Well, actually… Bowdoin was the hardest school in the country to get into in 1980 (as measured by % accepted, I believe.). But you’re right, known mostly in the northeast (and most of the students from New England.) Since it’s pretty consistently been in the top 5 LACs (in the ratings), it’s remained really selective and has attracted students looking for “prestige.” Colby and Bates have also benefited from their high ratings, I suspect. But then again, they’ve all worked at getting and maintainting them.
But to your point, there’s been a huge move by a lot of schools that used to be largely regional to develop"national". profiles. Most of them have always been excellent schools, but have primarily served their own regions. Stanford, WUSTL, Tufts are just a few that come to mind.
But changing who you are is hard without a good development program. The arms race for facilities has been unbelievable!. (I don’t recall if you’ve done the college tour thing yet, but WOW, not the facilities we had back in the day – sushi bars, beautiful spa-like gym facilities for the whole student body – not just the athletes, unlimited swipe dining halls, etc. And that’s before you get to labs, performance spaces, and libraries!) But the other thing that we learned is that up and coming schools are happy to buy their talent with merit aid, and I can’t think of a more expedient way to change a school (and its reputation.) Having a war-chest certainly helps with that.
One of the interesting things too is how as the Maine schools have gotten so popular in the Northeast, northeasterners have “discovered” their counterparts in Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa – to name a few. And vice versa. All rather fascinating. Personally, I’m curious to see what happens as the current boom of young people wanes. I suspect that international students will be happy to step in. But I fear I’m rambling and taking this thread in a different direction…