Founded in 1794, Located at Brunswick, Maine Bowdoin College is one of the most selective colleges to take admission with an acceptance rate of around 10%. The college is known to be one of the best colleges in Liberal arts. The college has 1805 students with 51% female students. In 2023 college received 9332 applications out of which only 832 students were admitted taking the acceptance rate to a new selective percentage of 8.9%.
Bowdoin College offers only undergraduate programs in over 40 academic areas mainly Government and Legal Studies, Economics, Mathematics, Biology, Environmental Studies, History, Computer Science, Neuroscience, English, and Psychology. 71% of classes of the college have less than 20 students and 97% of faculty are highly qualified in their areas of academics.
- The College enrolls around 800 students. Around 61% of the total students are Whites, 10% are Hispanics or Latinos and approximately 9% of a total number of students is from more than 54 countries representing international student community on the campus.81% of the students come from outside the state and only 10% are from the state who get enrolled at the college.
- Bowdoin College, known as one of the most selective colleges for admission has an acceptance rate of 10% and has a high 98% retention rate. The graduate percentage is approximately 95% and 93% of the graduating students are able to get jobs within 2 years of their passing out earning USD 65,500 per year on an average.
- The College accepts admission applications for all the Fall sessions and gives an option of the early decision through different deadlines.
- The College is ranked very highly at #6 in National Liberal Arts Colleges, #5 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and #12 in Best Value Schools as per US News and World report.
- Companies and institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital, Deloitte Consulting, Fulbright, Google, Teach for America, Facebook, Barclays, and US Government, including the State Department and the Department of Energy are known for recruiting Bowdoin graduates.
- A nonrefundable admission application fee of USD 65 is charged by the college. The cost of attendance for an academic year is approximately USD 73,800.
Highlights
| Admission requirements for international students | Bowdoin accepts the common application and coalition application at . |
| Application Fee (Non-refundable) | USD 65 |
| Acceptance rate | 10% |
| Mode of Payment | Credit/Debit card or Check |
| Student-Faculty Ratio | 9:1 |
| SAT/ACT | Optional/Not required |
| Academic Calendar | Semester based |
| Intake Sessions | Fall with Early decision option |
| Financial Aid | Only Grants, and Scholarships, the college has no loans as aid. |
Acceptance rate
Bowdoin College is very selective about the applicant they want to offer seats to. Total applicant was 9,402 and only 861 were admitted in 2022, acceptance rate of Bowdoin College was only 9.16%. Total international student were only 11% of entire population accepted.
Admission Deadlines
Bowdoin College, Maine USA accepts applications for the Fall semester with early decision deadlines which are given for reference. The applications have to be completed online either through the common application or the coalition application available on the website of the college.
Undergraduate
| Semester | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Early Decision I | Nov. 15 |
| Early Decision II | Jan. 1 |
| Regular Decision | Jan. 1 |
| Transfer | Mar. 1 |
Bowdoin College International Student Admissions
The students can make an online application through the university’s online portal.
Admission Requirements for International Students
- Completed Online common or coalition application.
- A non-refundable USD 65 application fee.
- Submit official (translated in English) copies of all Academic records starting from High school and above through the institution.
- English language proficiency test scores (TOEFL iBT, IELTS, or other accepted tests).
- Scores of Standardized Exams to study in the USA are optional for admission.
- An essay stating why you want to join the university. Interviews are preferred but not compulsory. Students can submit an additional letter of reference in lieu of an interview.
- Submit a financial statement with original supporting documents from a reputed financial institution confirming that the applicant has sufficient funds to cover tuition.
- Letters of recommendation to study in US
- Passport ID pages Copy
- Any other program-related documentation specified by the university.
- The applicants may use the email address admissions@bowdoin.edu for their admission related queries.
- The college also accepts international transfer students.
Issuance of I20 or IAP 66 may take 6 to 8 week’s time. Applicants need to keep this in time and must start the application process keeping in mind the start date of the session they are applying for.
English Proficiency Test Score for International Students
International applicants have to demonstrate English proficiency through one of the internationally recognized standardized examinations in English. Applicants are also requested to check the course-wise specific requirements of different departments before seeking admission.
Undergraduate Students
Visa Process for International Students
Applicants must submit a complete application with all the documents after which they will receive Form I-20 or IAP66 from the Institute. The documents needed to receive I-20/IAP66 are :
- Application form, Resume, Essay, and recommendation letters.
