Hi all, I was admitted to both schools (among others such as UCLA, Wesleyan, BC, YaleNUS) and they’re my top picks right now. I’m having a really hard time deciding because I’m not sure how I’ll fit in at both schools.
I’m an international student and I want to study political science/philosophy (something in the humanities). I’m quiet in a bigger crowd but really can’t stop talking when I’m with my friends. I chose to apply to WashU as the academics are stellar and the vibe seems to be super friendly (really important to me because as a transitioning international student I don’t want to be homesick). What I’m looking for in a school is a tight knit community where everyone’s really friendly to each other, and a place where people have passions and are genuinely interested in intellectual conversations, etc.
One thing is I’m afraid Bowdoin would be ‘too small’ and a bit rural.
I was leaning quite a bit towards Washu, However, I joined one of the WashU Girls group chats and the entire chat history was filled with the girls talking about dabs, juuls, vaping, weed, etc. I have nothing against drugs and stuff but I don’t want to go to a school where that’s the biggest ‘thing’ if you know what i mean? And I’m not sure how huge greek life seems to be on campus… A lot of people in the facebook groups are planning to rush.
I guess I’m looking for personal experiences/insights into how my situation would determine a leaning towards a certain school.
I wouldn’t worry at all, that’s definitely not the prevailing culture at WashU. I’m also a part of those exact same chats and groups, and if you look at the roommate spreadsheet (which is still a fraction of the incoming students) you’ll see a lot more variety in partying preference.
Wherever you go people will be into different things, but WashU actually has a great student culture where you’re not pressured or expected to do things you don’t want to do. I and the girls I’ve talked with so far are more into pizza and movies (but to each her own, of course). And no matter how much people want to party, we’re all going to get our butts kicked by hard (but engaging and cool!) classes and have to study a lot.
Like @Hamurtle said, WashU is super collaborative, and GroupMes don’t provide the whole picture Best of luck with your decisions!
@Hamurtle the price of both schools are the same to me. I’m struggling to evaluate fit though. What are some good ways to do that? I’ve looked online at the classes, talked to some students… But it’s still a struggle to see how I fit in there in the mix. I can’t attend admitted student days either since I live overseas and it’s exam season.
@Hamurtle I live in a big city in China. Yeah I keep thinking of Brunswick, Maine as a rural-y seaside town and St Louis as a quiet sweet suburban kind of place.
And on the flip side St. Louis is fairly close enough to Chicago.
Big city in China could mean a lot of things. Beijing and Shanghai are way different. My wife’s home city in China is has a population of 6 million but it’s not that cosmopolitan in comparison to Beijing/Shanghai (it’s a Northeastern rust belt dump of a city).
If the OP is used to ‘big city life’ so to speak, Maine is going to be a major cultural shock. Even St. Louis is way more different than most American cities. It’s not as rushed as San Francisco/Los Angeles/New York.
WashU has an active Chinese students association. Also if you’re not used to Western food, there are better options to get Asian groceries in St. Louis than heading to a Chinese grocery in Boston every other weekend.
@Hamurtle nah I’m cool with western food haha Well I live in HK which is kind of like New York. I’m not sure if it’s the more physical aspect of culture shock (location, food, etc) that’s freaking me out or the fear that I won’t vibe well with the people there.
I’m a current student at washu and I’d characterize the people here as very laid-back and intelligent. I’ve never had issues getting along with people here, but if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.
Agree with Kiriel. Our student thinks folks from St. Louis are among the nicest you will find. And that drive from Bowdoin to Boston can take an eternity – especially on weekends. The food scene in St. Louis is outstanding – and you don’t have to get in a car to enjoy it!.
@Kiriel do you feel like people there are quite tight knit? I feel like I’m someone who thrives when I have really deep and meaningful connections with my friends and peers.
@reindeercoffee I would say so. It’s not like a big state school where people bond over large sports events or whatnot but I’m quite close to my friends that I have made in clubs and I see the same across others involved in greek life and other student organizations. The people here are all incredibly friendly so I don’t think most people have any problems making meaningful connections with their peers.
@Kiriel I hear a lot about how great washu is for premeds (and I don’t doubt it!), but what would you say about the humanities courses at washu? (namely polisci and philosophy). Are they “good enough” or would it be comparable to a humanities oriented LAC?
@reindeercoffee Hi, although I’m not too familiar with Washu’s polisci or philosophy programs I will do my best to answer your questions. I would say that Washu artsci does follow a “liberal arts” curriculum meaning that they place a heavy emphasis on well-roundedness being STEM or the humanities. I have a few friends doing polisci and are interning at various congressional offices so if you’re looking to go into politics Washu is a great place for that. If your plan after undergrad is to go into grad school, Washu is also very good as Washu has really great name recognition in academia and I have heard good things about grad school placements from all majors. Feel free to dm me with any further questions. If I can’t answer them, I can try to ask some friends.
My S graduated from Bowdoin. We used to live in the Midwest and had also toured WashU. Both are wonderful schools and you are fortunate to have such great choices.
Bowdoin is small, and was smaller than my S’s high school, but my S loved it there and made great friends he still keeps in contact with and gets together with.
The town of Brunswick isn’t what I would call “rural” but is a nice little college town. There is a train station and it’s easy to get to Boston. As far as transportation, the closest airport is Portland. When my S was coming back from breaks, he usually found other Bowdoin students to share a taxi with. Since he graduated, there’s a new Metro Bus that connects Portland to Brunswick.
St. Louis is obviously a different kind of place - the metro area is over 2 million. You can take the light rail commuter train from the airport to the campus. The WashU campus is very nice.
Both schools rank very highly for campus food.
Two of my S’s former roommates are in graduate school at UCLA and Harvard, so if your future plan is graduate school, I think either place would prepare you well.
I think the decision comes down to: would you prefer a small town in the northeast, or a larger city in the Midwest?
@college_query Wow thanks for the reply! Right now I’m sure that academically I want to go to Bowdoin but socially I’d fit better in WashU (from talking to people in my class and such). But I feel like the social aspect might be hard to judge because maybe I just haven’t interacted enough with kids from my Bowdoin class!
One thing that has been on my mind is the ‘hookup culture’ that has been extensively written about in Bowdoin. It’s probably hard to judge as a parent but would you/your son agree that this permeates the social atmosphere? Because if so It seems a lot like my high school right now (nobody in serious relationships, just hookups that become awkward social run ins) and it’s not the environment I want to be in. However, I’m not sure if I’m letting something ‘insignificant’ on the grand scheme of things get in the way of the ‘smart option’. Also, Bowdoin seems to be super sport-oriented and outdoorsy which isn’t something I’d describe myself as. That, and the concern that the international student support won’t be as extensive as at a bigger school.
Best of luck with your decisions!