| I'm currently a student at Bowdoin...I was initially concerned about the size after coming from a 2100 person high school, but it usually doesn't feel TOO small. After awhile you will recognize a lot of people, but its still big enough that you don't really know everyone.
Most of the students here are pretty liberal, but there is a small but mighty bastion of conservatives to balance out the spectrum. For the most part students seem to be politically aware, but not necessarily super involved. This year is obviously a little different because of the elections but I wouldn't say it's a hugely politically active campus like you might find at schools like Wesleyan or Brown.
As far as staying on campus on weekends, it really depends. You can completely isolate yourself and stay on campus forever if you want to, though it's fairly easy to get out. There's a shuttle to Freeport and Portland on weekends, and the Outing Club does tons of trips all the time if you want to explore Maine. Sometimes I do feel like I get tired of being stuck inside the "Bowdoin Bubble" but it's more a matter of being proactive and seeking something interesting to do, because there certainly are many opportunities to do so.
This segues into your question about weekend life - there are usually tons of things going on around campus every weekend. Like Kata said, there are parties and artsy things and sporty things and outdoorsy things etc etc etc.
The dorms and food are amazing. I've visited a lot of friends at other schools and am still convinced that our dorms are great and our food is the best. The freshmen dorms are beautiful.
To answer your question about professors, it's very easy to get to know your professors, even freshman year. Freshman fall I was in a big history class of 35 and my prof still knows my name and says hi to me when she sees me around campus.
There are a handful of things that sometimes bug me about Bowdoin but for the most part there really isn't anything to complain about. |