Bowdoin College Acceptance Rate, Admissions & Graduation

This article does not decide for you. It gives you the piece that only official data can provide: what Bowdoin College is, how it admits students, how much it costs, and what has happened to the generations that have already attended. With that, you can begin putting together the rest of the map: what your child wants and what your family can afford.

What kind of school it is and where it is located

Let’s start with the basics, because the basics organize everything else. Bowdoin College is a private, nonprofit, four-year college focused on the arts and sciences. The system that classifies colleges in the United States describes it as a small, highly residential school: at least half of its undergraduate students live in housing owned or controlled by the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 attend full time. It also places Bowdoin in its most selective admissions group, a label that does not tell you how many out of every hundred applicants get in—we will look at that later—but does tell you that you are considering a school with demanding admissions standards.

The highest credential level it reports offering is the bachelor’s degree. That is an institutional fact, not a promise about your child’s specific major: verify the exact program before assuming anything.

Bowdoin is in Brunswick, Maine, in Cumberland County. The area around the campus is classified as a town near an urban area, not as part of a large city. If your family does not live nearby, this means something concrete: you will have to calculate separately where your child would live, how they would get to campus, and how often they could return home. The data only locate the school’s address; they do not measure your trip or your travel budget.

One point is worth stating plainly: Bowdoin is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Those are three distinct designations with different histories, and only 138 of the 3,012 colleges in this directory have any of them. Not appearing on those three lists says nothing about which communities Bowdoin serves today or how your child would feel there. Ask about that directly: what cultural centers exist, which student organizations are available, and, better yet, speak with someone who already attends.

And do not choose or dismiss it because of the list price you will see later. Always ask in writing how much your family would pay after scholarships and financial aid. That is the number to compare across schools, not the number on the price tag.

A small community, mostly from out of state

Bowdoin had 1,850 students enrolled in the most recent official count. It is a medium-sized school—between 1,000 and 4,999—and in fact one of the most common sizes among its peer schools: neither one of the large schools nor one of the small ones. All of those students are undergraduates; that count includes no graduate enrollment.

Now, who are those 1,850 students? Out of every 100 students, 13 are Hispanic or Latino. That is a small minority, although it ranks slightly above the midpoint among its peer schools on that measure. If your child is Latino, this does not take Bowdoin off the list, but during the visit it is worth asking what specifically is available for Latino students: a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the office who speaks Spanish.

There are almost no adult students—just 1 out of every 100 is between 25 and 64 years old—and the campus is fairly evenly divided between men and women, with women accounting for 52 out of every 100.

One fact often surprises families: fewer than 25 out of every 100 first-time students were permanent residents of Maine. Only 10 out of every 100. The rest come from other states or other countries, or their residency was not clearly reported. This does not directly measure distance or travel costs, but it does tell you something real: most of the students who arrive at Bowdoin come from far away. If your child would also be coming from out of state, build your budget around actual travel, not just tuition.

How academics work: calendar, credits, and where the degrees are concentrated

Bowdoin organizes its year into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks. It accepts credit for AP exams, but did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience, and it does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit.

Here is a hard, practical truth: saying that Bowdoin accepts AP does not mean it automatically grants credit for every exam your child takes. The data do not say what score is required or whether those credits will count toward your child’s specific major. Ask for the transfer-credit evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for time savings until you have it in hand.

In a recent year, Bowdoin awarded 480 bachelor’s degrees across 15 fields of study. The field with the most degrees by a wide margin was social sciences: 160 of the 480, or 33 out of every 100. This counts degrees awarded in one year, not people or the complete catalog of majors, and it does not measure quality or what job someone gets afterward. Before deciding, ask about the exact major that interests your child: how many students graduate in it, how long they take, and what the curriculum is like.

One number often makes an impression: for every full-time-equivalent instructional staff member, there are 9 students. This is among the lowest ratios at its peer schools, in the bottom quarter. But be careful: a low ratio does not guarantee small classes. The number compares institution-wide totals; it does not count seats in a classroom. Ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.

The academic pathways the institution reports offering

Bowdoin reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, and pathways related to teacher certification: preparation for certification below the postsecondary level, preparation in certain teacher-specialization areas, and state approval of its program for initial teacher certification. If any of this interests your child, it is a starting point for asking more questions, not a complete description of the program.

