Please chance me and match for Bowdoin ED and other schools!

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • US citizen applying from international
  • State/Location of residency: Maine, lived there for 5 years
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): international school
  • Other special factors: none

Cost Constraints / Budget
40,000 usd per year

Intended Major(s)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.78
  • Weighted HS GPA: 3.94/4.3 (ap class 0.5 bump)
  • Class Rank: n/a
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1460 (700 EBRW / 760 Math)

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: AP Lit AP lang
  • Math: Ap Calc AB, Calc C
  • Science: bio, chem, ap physics 1, ap bio, ap csp
  • History and social studies: ap macro, ap psych, humanities
  • Language other than English: Self-taught to C1 level german, self-took ap german, french 3, native chinese equivalent course
  • Visual or performing arts: band, tuba,
  • Other academic courses: linguistics, chinese history

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)

  • General education course work:n/a
  • Major preparation course work:n/a

Awards

ap scholar with distinction
international linguistics olympiad merit

Extracurriculars
Magazine President, lauching digital platform, advised by AP Lang teacher
Center back in Varsity Soccer
V6/V7 in Climbing/Bouldering
University-affiliated Research in Language technology project
Tuba in concert band; member of a cappella group
Co-published in juridical blog with internaitonal police on fake document prevention
Self-taught German to C1; taught weekly beginner German sessions
Ambassador for Chinese-German Youth Exchange
Organized school exchange programs and school Open Day events
Family Responsibility: caregiver for younger sister

(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

Essays/LORs/Other
AP Lang teacher (also magazine advisor) (8.5/10)
French & Linguistics teacher (8/10)
Counselor (9/10)

Personal statement + Bowdoin supplements completed. Self-rated: 8/10
wrote about navigating sexuality in supp

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

  • ED1 to Bowdoin College

  • ED2 to Middleburry

  • EA: UMich, Purdue, UIUC, UVA, colorado college

If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely:
  • Likely:
  • Toss-up:
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability:
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btw applying for german, sociology linguistics or psychology

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Have you run the net price calculators?

Bowdoin and Midd:

I’d say no to Bowdoin and MIdd if I had to guess - but hopefully I’m wrong. Your SAT is a bit low (lower than the 25th percentile) but less than half submit. Midd is similar but you barely hit the 25th%.

So you have a chance at both but I’d lean no. But the ED helps.

But it’s binding so make sure your family has run the NPC - so you can go there for $40K if you get in. If the NPC doesn’t hit budget so don’t apply at all…or certainly not ED.

Colorado College - I’m guessing no because it’s a wealthy kid school - less than half get aid and they are need aware. Unless you bring something (first gen, minority), I’m thinking no - but that’s the only reason. Again, run the NPC - if it’s not $40K, trash it.

I’m confused by ED here but the rest are large. If you want an LAC, then add LACs that will hit merit as target/safeties:

If you want an LAC there’s many that could come close if not hit $40K with merit aid - from Rhodes to Allegheny to Kalamazoo to Wooster and more. St. Olaf is popular on this website and has big offers. Whitman gives an aid pre-read before you apply. I think you can get close to $40K at many LACs with merit.

As for the large schools, I’d lose Michigan and Illinois.

Michigan is $80K+ and higher the last two years - that’s today. So I don’t see how that should be on your list but you can run the NPC as they do have aid.. UVA meets need - run the NPC.

I was going to suggest Purdue but see you have it. FSU would be another to hit - and UF gets close.

UIUC is definitely not getting you close to cost.

Given your stats, look at Alabama (it’s assured because you’ll be mid 20s with automerit). And don’t worry that it’s not up to snuff - it has as many, if not the most, NMFs in the country. They buy smart kids in. Others that would hit - U Kansas, WVU, the Missisippi schools, some SUNYs. You can look at UNC too - as they meet need. And why not U Maine?

When you have a budget, you need to build a list for the budget.

Good luck.

Edit - I missed the LGBTQ that @Shelby_Balik addressed. Obviously, there are LGBTQ students everywhere but each student has to determine their comfort in given locations, etc. or if it’s an issue at all. Blue states that would hit $40K with merit include New Mexico (UNM would be well under budget) and perhaps some of the SUNYs and maybe Temple in PA (you’d have to check). URI perhaps too.

But schools like Kalamazoo, Wooster, Ursinus, Juniata, Susquehanna, Beloit, Whitman - may not be to the level you’d like - but are solid schools that may get you to $40K that will be likely admits.

