Bowdoin College Top Questions

Bowdoin is the best college that exists. I am extremely pleased with my decision to come here and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sometimes I look around on campus and wonder how half the kids here actually got into what the guidebooks call an "extremely competitive college." It's really fucking cold here.

Just because Bowdoin has a great reputation and costs a lot of money, does NOT mean it isn't a party school. General rule, especially for all freshman who are finally let out of the house on the weekend, is : Monday thru Wednesday- reading,studying, activities around campus Thursday- drink Friday and Saturday- drink and party Sunday- cram for tests and pull all nighters finishing papers, or come back from an Outing Club trip and cram. There is balance though. It takes less persuading here than I think at other, larger schools, to tell your friends that you need to spend a night in on the weekend. Most people understand and will relax the pressure to go out almost immediately, leaving you to possibly get ahead on next week's work.

If I could do it all over again, I would absolutely NOT come to Bowdoin. Bowdoin is best suited to intellectually gifted students from New England eager to underachieve, and then drink excessively every weekend to celebrate that privilege. Maybe that's just what college students do. But if that's true, than I wish I hadn't come all the way across the continent to find it out. Ultimately, my Bowdoin degree will signify four wasted years of putting up with slackers. If I learned anything here, it's that I never want to compromise with weakness again.

Overall I have not been a fan of Bowdoin. It is more school than college. It was too soft, the administration it really seems does not care a ton about the students and having fun. It's all about making sure everyone feels good and also like proving themselves. Teachers and administration seem to make things harder for students. It is hard to elaborate there is so much that has happened in four years but this place isnt that fun and its not the kids its the school.

My Goals while I'm at Bowdoin...(1) TO HAVE FUN, (2) To Choose a Major that I will enjoy (and I have plenty of time to decide), (3) To meet lots of people, (4) To Help people, (5) To Make the Most that I can out of college

I just have to say that I have enjoyed Bowdoin more than I ever thought I could. As a biologist, I have learned about bird anatomy while skinning an owl. I have done laboratory research at the Coastal Studies Center and taken lunch breaks to swim in the ocean off the docks. I have played in numerous campus rock bands and won many a snow ball battle on the quad. I have been able to better myself as a student and as a person. I think these are the opportunities that Bowdoin offers to its students, and all it takes is a little effort to explore them.

We recently eliminated loans-- Bowdoin is taking huge steps to ensure the future of low-income and minority students' presence on campus.