Getting into Bowdoin: what it requires and how difficult admission is

This is where many families feel the most anxiety, so let’s proceed carefully and use the exact numbers.

Bowdoin does not have open admissions. It reviews specific materials before saying yes. Of the admissions considerations measured by this report—not including standardized tests or legacy status—it marked four as required: the high school record, completion of the college’s required high school curriculum, the personal essay, and letters of recommendation. Put simply, gathering paperwork is not enough at this college. Your child has to write a real essay.

Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: grade point average, class rank, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, an English-proficiency exam when applicable, and whether a family member attended Bowdoin before, known as legacy status. On that last point, if it does not apply to you, do not spend energy worrying about it. Spend that energy on what is within your child’s control. The published application fee is $65.

Now for the figure everyone looks for first. In the most recently reported cycle, Bowdoin received 10,966 first-time applications and offered admission to 879 applicants. That is 8 out of every 100. It is a very low admission rate, among the lowest at its peer schools: nine out of ten schools in that group admitted a higher percentage of applicants. Behind that figure of 8 out of every 100 are 10,087 applicants who did not receive an offer of admission.

And here is something worth saying without embellishment: this number tells you how many admission offers were made. It says nothing about your child’s worth. A low percentage does not make a school better; a high percentage does not make it worse. It measures supply against demand. Make sure your child’s list includes schools with different levels of selectivity, not only those that admit few applicants.

Of those admitted, 57 out of every 100 ultimately enrolled at Bowdoin. That is a high proportion compared with similar schools. But this number does not measure quality or satisfaction either: it only counts how many admitted students chose to enroll. When your child’s admission letters arrive, what matters is placing the offers side by side and comparing net price, major, and distance—not this statistic.

Regarding tests, the SAT and ACT are optional at Bowdoin. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains active just the same. Of the students who enrolled, 37 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores—a high proportion compared with similar schools—and among those students, the middle half scored between 730 and 760 in reading and writing, and between 750 and 790 in math. Keep in mind that these ranges describe students who enrolled and submitted scores, not all applicants, and they do not prove that the score determined anything. That 730 is not a minimum that must be reached, and that 760 does not guarantee anything either.

Regarding transfers, it is uncommon for a student to arrive at Bowdoin after transferring from another school—just 10 in the most recent fall count—and it is also uncommon for someone at Bowdoin to transfer elsewhere: 3 out of every 100 from a recent cohort. The fact that few leave does not tell you whether those who stayed graduated; that is a separate count we will examine later.

The list price: what it costs before any aid

Here comes a large number, and it deserves to be viewed in full before it frightens or reassures you.

For the most recently reported academic year, the total cost of attendance at Bowdoin for a first-time student living on campus was $85,100. This budget is the same whether your family is from Maine or from out of state—there is no residency distinction here as there is at public colleges.

The cost of attendance also includes an estimate of other expenses—laundry, transportation, entertainment, and furnishings—calculated by the financial aid office. Compared with other similar schools, this total ranks among the highest in the group.

But before this number makes you close the tab, something essential needs to be stated very clearly: this is the list price, not the bill. The only way to find out is to complete the FAFSA and request the financial aid letter in writing. Until you have it in hand, this number is not Bowdoin’s price for your family.

Net price: what families actually pay, based on their income

At Bowdoin College, among 35 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $3,275. Among 26 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $6,764; among 63 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $42,867. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.

There is a difference of $39,592 between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 35 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 63 students. These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any scholarship or grant, the average was $23,110.

Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this measure with the same time coverage, Bowdoin ranks in the least expensive quarter for lower-income families after scholarships and grants are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a fact that matters when you put together the list of schools to which your child will apply.

Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours comes first. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average after scholarships and grants, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants. The financial aid letter sent to you is what governs.

Aid and loans: who receives what and how much

At Bowdoin, 51 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received aid that does not have to be repaid—a scholarship or grant. That is more than half, but not everyone. Compared with similar schools, this proportion falls in the quarter where scholarships and grants reach fewer students, although among those who do receive them, the annual average is high: $55,228.

That number is real money, but it is not a price. Pell Grants, the federal aid for students who demonstrate financial need, reached 16 out of every 100 students.

