Bowdoin College Reviews

"Bowdoin is a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. On the one hand, the academics and financial support are consistently fantastic. Essentially every professor I've had here has been incredibly supportive both in and outside of the classroom. Because the school is so small, opportunities for individualized professional/academic undertakings are numerous; I've been lucky to design several independent courses and research projects with professors that were completely in alignment with my niche academic interests. As a lower-income student, I understand complaints re: elitism, but they honestly do come across as sort of privileged and ignorant of how lower-income students at less supportive schools struggle. At most other schools I would not have been able to get my degree without incurring any student debt, nor would I have been able to secure funding for unpaid internships and research projects every single summer I was here. Yes of course there is a legitimately classist WASP-y contingent of students here, but I feel like outside of their own group they are largely viewed as cheugy and irrelevant. Most of the rich kids I've met here are either well-intentioned/occasionally ignorant or just straight up embarrassed by how wealthy they are. In spite of the positives, though, I don't think that I would really recommend Bowdoin to anyone hoping to actually enjoy a well-rounded college experience. This is a newer development, and a precursory glance at any recent opinion pieces addressing the changing campus culture in our school paper (bowdoinorient.com) would lend you a lot of clarity. Obviously the pandemic led to social changes at every school, but there is a general sense of agreement amongst current students and alum that Bowdoin's administration really seized the opportunity that the pandemic presented to push unpopular policies effectively neutering the already incredibly tame social scene on campus with no regard for the student experience. I don't consider myself to be a super hard partier or anything, but the extent to which this schools culture and traditions have been sterilized is incredibly disheartening; more and more this place feels like a middle school summer camp than it does an actual college. Bowdoin is incredibly rigorous academically and there are really no avenues for blowing off steam and having fun. Off-campus parties are heavily policed, on-campus parties are neutered (one college house was put on probation for holding an event where students were handcuffed to their buddies for the evening), and college-sponsored events featuring blow-up castles aren't seen as demeaning for a population of 1,800 twenty-year old's. They are tearing down WBOR, the beloved student-run radio station, to make space for an arctic studies building that no one I have talked to seems to understand why we need. They are cancelling Ivies, the traditional three-day party weekend held every year to celebrate the end of winter that is essentially the only fun weekend wherein the entire campus community gathers together and blows off steam. Insultingly, the administration has justified this move citing alcohol abuse and Title IX violations, as if heavy drinking won't just move into less safe underground spaces and assault is the fault of the victims for trying to have fun. Students are feeling exhausted, isolated, and ignored. Mental health on campus is at an all-time low; the Bowdoin counselors are each seeing 8-12 students a day while the national average for a counselor is 6. Although that is not entirely Bowdoin's fault, the immense pressure that Bowdoin students face coupled with an increasingly isolated and depressing campus environment only serves to make the situation worse. I sincerely hope that eventually the current administration is phased out and that Bowdoin can return to being the unique place that many of us originally fell in love with. While our current board made up of hedge fund managers and Jeffery Epstein's former pals has appointed a president who runs Bowdoin like a degree-churning out business, the students and faculty really make this place special. It's a real shame that our voices and experiences have been subdued to the extent that they have. For those interested in Bowdoin, I'd recommend checking out Bates."

"Bowdoin College offered a lifetime experience of education as well as life experience. With the small student size I was able to have close connection with professors and make life long friends. While studying biology and environmental studies I was able to spend significant class time on the Maine coast studying the rocky intertidal. The hands on experience was remarkable and added to an experience of a lifetime. I loved my time at Bowdoin."

"Whether its the Outing Club, the Literary Magazine, the Film Society, or an a Capella group, there is always something for every kind of person to get involved in. Also, people here are incredibly friendly and willing to go out of their way to help you. Bowdoin's size, with 1700 students, really enables this sense of community"

"Bowdoin does a really good job of helping incoming first years find out what they want to major in and fulfill all their graduation requirements. There aren't too many requirements so you're able to take a lot of different types of courses."