Bowdoin College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Waterville, Maine · Private nonprofit · Most selective · CDS 2024-2025
Bowdoin College is a private nonprofit university in Waterville, Maine that admits about 7% of applicants, making it a most selective school. The average family pays about $23,939 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 4.2 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Bowdoin College is a private institution located in Waterville, Maine and one of the most selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Bowdoin College admits fewer than 10% of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 7%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1500 and an ACT composite around 33. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $23,939 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Bowdoin College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Bowdoin College?
Successful applicants to Bowdoin College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Bowdoin College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 730–790, with an EBRW midpoint near 720. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 32–34. Scores below the 25th-percentile mark are accepted occasionally, but the realistic submission target for most families is the school's middle-50 floor or higher.
| 25th percentile | — |
| 50th percentile | 1500 |
| 75th percentile | — |
| 25th percentile | 32 |
| 50th percentile | 33 |
| 75th percentile | 34 |
How much does Bowdoin College actually cost?
Published tuition is $66,600 for in-state students and $66,600 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,120 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $23,939 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 13% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| Average net price (after aid) | $23,939 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Bowdoin College
Most popular majors at Bowdoin College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Bowdoin College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research. Across all programs, Bowdoin College confers roughly 410 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Economics program report a median income of about $142,245 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | 89 | $142,245 |
| Political Science and Government | 76 | $92,125 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 52 | $53,972 |
| Computer Science | 45 | — |
| International/Globalization Studies | 42 | $79,364 |
| Psychology, General | 41 | $65,101 |
| Biology, General | 38 | — |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 27 | — |
Is Bowdoin College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Bowdoin College disclosed 10 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 4.2 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 10 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in Maine parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Bowdoin College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Bowdoin College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Bowdoin College
What GPA do I need for Bowdoin College?
Successful applicants to Bowdoin College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Bowdoin College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 730–790, with an EBRW midpoint near 720. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 32–34.
How much does Bowdoin College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Bowdoin College after grants and scholarships is $23,939 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Bowdoin College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Bowdoin College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Bowdoin College?
Bowdoin College accepts about 7% of applicants. That makes it a most selective school.
Is Bowdoin College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Bowdoin College is a private nonprofit institution located in Waterville, Maine.
What are the most popular majors at Bowdoin College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Bowdoin College by annual graduates are Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research. The school awards about 410 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Bowdoin College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Bowdoin College reported 10 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 4.2 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Bowdoin College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.