Hard time choosing to ED/RD

College Search & Lists
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I really love Bowdoin. The warmth and size just makes it ideal for internationals like me. But I’m having a tough time choosing whether to ED2 or not. Everyone (including my parents) have an expectation of me entering schools like Harvard or Stanford. Though, I have a better idea of how competitive it is, I really would want to know if I could get into those schools. Even if I got accepted, is it bad to choose Bowdoin over Harvard?

I’ve been spiralling down this rabbithole for so long and I need outside perspective from anyone that has gone through this.

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Sorry, I’m confused. The application deadline has passed already, correct?

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Assuming you mean cultural warmth as the schools mascot is a polar bear for a reason beyond their library ornamentation.

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The ED 2 deadline for applying to Bowdoin was January 6.

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I applied RD but can always switch to ED2

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I applied RD but I’m considering switching to ED2

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If the ED application deadline was January 6, are you sure you can switch after that?

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Yes!

The portal has information about that and I’ll have to email the admissions office

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It sounds like you really want to hear all of your choices, and applying ED2 means you would not find out the results from Harvard, Stanford, etc. So those are the first questions to answer: would it be okay not to know? Would you choose Bowdoin over one of those schools?

If the answers are yes, yes, then you might sit down with your parents and see if you can sell them on Bowdoin. If there’s a “no” answer to one of the questions, then leave your Bowdoin application in RD.

fwiw, and to complicate things, it looks like Bowdoin has a sizeable bump for students applying ED. Take a look at this link for rates of acceptance in ED vs RD. You have to assume there’s athletes (and maybe legacy?) applying ED, but it’s still a pretty clear advantage, assuming you are a highly qualified candidate. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d1ad956be52e800010a2502/t/64c9441cc4f30a7873104eb5/1690911772829/ED+and+RD+Acceptance+Rates+Class+of+2026.pdf

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Here is my take. You are uncertain. Any ED application should be for a place which is your very top choice.

And my opinion further…it’s fine to like Bowdoin better than Harvard, etc.

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No. Bowdoin is very prestigious and people who matter will know of it. No idea where you are from, but if you plan to pursue a higher degree in your home country later, you will be well prepared and, almost certainly, even a foreign university will know of Bowdoin.

Your chances of getting into any college with a less than 15% acceptance rate are very small, even smaller if you need financial aid. Sounds like you really like Bowdoin. Do you really like Harvard and Stanford? Or do you like their names? Switch to ED2 if you think you will be happy there. Getting in RD is more difficult.

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You have already answered your own question. If your parents are “expecting” you to get into Harvard or Stanford, they must be seriously uninformed about the current admissions landscape. Have a serious conversation with your parents and then decide if you want to switch or “roll the dice” in RD.

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These schools are need blind, even for international applicants. But I agree that the chances here are very small.

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Need blind really only means they don’t look at finances when determining admissions.

With a very low acceptance rate, I’m not sure that matters that much.

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Yes, I know that. The previous poster wrote that needing financial aid reduces your chances for admission, which is not the case at need blind schools. I just wanted to clear that up for OP.

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Stanford isn’t need-blind for international. Harvard and Bowdoin are need-blind, but because of that, seemingly every international needing aid applies to them.

When the numerator (number of accepted internationals) doesn’t change, but the denominator (total applicants) gets larger, the acceptance rate drops.

The good news is that now Harvard is test-required, applications will likely drop, allowing the international acceptance rate to skyrocket from 1.9% to 2.1%

Anyway, if the OP is still struggling to decide, then maybe ED2 isn’t the right option

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Yes, I think I wouldn’t ED after reading the comments and everything. I think it’s more like a choice issue so I’ll just leave the RD round there and choose from the schools I hopefully get admitted to

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For further perspective, a prominent respondent to the Proust Questionnaire once associated his choosing of Harvard over an LAC with his “greatest regret”:

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We like both Brunswick Maine (where Bowdoin is) and Harvard Square. There is of course more to do in or near Harvard Square plus Boston, but Brunswick is a nice small town. We are in both locations quite frequently (and I have a master’s degree from Stanford) so feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Regarding the quality of an undergraduate education I would consider Bowdoin to be a peer of Harvard and Stanford. All three are exceptional. Since Harvard and Stanford are a lot larger, there is a much greater range of possible majors. If Bowdoin has your major, the quality of education that you will get there will be very similar to the quality of education that you would get at Harvard or at Stanford.

Stanford is most likely the best of the three for computer science and most forms of engineering. For my major, mathematics, Stanford and Harvard are better known but I would expect Bowdoin to also be very very strong. They are all very good for a range of other majors, but of course a wider range at the larger schools.

Harvard and Stanford are generally better known. However, graduate admissions at pretty much any university in the US will know how strong Bowdoin is.

As an international student, you should assume that you will need to leave the US and return to your home country after graduation. This might depend upon where you are from, but it is likely that employers in your country might know Harvard and Stanford much better than they know Bowdoin (if they have even heard of Bowdoin).

If a daughter had gotten accepted to all three, I would have suggested that they attend whichever university would be a better fit for them, or whichever would have been more affordable.

And admissions at any of the three would be a reach for almost any student. If you are the top student in your country and you have won a Nobel Prize, then admissions is likely. Without the Nobel Prize, any of the three are a reach.

And right now it is -6 Celsius in Brunswick Maine, and a bit windy, which is okay but not what I would call “warm”. :slight_smile:

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I understand. I should have been more clear in my answer. So many international stduents apply, in part, because these college are need blind and the competition is ferocious. International students have to be the best of the best in their country to even have a shot. My point was intended to be that due to the nature of the pool of internationals applying, the odds are very, very small.

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