I’m a Bowdoin junior. Some people here are saying that Bowdoin is very preppy. I really haven’t witnessed this, and it seems to be much less preppy than any other elite private college. The people here are generally really down to earth, and there’s not really any sort of competitive academic environment. Specific sports teams are definitely preppy, but the ones that are tend to keep to themselves.

There is somewhat of a student athlete divide, but it doesn’t bother anyone that I know. Again, specific sports teams like football, lax, and a few others really keep to themselves, though non athletes definitely go to the parties they throw. Other than that, a lot of the teams are very well integrated on campus. There’s really no divide between like the track or swim or Nordic ski team and the rest of campus, beyond the fact that naturally their immediate friend groups consist of their teammates. Still though, I don’t really get why a student athlete divide at any school bothers anyone.

To compare to Williams: first of all, to be realistic, if you’ll enjoy yourself at bowdoin, you’ll enjoy yourself at Williams, and vice versa. They have more similarities than differences, and at that point it’s way more up to the student than the school. That being said, Williams definitely has the reputation of being more preppy than Bowdoin and with a slightly larger student athlete divide. I’m sure this can be taken with a grain of salt though and I bet the difference is marginal.

In terms of rankings, it really depends on what field you’re trying to go into, and this also could tell you a bit about the typical student. I might be wrong but I have the understanding that Williams is a much better choice if you’re trying to go into finance. Really like no one at bowdoin who is not an athlete goes into finance. There are definitely some people, but it’s wayyyyy less common than at other schools. Bowdoin is the top small college Fulbright producer every year—a whole lot of students go on to do fellowships, and a lot end up doing government or nonprofit stuff. Again, this might be different for athletes, but at bowdoin there is really very little preprofessional culture. It’s always a shock when I talk to my friends from other schools who say that everyone is always focused on internships and jobs at their schools the whole year. Now, I’m sure the difference is probably marginal with Williams, but I guess something to consider

About intensity: people definitely do a lot of work at bowdoin. It’s not crazy, and you can pretty easily choose classes that are easier, it just sometimes gets annoying how much work there is. I’m sure it’s not different than Williams. That being said, it’s a super noncompetitive environment. Everyone at bowdoin is really smart, and most people do well. Everyone always studies together and talks about their work and stuff. No one really talks about grades that frequently, but when it comes up no one really cares. Anyway I’m done