Regarding loans, here is a hard truth worth stating without embellishment: only 10 out of every 100 Bowdoin undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the reported year. Most did not take out a federal loan that year. Among those who did, the average was $6,035 for that academic year—not the total debt with which they graduate, only the amount borrowed in one year. Compared with similar schools, students here use federal loans less frequently than at almost all of them.

A student’s absence from the loan count does not mean the family could “afford it” without effort: there may have been scholarships or grants, work, family savings, or another kind of debt that this report does not record. And that average of $6,035 does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, or bank or credit card debt. Bowdoin also reports an installment tuition payment plan as an available option.

Campus life: required housing and what is and is not reported

If your child enters Bowdoin as a full-time first-year student, living on campus is not optional: the school requires it. It also offers meal plans, including a large plan with a fixed number of meals per week. The maximum capacity of institution-controlled housing is 1,877 students. This means something very concrete for your budget: room and food are not expenses that can be cut here. They are already included in the cost of attendance of $85,100 that we saw earlier.

Bowdoin did not indicate any ROTC opportunities in its report—neither a general opportunity nor one for any of the three branches—while 926 of the 1,786 four-year schools in this guide did. If your child’s plan involves ROTC, ask admissions directly before ruling out the school: this field tells you what was reported, not necessarily everything that exists.

In athletics, Bowdoin does compete at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA—the sports reported include football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This is institutional membership, not a guaranteed place for your child: if interested, contact the coach for the sport directly and ask about a place on the team, the competition division, and whether athletic scholarships are available.

Bowdoin does not offer distance education: no students take all their classes that way. If your child needs scheduling flexibility because of work or caring for someone at home, the schedule would have to fit entirely in person.

The library operates with paid staff, has physical and digital collections, and offers interlibrary lending. Bowdoin also reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, on-campus childcare, participation in Yellow Ribbon, a point of contact for veterans and military families, and a webpage for disability services. The fact that these services are reported confirms that they exist; it does not measure their quality or how well they work for a particular student. Ask about them directly during the visit.

What happened to the generations that have already attended

We have reached the part that many families look for first, although I prefer to leave it until the end because it only makes sense after understanding everything above: how likely is a student to stay and finish?

From a cohort of 506 full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 494 were still enrolled or had already completed their studies one year later: 98 out of every 100. This is a very high retention result, among the highest at similar schools. But this number combines two groups—those still enrolled and those who had already graduated—without separating them, and it does not reveal what happened to the 12 who were left out of that count.

As for graduation: out of every 100 first-time, full-time students who entered bachelor’s-degree programs in 2017, 96 graduated within six years. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 82 out of every 100—a difference of 14 percentage points showing that a meaningful share needs that additional time. Compared with similar schools, Bowdoin ranks among those that graduate the most students.

At eight years, using a different cohort that also includes students who arrived with prior college experience, 94 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 93 out of every 100—virtually the same as for everyone else.

These numbers are high, among the highest at similar schools. But I want to tell you this without sugarcoating it: a high percentage is not a promise about your child. It is what happened to a specific generation under specific circumstances. What is within your family’s control is making sure your child enters with their credits in order, knows from the first semester who their academic advisor is, and finds out in time when registration opens for the courses required by their major. IPEDS does not guarantee that. You guarantee it by working together.

Putting this piece together with the ones still missing

Now you know, from real numbers rather than impressions, what kind of college Bowdoin College is: small, highly selective, expensive on paper but with a real, documented discount for lower-income families, with a high graduation rate and a community in which Latinos remain few.

None of this tells you whether Bowdoin is the right school for your child. That depends on two pieces that no federal report can provide: what your child wants to study and has built so far, and what your family can and is willing to pay. The college’s role is to admit, deny, and offer aid. Your child’s role is to write their essay, choose their courses, and decide what they want to do with their life. Your role is to understand the money, support the decision, and make sure no door closes because you did not ask in time.

With this piece, you can begin putting together the rest of the map.

Note on sources: The information in this article comes from official data reported by Bowdoin College to the United States Department of Education’s IPEDS system, primarily covering the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, along with comparisons within a census of private, four-year institutions with selective admissions. Best College Aid does not represent Bowdoin College or the United States government, and this article is not a substitute for direct verification with the college or an official financial aid letter.