impressed with the quality of the professors/general faculty, as well as all of the students and other prospies I met (seriously, everyone seemed awesome). After much contemplation, I have submitted my deposit and enrolled at Bowdoin, mostly because the students are said to be the happiest in the country, and it seemed to be wonderful without any catches, unlike Dartmouth.</p>

<p>The thing is, I have this nagging feeling of uncertainty about my decision. Bowdoin’s campus was pretty but not absolutely gorgeous (it’s also a really small campus - and student body, for that matter), and I didn’t really get that “feeling” that I’ve been told I’m supposed to have (neither did I at Dartmouth, though). I’m excited to go there next fall, but maybe not as giddy as I thought I would be. I guess I’m also wondering if I was stupid not to choose the Ivy, since other forums seem to largely place prestige as a major factor, and the overwhelming majority seem to say to go to Dartmouth. Since I posted this in the Bowdoin forum, what can any current students/alumni say about their experience at Bowdoin? Did you feel similar doubt? Do you know others who chose Bowdoin over similar schools?</p>

<p>Any input would be really valued. I’m pretty much bound to go there now, but it would nice to be put at ease a bit. :)</p>

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<p>It’s very hard to turn down one college for another when you see things you like about each. Many kids going are going through that right now, so it is normal to have some doubts. I think you made a most considered decision and I understand it completely. It is very hard to resist the peer pressure, even if on a forum, to go for that Ivy name</p>

<p>“That feeling?” So high school. Hope you get some helpful comments.</p>

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<p>I strongly suspect that you will love Bowdoin and be very happy with your choice, and the opportunities it brings. Also, prime time for the beauty of Bowdoin’s campus is the Fall, and a little later in the Spring (when foliage blooms), and when the snow is falling. Also, it might comfort you a bit to know that not only does Bowdoin do very well on the “happiness” scale as reported by current students, but its alumni are among the most loyal and supportive in the country… which is really telling in my book. Next Fall when you are in President Mills’ office, (and among new and interesting friends) to sign that ancient matriculation book i suspect you’ll be happy and excited about you choice!</p>

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<p>alum88 is right - this is probably the worst week or two of the year in Maine! It’s the one time of year I want OUT, but two weeks from now, I will have forgotten that feeling. Brunswick is a wonderful little town, and there is SO much to do in Maine. I’m from “away” originally, but I love living here (I live a couple of towns over from Brunswick). I’ve lived her over 27 years and still haven’t scratched the surface of stuff to do. I know a couple of kids at Bowdoin, and they are really happy there. You made the right decision!!</p>

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<p>Dartmouth is a great school. Bowdoin is too. You’ll be fine. But hear it from someone who really knows (my son loves it there FWIW)…
<a href=“Why Bowdoin? on Vimeo”>http://vimeo.com/91666105&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Your decision sounds reasonable and Bowdoin is great, even against an Ivy counterpart like Dartmouth. I think it’s important, though, not to expect college will be completely 100% rapturous. I think there’s a tendency for high school students to want from their college enrollment experience something not unlike what they want from a first love. But a good college experience is different. It’s a sustaining love, ideally, which means it won’t be everything to you at all times. Sometimes it will make feel deeply uncomfortable, alone, or alienated, while alternatively making you feel connected to a community in surprising and unpredictable ways. I think it’s actually a good thing you don’t feel swept away by any of the top choices you have. It puts you on a good footing for learning. </p>

<p>I had a similar reaction when I visited Bowdoin for the accepted students weekend. It was muddy. And cold. And gray. I was a little worried, only because it just didn’t feel so beautiful, I guess. And I wanted it to. When I returned in late August, we arrived late the night before and I woke up early the night of move in. Really early. I walked up Maine Street to the campus and just sat there, before anyone was up. The sun was just rising and there was a low fog across the quad and the day was clear and brilliant. And even then, even in that beauty it didn’t register. But it does when I go back because the experience was about what I learned there and less about how idyllic it was. I guess this is all to say that I’m very happy I went to Bowdoin, I don’t know if there’s a college in the country I’d chose over it had I to do it all again, and I felt similarly to the way you feel at the outset. </p>

<p>Congratulations on both Bowdoin and Dartmouth. And congrats about becoming a polar bear. I cannot recommend Bowdoin highly enough. </p>

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<p>Oh and I knew a few friends of mine who chose Bowdoin over Dartmouth and Brown and Princeton without regrets. Many more over Cornell and UPenn and UChicago. </p>

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<p>I think “buyer’s remorse” is a common feeling. Applicants (well, at least those with multiple acceptances) have all these possibilities before them, which is exciting. Then you have to choose just one, which means closing the door on another opportunity/path/future. </p>