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Are SAT’s required at Bowdoin?

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They made TO cool b4 TO became a thing - from their website:

Bowdoin has been test optionalsince 1969. Our test-optional policy allows applicants to decide for themselves whether or not their SAT or ACT results accurately reflect their academic ability and potential. For candidates electing to submit them, test scores will be reviewed along with other indicators of academic ability. Applicants have the option to select some test types and not others for review (for example, a student might choose to use their SAT scores, but not their ACT). Applicants have until the application deadline to change their test optional choice their scores.

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I think your GPA and scores are on the low side for Bowdoin and Middlebury, but there’s a much more pronounced ED advantage for Middlebury, so if you really love these schools, you might consider Middlebury as your ED1 school. (On the other hand: Bowdoin might reserve some spots for Maine students, as Bates and Colby do, in which case applying early might pay off.)

I’m not sure if you will require merit aid, need-based aid, or a combination of both to get to your budget, but these schools have pretty generous merit aid and might be to your liking if you also like Middlebury and Bowdoin (and they’re somewhat easier admits): Conn College, Sarah Lawrence, Mount Holyoke (if you identify as female), Dickinson, Macalester, Oberlin, Grinnell, Beloit, and St. Olaf. All would be comfortable campuses for an LGBTQ+ student (I’m gathering from your essay topic), though Iowa and Ohio (Grinnell and Oberlin) are far less so.

If you need to get to $40,000 on merit alone, most of these schools will not do that, but it’s worth running the NPCs.

Note: For St. Olaf, there is a separate music scholarship application for those intending to play their instrument, even as non-majors. That could augment their already generous merit aid. It’s due the same time as the regular application and requires a separate letter of recommendation from a music teacher (school or private teacher) and an audition (in person or recorded and uploaded). It’s a nice opportunity for those who want to continue to play but don’t want to commit to a music major.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Cornell College (IA, not NY), which also has extremely generous merit aid, especially for musicians (I don’t know if their music scholarships are open to non-majors like St. Olaf’s are, so you’d want to check). If you like Colorado College’s modular classes, Cornell College has the same thing. It allows for a lot of flexibility, including study away/abroad (because you don’t have to commit to a whole semester away). Merit is generous even if you don’t go for a music scholarship, but do look into music. My D23 had a friend who did not qualify for need-based aid but had an extremely limited budget. She ended up at Cornell with a combination of general merit and music scholarships that made it affordable. Then again, rural Iowa might not be the friendliest place for an LGBT student, so it’s worth investigating a little.

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Yep, my dad received a large bonus reflected in his 2024 tax return, so our financial picture is pretty skewed. For Bowdoin, the expected family contribution came out to around $47,000, but without that one-time bonus, it would be closer to $38,000. I’m considering writing an appeal to explain that the bonus was an anomaly and shouldn’t be used to determine our long-term ability to pay.

Gotcha, I don’t have first-gen or underrepresented minority status (I’m an Asian male). I’ll definitely be looking at St. Olaf; Shelby_Balik and you both mentioned it, too.

I’ve already applied to UMaine but forgot to include it in my original post; it would cost around $12,000 per year. I’m not particularly drawn to Alabama as a state, so I’ll likely skip that option.

And yes to the SUNY schools and Temple in Pennsylvania!

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I’d say Bowdoin is really one of the few U.S. school I’m deeply invested in. I grew up near there and feel a strong connection to the area. For safeties, I have several top universities in Germany that cost around $3,000 per year, so I’m covered on that front financially.

That said, I’ll definitely add St. Olaf, Oberlin, Macalester, and Cornell College to my U.S. list as additional options to consider.

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Not saying to apply to Bama. Giving you options at the price point. Run all NPCs or take advantage of schools that pre merit. In Maine, you also have access to the New England Consortium. If you want small, schools like MCLA could work. Others that would work - a bit more regional but smaller - Salisbury, Christopher Newport, Mary Washington. They are public LACs.

While I think appeals should come after admission, if the NPC says $47k and you get in you are bound. So you have to find the extra $$

I would not expect a school to bite on a bonus. I don’t know his situation but many people, myself included, get an annual bonus. Yes they were more robust during Covid but a school still has to assume consistency. But you can ask.

Btw - just throwing out there - if your list was Bates and Holy Cross - I’d say two for two :). Don’t know the cost but I’d expect Bowdoin to be more generous than most other meets need schools.

