<p>I swear that the heat is just not on in Maine Hall a lot of the time...
But! aside from that, from a freshman's perspective, the winter hasn't been bad so far. I'm pretty wimpy too, but I haven't really been bothered by the cold. I live really close to one of the dining halls (like, 30 second walk) which is really convenient. And some buildings are cold, some aren't. The room that I had my seminar in was FREEZING, but my math class was often really warm. Just wear layers and you'll be all set. I would highly recommend a nice zip-up fleece (north face if you wannna spend some cash, ll bean if you don't) that you can wear outside and inside, over and under other stuff--it's a really really handy piece of clothing to have in weather that fluctuates a lot. Oh, and we all got nice free mugs at the beginning of the year--perfect for carrying back hot chocolate when it's really cold!</p>
<p>One of the few good things about the new dorms is that they retain heat like crazy. And only East has a kitchen, we have another first floor room where their kitchen is.</p>
<p>i'm applying RD.. good luck everyone! :)</p>
<p>I'm applying regular, as well as Bates (I didn't really like Colby at all...).</p>
<p>sounds y'all have got the cold under control! Thanks for everyone's advice. </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me about the orientation program? I know the basic details, but how effective do you think it was?</p>
<p>me too.</p>
<p>my only private schools are midd and bowdoin</p>
<p>Meh, orientation was pretty much what I would expect it to be at most colleges with some Bowdoin traditions thrown in. I wouldn't pick your next four years based on what you do your first four days.</p>
<p>I would certainly never chose my college based on their orientation- i was just curious about how Bowdoin handled the first few days. You said it was a normal orientation with a few Bowdoin traditions- any specifics?</p>
<p>Hopefully this isn't too disappointing, but orientation was pretty boring. Like, to the point that I was REALLY looking forward to calculus starting up. No, no, it isn't that bad, but it isn't terribly exciting either. You do get to meet with Barry Mills and sign the Matriculation Book and see all the people that have signed it before you, which is pretty cool, I must admit. I'm sure that there are other things that I can't think of right now, but I do remember taking a bunch of placement tests and attending a bunch of awkward social events. In any case, pre-o's are fun, orientation is kinda blah, and then just staring college and meeting everyone is fun. Orientation itself isn't much to brag about I don't think, but I guess it does its job.</p>
<p>I'm applying RD.</p>
<p>njpitcher, why didn't you like colby? im just curious because im applying there and i havent visited.</p>
<p>I just got a horrible feeling at colby. My tourguide was a complete idiot, as were 2 or 3 other students I spoke with. The place was real preppy and it just felt like the kids had bought their way into Colby, and somehow Colby had pulled off this fake intellectualism on paper. I don't know, just didn't like it.
Also, its town or waterville or waterloo or whatever is abismal, 57% unemployment. After we visited we stopped in at a Thai restaurant their and the owner was an immigrant whose daughter could have gone to Colby but opted not to when the people there were jerks to her (not rich at all), and he said the Colby kids who stop at his restaurant are absolute snobs. Maybe I just had a bad experience, who knows.</p>
<p>wow yeah i dont blame you, that sounds like a pretty bad experience with the school. i know what you mean though, some places just give you a bad vibe. like with me, i got a really bad vibe from tufts but other people i know loved it... it could have just been my strange tour guide and the way i was feeling that day who knows. anywho, i obviously wouldnt plan on going to colby until i visit there myself, well if i get in in the first place lol. but thanks for the info. :)</p>
<p>I'm applying to Bowdoin as well as Colby (RD). Haven't visited either, but will hopefully fly up if accepted to either in the spring :)</p>
<p>I'm applying to Bowdoin RD, only because my mom couldn't help me finish the CSS Profile in time for the ED II deadline. I visited during their November Invitational (for multicultural students) and it was amazing. I'm not applying to the other Maine colleges, but I completely understand why everyone else would-Maine is breathtaking. I'm from Chicago (and no, not a suburb), and I agree with what ericgr said...students from large cities do seem to flock to the smaller areas in search for knowledge.
I didn't submit any of my scores, but I tried to highlight my strengths as best as I could in my Common App and supplemental essay....</p>
<p>Let's try to keep each other posted, guys!</p>
<p>I'm applying RD too...</p>
<p>Can't wait to hear back from them!</p>
<p>just a reply to njpitcher's post, i'm from nj too, and i actually attend colby. although i am probably going to transfer out after this year, i wouldn't say that kids are by any means idiots or that people are terribly snotty or anything. i grew up near princeton university and i would say that by comparison, colby kids are significantly less snotty. anyhow, waterville, like you said, is abysmal, but then again lewiston is MUCH worse (anyone who is applying to bates, make sure you are aware of that). brunswick is definitely is the best of the three towns. also, you mentioned that the school seemed to flaunt some fake intellectualism on paper (or something to that effect), and to that i would have to disagree. i personally find that colby doesn't look great on paper when compared to bowdoin, even though i really doubt that colby is really as inferior to bowdoin as people like to make it out to be. even though many of you are probably familiar with this, princeton review assigns ratings to each college based on academic quality, with bowdoin receiving a 94 and colby a 92, which is outstanding on the parts of both schools. cornell received just an 89, and brown just an 83...so these schools do a great job of hanging with the big dogs! so anyway, just because colby isn't the right place for me, it doesn't mean i wouldn't recommend it for anyone interested in getting a great education at a nescac school!</p>
<p>I'm applying RD... </p>
<p>But it is definately NOT BECAUSE OF THE MAINE LOCATION!!! I wouldnt even look into Bowdoin at first because it was north, and I'm pretty far north already (Boston). I REALLY wanted to head out to California, but besides Pomona, I couldn't find any LACs that I liked out there. Everything I like just HAS to be right around the corner...</p>
<p>Anyways, I don't want to hear about "snuggle up to study all cozy in front of a fire with a beautiful layer of pure white snow" outside garbage. ESPECIALLY at this time of year I wonder why in the world I didn't apply to colleges in warmer places. (I'm sitting at this computer in my wool jacket, and my fingers are still cold!) It's FREEZING and not only that but WINDY and SLUSHY or ICEY and very DARK and just awful! I am NOT looking forward to having to walk all around outside in these awful new england winters for four more years (since Pomona is just about impossible to get into). </p>
<p>Sorry, a little bit of a rant there, but by the end of january, the cold kind of gets to me... winter is pretty and fun for about a week, and then it's just a marathon of weather-hatred and grinding your teeth and b*tching until the spring! (which is still pretty cool until summer finally hits). </p>
<p>But yeah, Bowdoin is still one of my top choices. I wouldn't have applied except that last summer my mom said "Hey, you have a free day, go up and visit Bowdoin with your dad." and I thought, well I've only visited two campuses so far, one more might give me a better idea about what I like and don't like. </p>
<p>Anyways, I totally fell in love... DESPITE the cold...cold..cold... winters I know are most likely still waiting for me... <3 Bowdoin '10, maybe we'll all get in.</p>
<p>Ok, so it's February 20 and I'm still freaking out, even though I sent in my app almost two months ago. Bowdoin is definitely my dream school and I'm dying to hear back, either way, I just need some closure!!!! I don't think I'm going to be able to make it another 6 weeks with having a nervous breakdown!!!</p>