Bowdoin Biology Major

I think Bowdoin students are typically pictured as rich, preppy, uptight, hardworking, and competitive people hailing predominantly from Massachussetts with no other drive but to get into that elite grad. school, medical school, etc.

The reality is that bowdoin students are fairly diverse in ethnicity, religion, and demographics. I think this diversity in students and the fact that there is a large athletic population on campus really brings a new edge to the Bowdoin academic and social life. Bowdoin students are hardworking and really buckle down on their assignments, but the weekend brings a different scene to Bowdoin with a fairly high level of social interaction, partying, and relaxation. I would say that the 'work hard, play hard' slogan definitely applies to Bowdoin students. The harder we work during the week, the harder we tend play on the weekends! Not too mention, I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of partying that goes on here at Bowdoin.

The Bowdoin community is pretty small and tight-knit. With a small campus and small class enrollment, it is easy to get to know a lot of people here on campus, whether it is through class, sports, clubs, parties, or living quarters. The local town, Brunswick, is very nice. Coming from a small town, it is nice to walk downtown through Maine St. and stop in at the local music, coffee, or sandwich shop. It is never too much of a problem to grab food or bathroom supplies from the supermarket or pharmacy, and Bowdoin Security's 'Safe Ride' service will give anyone a ride within 2 miles of campus. We have a high level of school pride and we are very supportive of our sports teams. Sports games tend to have fairly high attendances, especially in games against our Maine state NESCAC rivals, Bates and Colby. A recent controversy with our administration was the recent vote by the faculty to eliminate the possibility of receiving distribution requirement credit for taking a course Pass/Fail (or Credit/D/F as it is known here). Students were upset because this motion infringes on what it means to attend a liberal arts school. Unable to receive credit for a distribution requirement while taking pass/fail, Bowdoin students of the future will be less likely to explore new classes or general areas of study without feeling the pressure of receiving a good grade. It also makes studying abroad for pre-med students much less feasible, as it is difficult to complete all the distribution requirements and other medical school requisites.

Classes are great here. Class sizes are very small most of the time. As a freshman, my intro science courses have had between 30-50 students, but other than that, the majority of my classes have been smaller than 20 students. Freshman seminars are required and I highly recommend taking more than just one. They are incredibly small, with a maximum of 16 students, and highly engaging with an emphasis on participation. The only thing I wish is that Bowdoin would minimize its emphasis on fulfilling division/distribution requirements, or at least make them less difficult to complete before graduation.

So the diversity isn't immense in any way, but considering we are a small liberal arts college in Maine, we have a fair amount of ethnic, religious, and demographic diversity. Coming from a white, middle class, small town in Maine, I've never been in a school with so many Asians, African Americans, and Jewish people. But if you come from a city, the diversity may seem lacking. Fortunately, not everyone here is your stereotypical private school snob. I was also surprised to find that not everyone is from Massachussetts either! So there may be a sizeable fraction of students at Bowdoin from New England, but there is a pretty good following of students from New York and California. There is at least one person from almost every state in each class and several international students too. Bowdoin has a predominantly liberal student body, but I don't find that politics affects student interactions too much unless it's election time or you are part of one of the political clubs. Maybe it's the fact that girls are attracted to the city, or that the Maine's woods scare them away, but the ratio of attractive girls to attractive guys at Bowdoin is very small.

There are a lot of sports, clubs, and intramural activities at Bowdoin. It is really easy to get involved in any of these. All it takes is an email. Many clubs encourage people with no particular experience to join. The Bowdoin Outing Club is a perfect way to take advantage of Maine's beautiful geographic features while being active and meeting students from all walks of life. I find that Bowdoin students are particularly environmentally concerned as well as grateful of their local community, and as a result, like giving back to the community by volunteering. On the weekends, especially in the winter, hockey and basketball games are popular to attend. The biggest game of the year is the Bowdoin hockey game against our rival Colby. Everyone wears black and it gets wild in the arena. Almost every weekend you can expect a big house party hosted by one of Bowdoin's social houses. These parties are all-inclusive of every student on campus, whether they drink beer or not. The social houses are especially careful to cater to those who may not drink by providing snacks and soda. Even if there are no official parties going on, it is fairly easy to find some little shindig going on in one of the dorms or upperclassmen housing. Every Thursday night there is easy a band or DJ at the campus pub, and attendances at the pub on these nights are very high. Bowdoin, in conjunction with the social houses too, host a variety of speakers. The Bowdoin film society often hosts movie nights during the week or weekend. There are also two movie theaters in town. The dating scene at Bowdoin is definitely undermined by the 'hook-up' culture. This may not necessarily be bad, but if you're looking for that special someone, chances are they're not looking for you.

You can win here, or you can lose here, but that's the same risk you take with attending any college.