About Bowdoin College
Location: Brunswick, ME
Undergraduate Population: 1,850
Most Popular Majors: Environmental studies, earth and oceanographic science, neuroscience, chemistry, biology, English
Motto: Ut Aquila Versus Coelum (“As an eagle towards the sky”)
Demographics:
White 52.4%
Latinx 13.4%
Asian/Asian American 11%
Multiracial 10.1%
Black/African American 5.4%
Native American less than 1%
History:
Bowdoin College was chartered in 1794 by the Massachusetts State Legislature and was later redirected under the jurisdiction of the Maine Legislature. It is named after former Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin, whose son James Bowdoin III was an early benefactor of the college.
During the first half of the 19th century, Bowdoin required its students to have a certificate of “good moral character” as well as strong knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek, geography, algebra, and the major works of Cicero, Xenophon, Virgil and Homer. The Medical School of Maine was a medical educational institution at Bowdoin College that operated from 1821 to 1921. The college initially prided itself on educating sons of the political elite. Early alumni also include Nathaniel Hawthorne, HW Longfellow, and Major General Oliver Otis Howard who founded Howard University. Harriet Beecher Stowe started writing her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin while staying at the college with her husband, who was a professor.
In 1970,Bowdoin became one of a very limited number of liberal arts colleges to make the SAT optional, and in 1971, after nearly 180 years as a small men’s college, Bowdoin admitted its first class of women. In 1970, Bowdoin began competing in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium, with fellow Maine institutes Bates and Colby. The consortium has become both an athletic rivalry and an academic exchange program.
Today, Bowdoin offers 43 majors and 45 minors within 24 departments, 9 programs and 4 special areas, as well as a student-designed major option.
Notable Bowdoin College alumni include the 14th US President Franklin Pierce, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, standup comedian Hari Kondabolu, marathon runner Joan Benoit Samuelson, and filmmaker Tina Satter.
Traditions:
- Dinner with Six Strangers is an on-campus tradition now carried on by alums worldwide—using food to bring seven people together who might not have otherwise interacted previously.
- Ivy Day is a tradition that started in 1865 with the junior class planting ivies near the campus chapel. It has since evolved to include other classes, rituals and prizes, and gatherings at the Thorndike Oak before a final chapel service for graduating seniors.
- Lobster Bake is held each fall to welcome new students, and to welcome back returning students. Then, the night before Commencement, Bowdoin welcomes seniors and their families to share in the tradition of lobsters and fresh corn.
Noteworthy Features:
- To graduate, Bowdoin students must complete courses in five distribution areas: mathematical, computational, or statistical reasoning; inquiry in the natural sciences; difference, power, and inequity; international perspectives; and visual and performing arts.
- First-years choose from seminars that are capped at 16 students each. These focus on reading and writing; recent topics have included The Supreme Court and Social Change, Deconstructing Racism, and The Science of Solving Crime.
- All sophomores participate in a five-day career “boot camp” during winter break, featuring workshops that focus on skill development and industry-specific advice.
Admissions Profile
Average GPA: Not reported
Test Scores (mid-50% range): SAT 1470-1530 / ACT 33-35
Admit Rate: 8%
Test-optional? Yes
Offers Early Admissions? Yes—Early Decision I and II
Supplemental Essays
How did you first learn about Bowdoin? (140 characters)
This is a nontraditional “why school” essay that only requires 140 characters in response. But make sure you still show your personality as you let them know how you first heard of the school. Don’t just say “my friend” or “Google,” but attach a short anecdote or memory to it.
Generations of students have found connection and meaning in Bowdoin’s “The Offer of the College,” written in 1906 by Bowdoin President William DeWitt Hyde.
“To be at home in all lands and all ages;
to count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
and Art an intimate friend;
to gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
and the criticism of your own;
to carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
to make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
to lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends –
this is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.”
Which line from The Offer resonates most with you?
Optional: The Offer represents Bowdoin’s values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you. (250 words)
To begin the process of writing supplements that ask you to respond to a quotation, it can be helpful to see the full context. Bowdoin, luckily, provides you with the entire Offer. Being more informed can help you understand what the school is asking for. Ensure that you respond to the entire sentence or paragraph rather than to just one or two keywords.
You must keep the focus on you. There’s no need to refer back to the quotation or its speaker in your actual response. The follow-up questions state: Which line from The Offer resonates most with you? The Offer represents Bowdoin’s values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you. Use that latter half of the prompt to determine what Bowdoin wants to know about you. Often, these essays provide a chance to share more about a side of you that isn’t reflected elsewhere in your application. Consider parts of your identity, interests, and goals that demonstrate who you are and how you’d contribute to the Bowdoin community. Read the college’s mission statement. Help admissions officers see that you’re a good fit by writing about a unique side of your identity or experience that hasn’t been elaborated on in your personal statement or activities list.
Optional: Bowdoin believes that only through building a more diverse and inclusive campus community will the College best prepare graduates to be contributing and useful citizens of the world. Every graduate of this institution should be confident in their preparation to be able to navigate through differences and in all sorts of situations. A Bowdoin education does not guarantee these skills, but it does impart a set of tools necessary to bravely enter unfamiliar conditions with the confidence to deal effectively with ambiguity.
If you wish, you may share anything about the unique experiences and perspectives that you would bring with you to the Bowdoin campus and community or an experience you have had that required you to navigate across or through difference. (250 words)
Consider what you want colleges to know about you. No matter what you write about your background, your response should help Bowdoin admissions officers understand where you come from, what experiences have been meaningful to you, and how you’ll contribute to the diversity of the campus community. Don’t just mention what the background or experience is—talk about how it has shaped you and your perspective.
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