Snucky123

Any ideas?

pb2002

big v. small. i think that's what this will come down to. i knew a handful of people at bowdoin who chose it over cornell, although not too many simply because the schools are so different in size. visit each and get a sense of the campuses. that will likely be illuminating. or, you could just choose bowdoin and if you don't like it, transfer to cornell. i think, because of cornell's size, it has a better ability to absorb transfers than the other way around. it's nearly impossible to get into bowdoin as a transfer. note: i would encourage the latter strategy ONLY if you have no other way of deciding. but i bet one of them will feel more like "home."

jorr08

it depents on prestige for u, and what u want to go into

pb2002

i'd say they're equally prestigious, although many more people know of cornell because of its size.

wedgedrive

What is Bowdoin particularly known for?

pb2002

government, chemistry/biology, english in terms of subjects. i'm not sure what you're asking, though. bowdoin is known for many things, given it's alumni.

Snucky123

yeah I;m going to revisit both, but I'm definitely leaning heavily towards Bowdoin.

twowire

It probably would be easier to land a job after undergrad if you attend Cornell. However, if you are leaning towards the possibility of grad school, both a equally prestigious.

wedgedrive

pb2002, I am glad to hear Bowdoin is strong in chemistry. How about math & music? Also, how writing-intensive is the school?

pb2002

bowdoin is a very writing intensive school. in fact, one of my professors in a seminar my first year spent so much time on one of my papers that he demonstrated how a few sentences would be better written. so, aside from the full page of comments at the end about the content, he was also exceptionally hands on about technique.

bowdoin's math and music departments are small, but strong. i know majors in both who were very happy with their experiences. i'd go ahead and contact the departments directly, though, if you want to know more. if you have a specific interest in music, say, that the department can't meet, i'm sure they'll be candid. they're not going to shill for bowdoin.

wedgedrive

Thanks pb2002. Your comments are helpful.

guildenstern

A note about writing-intensive programming: Bowdoin requires every first year take a freshman seminar that focuses on honing writing skills. These seminars are offered in multiple fields, so if you aren't an English person, you won't be stuck writing literature analyses. Anyways, these seminars are very helpful for an introduction to college writing. There is also an on-campus writing workshop where you can bring your paper and writing assistants (other students - you get matched up with them by field of concentration) will help you direct your ideas, proofread, etc. I would say in general because Bowdoin is a liberal arts school it's very writing intensive - I had essay response questions on one of my physics exams.

Re: the Bowdoin and Cornell debate. I think these schools attract very different types of students. There was actually a kid on my freshman floor who transferred to Cornell from Bowdoin. He was very competitive academically, which didn't mesh with a lot of people's academic styles here at Bowdoin - people work hard and are competitive with themselves, but are still pretty chill about things and it's definitely not cutthroat. I don't know how he ended up liking Cornell after he transferred, but I do know that it was fairly easy for him to transfer from Bowdoin to Cornell.

The math department at Bowdoin I would characterize as being small but mighty. All the math majors I know are very pleased with the curriculum. As for music - we just finished building a new recital hall and a bunch of practice rooms, so the facilities are top notch. Music as an extracurricular is very popular here (we've got a cappella groups coming out of our ears and all sorts of chamber ensembles, etc.), but I think the major is a relatively small program. The small size probably is beneficial in this case since you get more attention and it's more individualized.

oliver

Writing also depends on your major. I'm a Computer Science / Math person, and I haven't written a LOT since about a year ago. I end up writing a lot of code, but that's different. And I'm currently writing an Honors Project - but in terms of having a bunch of papers, I haven't had one due yet in my senior year (well, scratch that, I had a 1 pager due last semester)

Bustles

If you're talking prestige, just pointing out that Bowdoin is most selective than Cornell... jusssst pointing out.

Iirokotree

...im not too sure about them being "more selective." This year I heard that Bowdoin was accepting students with less than stellar stats. I believe they were really big on seeing ECs and student accomplishment rather than actual academic records. But this is just based on people that I know who got in so I may be wrong.