I think to find merit money, you have to go to schools that need kids and accomplished ones like you to help bring them up. Many of these show up on PhD feeders so that’s good- they are quality names - but Muhlenberg, Susquehanna, Kalamazoo, Beloit, Allegheny, Washington College (in MD), Juanita, Wheaton in Mass… these are the kind of schools likely to throw $$ at you. Washington & Jefferson, Drew, etc etc. I don’t think Iowa is for you if Alabama isn’t but if it is, add Coe and Drake.

If your budget is strict, be careful - ask b4 applying. I don’t think a bonus gives you a win but you could work summers or during the year to bridge the gap.

You can try Mac and Oberlin but I’m guessing they’ll be more than Bowdoin. You need to move down in selectivity for the big bucks. Or apply to publics that simply get you to your # in advance.

Best of luck.

Ps - if you want to go to school in the U.S., you have no issue at $40k - even in blue states.

Pps - still confused, outside of Bowdoin do you want a large or small ? You might consider changing out of Midd for ED2 to Bates or Holy Cross unless you really want Midd ? What’s its NPC say ? And Bates and Holy Cross ?

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Have your run the NPCs? You absolutely should not apply ED anywhere unless you or your parents have run the NPC and found that it is likely to be affordable. Bowdoin and Middlebury are of course way, way over $40,000 per year unless you qualify for quite a bit of financial aid.

And if you do qualify for financial aid, they are most likely reaches anyway (maybe low reaches, but still rejection from both is more likely than acceptance to either).

If Bowdoin and Middlebury are likely to be good fits for you, then I would be surprised if Michigan is also a good fit for you. I am also skeptical regarding whether Michigan will be affordable if you do get in.

Colorado College was the only school that either daughter was rejected from for undergraduate admissions, and it was with stats that were not all that far off from yours. To be honest both parents were relieved since it is so far away. You might get in, but it also is definitely not a safety for admissions. I also doubt that it would be a safety for affordability.

I do not see a safety on your list. Seven rejections are IMHO possible, or perhaps n rejections and 7-n unaffordable acceptances.

If you want to look slightly North (from Maine), two schools that might be worth considering might be Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec, and Mount Allison in Sackville, New Brunswick. Both are good at linguistics and have German as a major. Sociology and psychology are of course available at a wide range of schools. Bishop’s is by the way a small university in a nearly totally bilingual town next to a French speaking city in a French province in a bilingual country, so linguistics and languages might be expected to be a strength and they are. Mount Allison is usually the top ranked small primarily undergraduate university in Canada, and is in the only officially bilingual province, so again linguistics and languages might be expected to be a strength. Admissions at both would be very likely. Merit aid is possible but I am pretty sure that you would meet your budget even without merit aid (keep the exchange rate in mind).

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What is your intended major?

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Linguistics/german/sociology/psychology depending on the school

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What do you mean depending on the school?

German is a far cry from psych, etc.

I figured you just meant they all interest you and an LAC won’t require a major so…

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University of Massachusetts Amherst is a top school for Linguistics. Their strong program in Psychology can be supplemented by courses at neighboring Amherst College, which is very strong in Psychology. Cross registration for UMass students is available at Amherst.

Connecticut College is a small liberal arts college which is strong in foreign languages and where Psychology is a very popular major. In addition to offering a major in German, they offer a minor in Linguistics. You would probably be competitive for a merit scholarship there.

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CC meets need to. I don’t think merit gets to $40k though. OP can run the NPC. It’s another I thought of for ED2 vs Midd - if the student wanted better odds.

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well some lacs dont have one or the other, so for bowdoin, the academic interest areas would be german, psych and sociology, because they dont have linguistics

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Some colleges will disregard one time income . You may have to wait until you are accepted and get your aid award and then appeal. The css profile has a section for special circumstances which we filled out (also for one time income) and all the schools ignored it. But when we appealed after my son was accepted , they all took it into account and provided additional need-based aid.

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thank you for your insight here!

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thank you! I will definitely be checking them out

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My concern here is if the NPC says $47k and you ED, you are accepting that it will come in at $47k.

The argument that it’s more expensive doesn’t really hold weight, I wouldn’t think - if you need more money, I would think, by ethical standard, the student should apply RD, not ED. Or assume that if they get in, their cost will be $47k. If they appeal and get no more money, they would be bound at $47k.

We don’t know the bonus is one time.

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