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<p>I’m all ears.</p>

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<p>^Rock climbing, mountaineering, sea kayaking, white water kayaking, surfing, hiking, camping, downhill skiing, nordic skiing, snowshoeing, sailing, fishing, clamming, etc, etc…</p>

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<p>Portland is awesome. Loved it.</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you for all the positive replies! I’m definitely feeling a lot more at ease about my decision. Seriously, just you guys alone show me why I chose Bowdoin in the first place - everyone seems genuinely nice and always willing to help, and it’s assuring to see people who love their school this much.</p>

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<p>@pb2002‌ I just got back from the Bowdoin Experience a week ago, and I didn’t feel it either. I really loved Bowdoin before I visited, and I was looking to this trip to confirm everything I thought was great about it. </p>

<p>The campus didn’t look or feel the way I had expected, the students didn’t act the way I had expected. I was ultimately given an idea of what life would be like at Bowdoin that was very different from the one I had imagined. I was pretty shocked about the lack of a strong feeling of uniqueness. Claudia and Zak and the profs and my hosts and so forth were all extremely kind, even felt like family. But walking across the quad looking at the buildings, or going to Thorne, or especially Moulton, I felt like I could just as easily have been at the small Christian school in my hometown back in Texas.</p>

<p>It all felt so normal, which is not what I applied to Bowdoin to get. The one bit of idyllic serenity which I experienced that weekend was hiking to the Atlantic coast, ironically through a forest which belonged to Bates. By mid-day Saturday, I told my hosts I didn’t think I was going to Bowdoin. I wanted to like Bowdoin, and there was nothing pushing me away, nothing making Bowdoin the wrong choice, I just didn’t feel anything special. I wondered if it was some kind of lesson I’m supposed to learn, something about the grass being greener where you water it. So maybe I can be just as happy at Georgetown.</p>

<p>But that doesn’t help all of the speculation. What if three days wasn’t enough to feel it? What if Georgetown feels constricting, and the magic of Bowdoin would have been four years of feeling free to pursue some of my more eccentric interests? Does Bowdoin really offer all of the same opportunities, despite its location? Would I have to be some kind of strait-laced adult at Georgetown, while Bowdoin would give me more time to grow up?</p>

<p>This decision is causing an existential crisis. These schools feel so different, which makes me feel like I’m choosing between two halves of myself. It underscores some deeply contradictory desires that I have. I’m too young for this. The whole thing makes me wish I had just gotten into Harvard so I could feel like it was a clear choice. To OP, I was waitlisted at Dartmouth, and I feel like Dartmouth is some kind of blend between Bowdoin and Georgetown, so I envy you in that regard.</p>

<p>First world problems, but I feel lost, even though I feel confident at some intellectual level that this is just a storm before the calm.</p>

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<p>energia - for the same reasons the OP should attend bowdoin over dartmouth, you probably shouldn’t attend bowdoin. do you feel that pull anywhere else? for me, amherst was like what you experienced at bowdoin. i loved it on paper but felt nothing when i visited. it just didn’t do it for me. and i felt upset by that because (as you can probably relate) i spent a lot of time fantasizing about these places before visiting them. if none of the places to which you’ve been accepted excite you, then that’s a different conversation, and i’d likely recommend bowdoin, still. but if there are other places - like georgetown or bates - that made you feel more special then you should consider those places over bowdoin. gut matters a lot, but it’s neither necessary nor sufficient. still, if it’s present anywhere, that should weigh the balance. good luck. :)</p>

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<p>Not to sound snarky, but reading stories like these, about kids visiting schools and not feeling some wave of “specialness” wash over them in the 17 minutes (or maybe a weekend) they are on campus, makes me very appreciative of my practical, pragmatic son. And the pragmatism obviously didn’t fall far from the tree because I really don’t understand exactly what kids are expecting to see/feel/experience in such a brief snapshot of time when they visit schools. I guess I just don’t buy into the “gut feeling” because, quite honestly, it’s a luxury that the majority of kids can’t afford. For every kid who shows up for a college overnight waiting to be swooned by emotion…so many more kids attend the college that accepted them, or the college that gave them enough aid to afford it, or the college that has their obscure major that they’re really psyched to pursue. And they’ll love their school because of the relationships and memories they make. And that happens over time. </p>

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<p>JoBenny, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Outstanding post.</p>

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<p>Energia – Have you visited Georgetown?? I am very familiar with both the Bowdoin and Georgetown campuses and would be surprised if you experience a “special” feeling at Georgetown, where the campus is beat up and congested and lacks interesting architecture.</p>