Bowdoin College is a small liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, just northeast of Portland. It does not offer professional track majors but has robust liberal arts offerings including a renowned environmental studies program. It is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
Bowdoin is only a 30-minute drive from Portland and a few miles from the ocean. Beyond its main campus, Bowdoin also has the Schiller Coastal Studies Center, a center for research and recreation located a few miles away on Orr’s Island.
Want to get into Bowdoin? Learning as much as you can about the school and what it takes to gain admission can help you.
How to Get into Bowdoin College: Table of Contents
- When to Apply to Bowdoin College
- How Hard Is It to Get into Bowdoin College: Early Prep
- How to Actually Get into Bowdoin College: The Application
- Class Profile
- What Makes Bowdoin College Unique?
- Bowdoin College FAQs
When to Apply to Bowdoin College
If you’re interested in applying to Bowdoin College, you should first familiarize yourself with the application options they offer. Each has a different deadline, so it’s important to stay on track and submit everything on time.
Bowdoin College Deadlines
Bowdoin College’s application deadlines may vary slightly from year to year depending on where the dates fall on the calendar. These are the deadlines for the 2024-25 admissions cycle:
- November 15: Early Decision (ED) admission and financial aid applications
- January 6: Early Decision II (ED II) admission and financial aid applications
- January 6: Regular Decision (RD) admission application
- February 1: Regular Decision financial aid application
Students who applied ED can expect a decision in mid-December. Despite ED II and RD having the same deadline, decisions for ED II are released in early February and RD is released in mid-March.
Early, Rolling, and Regular Decision
Seniors applying to college have different application types to choose from, such as Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, and rolling admissions — the application options will vary by school. Bowdoin only offers Early Decision, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision; however, it’s important to understand how these different application options work.
An Early Decision (or Early Decision II) application is binding, meaning you are committed to enrolling if you are admitted. Students can only apply to one school ED and if admitted, they must withdraw their applications from everywhere else. Early Action, while still an early option, is not binding. Students admitted through EA can choose to enroll elsewhere.
Regular Decision is a regular, non-binding application type and typically has the largest applicant pool. Finally, some schools offer rolling admissions, which is when applications are accepted and reviewed without a single deadline but on an ongoing, rolling basis.
Waitlisted Applications
Applicants who are not admitted or denied in the Regular Decision round may learn instead that they are waitlisted. If you are waitlisted, you have the option of accepting or declining your spot. For highly selective schools like Bowdoin, waitlist admission rates are often low — you may want to consider enrolling at another school.
Deferrals
Students who apply Early Decision may learn they are deferred, meaning their application will be reconsidered during the Regular Decision round. So, what should you do if you’ve been deferred? Each school will have a different policy regarding deferrals. At Bowdoin, students can submit fall semester grades and other relevant updates in the application portal.
How Hard Is It to Get into Bowdoin College: Early Prep
Bowdoin College is one of the top liberal arts colleges in New England and in the country. Admission has gotten increasingly more competitive through the years, and it is one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the country. It is a popular choice for students interested in a liberal arts education near Maine’s great outdoors. Students hoping to gain admission to Bowdoin need to start building a competitive profile in ninth grade.
Build Your Profile
Bowdoin College looks for highly engaged, curious, and bright young people who are ready to contribute to the campus’ lively academic discourse and student life.
Academic rigor and excellence carry significant weight during the application review process, though Bowdoin College employs the holistic application review process. This means that in addition to “hard” factors such as your GPA, admissions officers also look at your “soft” factors. This includes the extracurriculars you participate in and the interests that motivate you.
Visit the Campus
One of the best ways to find out if Bowdoin is right for you is by visiting the campus. You can schedule an official campus visit through the admissions office. You can book a campus tour and information session or just a student-led campus tour. If you can’t make it to campus, you can also register for a virtual programming.
Connect with a Student
Prospective students can connect with current Bowdoin students through the admissions office. If you register for an in-person tour, you can speak with your student tour guide. You can also register for a virtual student chat — a 60-minute Zoom meeting with a current Bowdoin student.
Learn About Any Student Experiences
You can learn about student experiences through Bowdoin’s website or by visiting campus. Bowdoin’s social media can also give you a lot of insight into student life. The student-run newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient, is another great source for learning about everyday life and events.
How Do You Actually Get into Bowdoin College: The Application
Bowdoin College uses the Common Application and Coalition Application. Regardless of which platform you choose, it is in your best interest to start your application as early as possible to allow plenty of time for feedback and revision. Once you submit your application, the admissions committee will base their decision on multiple hard and soft factors.
GPA Requirements
Bowdoin has no GPA requirement for admission, but they expect students to successfully handle a rigorous curriculum. Therefore, your GPA is one of the most important factors for admission. While Bowdoin does not report GPA data for admitted students, their Common Data Set for 2023-24 academic year reports class rank. Of the students in the class of 2028 who submitted that information, 86% graduated in the top 10% of their class.
