New EnglandTownPrivate4-yearSocial & Science

Bowdoin College

A reach for almost every applicant, including very strong ones.

Brunswick, ME1,873 students
Acceptance Rate
7%
most selective
Median SAT
1,505
Middle 50%: 1470–1550
Net Price After Aid
$24.4k
Sticker $57.8k
Graduation Rate
96%
6-year, full-time

Bowdoin College is a private institution in Brunswick, ME with an acceptance rate of 7% and 1,873 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 1470–1550 on the SAT. The average net price after financial aid is $24,393 per year.

About Bowdoin College

A private 4-year town university in Brunswick, ME.

Bowdoin College campus
Campus · Brunswick

Bowdoin College is a college in Brunswick, ME. It enrolls roughly 1,873 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 7%. Admitted students typically score between 1470 and 1550 on the SAT.

New EnglandTownPrivate4-yearSocial & Science
Acceptance Rate
7%
Most Selective
Total Enrollment
1,873
Small
Retention
97%
First-years returning
Graduation Rate
96%
6-year, full-time

Your chances at this school

What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.

Acceptance Rate
7%
7 of every 100 applicants admitted
Your Chances
Sign in to see your personalized chances.
Admitted Student GPA
—

Bowdoin College is a reach school for the average admitted student profile. A reach for almost every applicant, including very strong ones.

What strengthens an application here

  1. SAT scores of 1470 to 1550
    The middle half of admitted students scored in this range. A score in the upper part of it strengthens an application.
  2. Depth in one or two activities
    Sustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.

Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.

Admissions

What it actually takes to get into Bowdoin College. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.

Admitted student profile

Range shown is the middle 50%.

SAT
composite, 1600 scale
1,4701,540
1,505
average
ACT
composite, 36 scale
3335
34
average
GPA
weighted, 4.5 max
—

This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.

Application requirements

  • Personal essay required
  • 1 teacher eval
  • Counselor rec required
  • Mid-year report
  • Test-optional
  • $70 application fee
  • Accepts fee waiver

Deadlines (2026-27)

Early Decision
Nov 15, 2026
Early Decision 2
Jan 5, 2027
Regular Decision
Jan 5, 2027

Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.

Cost & financial aid

Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at Bowdoin College after grants and scholarships.

Sticker price
—
Tuition $57,776
Average net price after aid
$24,393
51% of students receive financial aid

Net price by family income

Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.

$0 – $30,000
$3,275
$30,001 – $48,000
$3,464
$48,001 – $75,000
$6,764
$75,001 – $110,000
N/A
$110,001 +
$42,867

Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.

Pell Grant Recipients
17%
Need-based federal grant
Take Federal Loans
8%
Avg loan $12,000 / year
Avg Grant Aid
—
Per receiving student / year

Academics & majors

Where students at Bowdoin College concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.

Student : Faculty
9:1
Class-size proxy
Primary Focus
Social & Science
31% of degrees awarded
Retention
97%
First-years returning
A breakdown of the top majors by share of degrees awarded ships once we finish backfilling per-school program data.

Student body

Who attends Bowdoin College. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.

Race & ethnicity

  • White53%
  • Asian11%
  • Hispanic15%
  • Black5%
  • Two or more races9%
  • International7%

Gender

  • Female52%
  • Male48%
International
7%
Of total enrollment
Live on Campus
—
Undergraduate residential rate
Total Enrollment
1,873

Outcomes after graduation

What Bowdoin College graduates do next — and what they earn.

Median Earnings
$82.7k
10 years after enrollment
Employed at 2 yrs
—
Working or in grad school
Pursue Grad School
—
Within 5 years
Graduation Rate
96%
6-year, full-time

Is it worth it?

Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.

Median earnings
$82.7k
10 yrs after entry
Typical debt
$12.0k
median, borrowers only
Avg. net price
$24.4k/yr
after aid
  • These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
  • Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
  • Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
  • Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.

What this means

$83k is well above the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 96% graduation rate puts Bowdoin College in the top tier nationally.

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