- Copies ID pages of the passport
- An official copy of the academic Transcripts of all qualifications achieved prior to seeking admission.
- Proof of financial support (Bank statement/ Sponsor letter)
- Passport pages showing identification, date of birth and residential address information
- After receiving I-20, the applicant should apply for a student visa (F-1 visa) to study in the USA at the US Embassy by fulfilling the Embassy requirements of filing a completed application form and depositing the fee.
- For obtaining a US visa, In-person interviews and Biometrics are compulsory, which should be scheduled and attended by the applicant at the nearest Embassy office.
- Maintaining the timeline is extremely important and always factor in a week extra to avoid last minutes contingencies.
Additional information
- Applicant can request application fee waiver, if such amount presents financial hardship to their family.
- Bowdoin supplement is in ‘question” section of application. In that section there are certain compulsory questions which need to be filled. There is also an essay which is option.
- Three recommendation letters are required out of which one should be from school counsellor, one from high school teacher who taught core academic subject like English, math, lab sciences, social sciences, and foreign languages and one from wither teacher or from someone who can speak about applicants contribution.
- Standardized test score are optional for all international student, instead they accept English proficiency test.
- Bowdoin College accepts TOEFL ITP Plus for china with Vericant interview. If applicant had English as their language of instruction for four years in high school then they can request for English requirement waiver.
- Some additional material that applicant can provide to the university includes interview, art supplement or video response.
- Interview is accepted through third party and the college does not take interview them elf for international student. It is not compulsory, applicant can submit additional recommendation letter in lieu of an interview.
Bowdoin College Undergraduate Admissions
The college offers only courses in over 40 academic areas mainly Government and Legal Studies, Economics, Mathematics, Biology, Environmental Studies, History, Computer Science, Neuroscience, English, and Psychology.
| Requirements | Bachelors in Computer science | Bachelors in Environmental Studies | Bachelors in Legal Studies | Bachelors in Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Online common or coalition application | Online common or coalition application | Online common or coalition application | Online common or coalition application |
| Admission deadline | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall |
| Transcripts | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| TOEFL | iBT 100 | iBT 100 | iBT 100 | iBT 100 |
| IELTS | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| SAT/ACT | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Recommendations | Two academic/ professional references required | Two academic/ professional references required | Two academic/ professional references required | Two academic/ professional references required and a performance portfolio is also needed. |
| Personal Essay | Required (250-500 words) | Required (250-500 words) | Required (250-500 words) | Required (250-500 words) |
| Financial Form | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Decision time | 3-4 weeks | 3-4 weeks | 3-4 weeks | 3-4 weeks |
The college has a very competitive admission procedure and requests the applicants to give an email address which is durable and is regularly used by the applicant. The college also tries to keep the financial needs to international students in mind and helps with grants and scholarships.
The college also advises the applicants to request scheduling of interviews only after they have submitted their admission applicants if the applicants are interested in appearing for an interview with the admission committee.
For any admission related query the applicants may contact at admissions@bowdoin.edu.
FAQs
Ques. What is application fee for Bowdoin College?
Ans. Application fees of Bowdoin College $65USD.
Ques. If I cancel my application, can I get my application fees back?
Ans. No, an application fee for Bowdoin College is non-refundable.
Ques. Can I request for application fee waiver?
Ans. If application fee would cause your family a financial hardship then you can request for application fee waiver.
Ques. Which English proficiency test is accepted by Bowdoin College?
Ans. Bowdoin College accepts TOEFL, IELTS, duo lingo English test and Cambridge English assessment as proof of English proficiency.
Ques. Can I request for English proficiency requirement waiver?
Ans. If you have attended 4 year in high school which had English as their language of instruction then you can ask for English proficiency requirement waiver.
Ques. What is the acceptance rate of Bowdoin College?
Ans. Acceptance rate of Bowdoin College was only 9.16% in 2022 and has record of being very selective.
Ques. Is interview compulsory for international student?
Ans. No, interview is optional for all students. If you want to submit interview then you can but you will have to give interview to third party like Initial view or Vericant. If you can submit interview then you can submit additional recommendation in lieu of interview.
Ques. Is test optional in Bowdoin College for international student?
Ans. Yes, test optional is applicable to all international students.
Ques. Is their financial aid available for international student?
Ans. Yes, all international students have financial aid option like scholarship and grant.
Ques. Is personal statement/essay optional for Bowdoin College?
Ans. Essay is optional for Bowdoin College but there is a question section in application where you will have to answer questions which are compulsory.
