COLBY vs. BOWDOIN vs. BATES

tlanton · 10-13-2008, 07:54 PM

can somebody give me the strengths or weakness on these schools?
what are the students like?
campus?

i'm only allowed to apply to one school in maine and i don't know which one to choose!!

ironmetal250 · 10-13-2008, 08:10 PM

Bowdoin is pretty much superior in every aspect, especially the natural sciences (imo)

ColdWind · 10-13-2008, 08:56 PM

Location, location, location. And the winner is....Bowdoin!

smoda61 · 10-13-2008, 09:07 PM

You need to know what you are looking for. D visited all three. Before visit the order of preference was Bowdoin, Colby, Bates. After, the order was Bates, Bowdoin, Colby. They struck us as very different in person. D will be applying to B & B while a good friend is ONLY applying to C.

ColdWind · 10-13-2008, 09:28 PM

Interesting. Lewiston, while not a very desirable location, is not Bates. It just seems that inevitably the students have to interact with the town & that does not seem like it would be a pleasant experience. I stress location in this instance because all three are small schools in terms of the number of students suggesting that the college experience will be impacted by interactions with the local townsfolk & businesses, in which case Bowdoin is by far the best option for a liberal arts education.

jarsilver · 10-13-2008, 11:00 PM

my mom and I spent like an hour just looking for a restaurant that was open in Lewiston. maybe we just couldn't find the cool part of town but I'd much rather live in a college kind of town like Brunswick even though it's way smaller. The locations are the same distance from Portland and Boston and either way you get that New England sort of feel, but the big difference besides the town itself is that Bowdoin is really close to the ocean.

I just visited Bates and Bowdoin today, and I had a pretty negative instant reaction to Bates and a pretty positive instant reaction to Bowdoin, going into it with very little prior information. Bowdoin is better in a lot of ways, in my opinion, but it is a matter of personal preference so you should visit if you can.

Bowdoin reminded me a lot of Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, etc.

Claire1016 · 10-13-2008, 11:06 PM

Bates is awesome. I had a great interview there and I got such good vibes... Bowdoin not so much. Bowdoin, like jarsilver said, is a lot like Amherst. I didn't really like either... too pretentious for me. All the students at Bates had a more laid back attitude. It seemed like they had the same dedication to academics without the cockyness or competativeness.

jarsilver · 10-13-2008, 11:09 PM

Bowdoin struck me as more laidback as Amherst, but more intellectual than Bates.

bclintonk · 10-13-2008, 11:59 PM

^ I concur with jarsilver: Bowdoin is both laidback and definitely more intellectual than Bates, which to D and I had the feel of an overgrown prep school. Brunswick is also a pretty cool little college town with easy access to a surprisingly lively Portland---and that access is about to get easier with construction of a new commuter rail line. Best of all, in my book, is that unlike Lewiston and Waterville, Brunswick is a coastal town. The Maine cost is just gorgeous.

smoda61 · 10-14-2008, 07:41 AM

We visited Colby and Bowdoin in Feb and then Bates in March. D did not like Colby. Felt is was too spread out and has a "Dartmouth" feel. (D also did not like Dartmouth) We went down to Bowdoin. It was so massively congested. D felt claustrophobic. Now this is the school D has wanted to go to since 8th grade so there was no negative bais. First encounter in admissions was awful. The student behind the desk should never be allowed to deal with prospective families. Unhelpful, whiney and dim. Tour was great, students were great and S of CCer met with us and discussed the school with us. Coast is there, which was an attraction, but it is still like a mile a way. We know the Maine coast well. D has spent every summer weekend directly on the Maine coast. (Literally, open the door and you are on the beach) School was more like Williams/Amherst. Bates, the campus had more space but was not as spread out as Colby. Architecture was all consistent. Food - it was the best of the three. Bates is a 4 4 1, Colby a 4 1 4, Bowdoin is regular semesters. D is VERY interested in what the 4 4 1 will do for her. Concentrations - she is very interested in the concentrations. We like everyone we met. Closest of the schools to Sunday River for skiing escapes.

Matching the three top kids in our school and those three Maine schools. The two #1s like Bates and Colby best, and #3 likes Bowdoin best.

I go back to the point that the OP needs to evaluate in the context of themselves.