Midwest vs. New England

bicoastalmom
Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:26:14 +0000

We visited Colby and Bowdoin 2 yrs ago. I would agree with Consolation that Bowdoin’s location was appealing (to me) as it is in Brunswick, a charming small town with a variety things to do off campus, and not far from Portland, which offers even more without that “big city” feeling. On the other hand, the Colby campus was beautiful, and everybody there was incredibly friendly. We visited a lake nearby where their crew team practices - really breathtaking. I would think that one would have to like winter sports (Hockey, Skiing) to love being at a place like Colby because it is a pretty rural location, and the winters in Maine are LONG!
We did not visit Bates, but I know two young ladies who attend/addended the school, and they are among the most “down-to-earth”, outdoors oriented and non-materialistic well-rounded individuals that I know. They both come from a wealthy NY suburb, but something at Bates that made them like they belonged there.
Another thing, just because parents may be able to afford to send their child to college without financial aid doesn’t mean that the child will not be “down to earth”. Not mutually exclusive.
It may be interesting to note that my brother-in-law and his wife live 10 miles from Brunswick, ME and their son is a junior at Carleton. He wanted to leave Maine and exerience something different…
Our son decided he felt more comfortable in an urban environment. He also focused on which schools had the best programs in the field in which he thought he was most interested. Granted, that may change, but to start off trying to narrow down 10 schools, take a close look at the programs of study which interest you most at this point - good place to start.