Bowdoin College

I attended Bowdoin College starting in 2000 as a student coming from the South. I knew going to college in rural Maine was going to send me many thousands of miles from home and with that would come culture shock. I still remember walking around in one of the cafeterias there and asking a friend to tell me what a "knish" was. Once again, I come from the rural South, so I've grown up on a pretty simple diet of fried taters, beans, and cornbread. So, I guess I was destined to not fit in from the beginning. I'm a pretty liberal guy, well-educated, athiest, and don't really follow many Southern stereotypes. Unfortunately, I had to spend most of my time up there defending the fact that I came from the South. A girl in my residence hall once said to me, "I was determined to not get to know you because I knew you were Southern and I figured you would be a conservative racist simpleton." If that isn't proof enough that I needed to go elsewhere, I don't know what is. I had many wonderful, wonderful professors who were so smart, and so inspirational. I also had many who were egocentric and conceited. I found myself to be indoctrinated into believing certain ways in some of my courses, simply because the professor was an expert in the field. Bowdoin's administration was very, very nice and wonderful to work with. They treated me like a person, and not a number. The cafeteria food is wonderful and you will get the Freshman 15 from stuffing your face on their delicious meals. The admin/food were the only things that made me regret transferring out of Bowdoin. Otherwise, Bowdoin has a rather disgusting reputation of consisting of either New England Prep School jocks, Harvard Lackeys (rich kids who don't quite have the grades for Harvard), major ass-kissers, and overly premature career-oriented workaholics. While the students are generally nice (they're not THAT rude), they do come across as standoffish and condescending. I wasn't an outcast, but I just knew that I wasn't fitting in. I had a handful of very great friends there and the rest were all superficial acquaintances. It was hard to really associate with students because they were workaholics too. I made fantastic grades and I am an honors student, but I also make time for recreation. Then again, Brunswick is a horribly boring town if you're not into the outdoors (that goes for Maine in general), and the winters are very long, bleak, snowy, and windy. The sky is always cloudy and dark, and you'll get stir crazy. I love winter and that didn't bother me, but it made entertainment hard to come by. I was active in a few campus organizations, I wrote for the newspaper, and I was a House Leader. Getting in these activities made me make more acquaintances. After two years, though, I realized that I wasn't really getting much out of Bowdoin and I really wanted to go back home. Culture shock, boredom, and snooty students aside, I just felt that it was a good decision for me. I transferred in 2002 and I am glad I made the choice. I go to a public university in the South which doesn't have nearly the frill and charm of Bowdoin, but I'm happier and I'm not bitter. Bowdoin's a great school for some, it just wasn't a good one for me.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2004

Faculty Accessibility: A, Social Life: F

The administration (when I was there, of course) was abysmal. The professors were top-notch and very accessible, but tended to feel like they were having success with their students despite the president and the assorted halfwits that strangled most of the enjoyment out of the school.If I could move the faculty (and 2/3 of the students [those who weren't prep school jocks]) to a different campus, it would be wonderful. But I couldn't.

4th Year Male -- Class 1997

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Individual Value: F