SAT and ACT Scores
Bowdoin has been test-optional since 1969. That said, they do evaluate scores if they are submitted — and even superscore both tests — so it’s in the best interest of students who have high SAT or ACT scores to include them with their application. For the first-year students in fall 2023 who submitted scores, the middle 50% scored 1470-1530 on the SAT and 33-35 on the ACT. If your scores fall within or above this range, submitting them can give you a competitive edge.
Personal Statement
The personal statement is your response to one of the Common App essay prompts or Coalition Application prompts. This is an opportunity to tell the admissions committee more about you beyond what you included in your application, so it’s important to be thoughtful and authentic in your response.
Essays
Bowdoin has two optional essay supplements. If you’re serious about attending Bowdoin, it is in your best interest to respond to the prompts, since this demonstrates your interest in the school and provides even more insight into who you are. Both supplements are a maximum of 250 words.
The first supplement asks you to choose a line from Bowdoin’s “The Offer of the College” and explain how it holds meaning for you. The second optional prompt focuses on navigating through differences:
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.
You also have the opportunity to submit an optional video response. This is meant to be short and spontaneous, but it does provide admissions officers with another glimpse of your personality.
Letters of Recommendation
Bowdoin College requires three letters of recommendation: one from a teacher who has taught you in 11th or 12th grade in a core subject, one from your high school counselor, and another from any adult that can speak to your qualifications.
Teachers often receive multiple requests for recommendation letters, so it’s important to ask them early. Submit your request with a copy of your resume and some highlights of your best work. This will remind your teacher what to highlight in their letter.
Admission Interviews
A personal interview is strongly encouraged, though not required. Students can request an on-campus or virtual interview with a Bowdoin student or admissions officer. You can also interview virtually with a Bowdoin alumnus.
If you are serious about attending Bowdoin, consider scheduling an interview. It’s a more personalized opportunity to introduce yourself to Bowdoin and get your questions answered about the college.
Contribution to the Bowdoin College Community
Bowdoin College boasts a very active and robust campus. For a small college, there are many student activities to choose from, and the average student is very involved. Applicants to Bowdoin should strive to show a high level of involvement in high school. This will reflect well on their applications and show their likelihood of staying involved once they arrive on campus.
Bowdoin wants to see its students contribute to the community by living The Offer of the College. So, whether it be about “counting nature an intimate acquaintance” through leadership training with the Bowdoin Outing Club or “calling art a familiar friend” as a student curator at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, students contribute to the Bowdoin community through their commitment to The Offer of the College.
Finally, The Offer of the College encourages students to support and encourage each other rather than compete against one another. “To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work,” the Offer reads. This makes for a very supportive environment that promotes solidarity rather than cutthroat competition.
Class Profile
To understand how you might fit in at Bowdoin, it’s helpful to look at the class profile of the most recently admitted students. This can give you valuable information that can help you gauge your chances of admission. Here are some basic admission statistics for fall 2024:
What Makes Bowdoin College Unique?
Bowdoin College is the only college located in Midcoast Maine. It’s accessible to Portland and not far from Boston for students flying in from around the country. Its focus on environmental studies and interdisciplinary liberal arts learning is also unique.
Bowdoin offers more than 100 student clubs and activities. There’s something for everyone, including club and intramural sports and Division III NCAA sports that compete in the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference).
Bowdoin is also known for its world-class museums. The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is a beautiful neoclassical art museum known for its architecture, and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is named after Bowdoin graduates and Arctic explorers Robert E. Peary and Donald B. MacMillan.
Bowdoin is the right place for you if you’re a curious, self-starting student who wants to be immersed in a tight-knit, intellectual environment. With the ocean and the mountains at your doorstep, Maine is the perfect place for students looking to learn while surrounded by the great outdoors.
Bowdoin College FAQs
Where is Bowdoin College?
Bowdoin College is located in Brunswick, Maine.
What is Bowdoin College’s acceptance rate?
The acceptance rate for Bowdoin’s class of 2028 was 7.13%.
What is Bowdoin College’s ranking?
Both the U.S. News and World Report and Forbes rank Bowdoin fifth in the nation for liberal arts colleges.
What is Bowdoin College known for?
Bowdoin is known for its unique “The Offer of the College,” which was written in 1906 to describe what a Bowdoin education offers to students. Additionally, Bowdoin is known for its rigorous liberal arts curriculum, location in beautiful Midcoast Maine, and its world-class museums.
Is Bowdoin a good school?
Bowdoin is a highly selective school that attracts students from around the U.S. and the world. It is ranked in the top five among liberal arts colleges in the U.S. by both U.S. News and Forbes.
When does Bowdoin College release decisions?
Bowdoin has three decision rounds: Early Decision, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. Release dates are mid-December, early February, and mid-March, respectively.
Admission Counseling
Since Bowdoin College is small and so highly competitive, students must take advantage of every opportunity to set themselves apart from other applicants. It can be helpful to work with a college admissions counselor who can help you build a competitive profile and submit the strongest possible application.
At IvyWise, all our college admissions counselors have experience as admissions officers at some of the top colleges and universities in the U.S. They have read thousands of applications, so they know what makes students stand out. If you dream of attending Bowdoin, schedule an Initial Consultation with us to learn how we can help you achieve your goal.
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