Over the past decade, Bowdoin has transformed in the American imagination from an exceptional, unique, but very out of the way small liberal arts school to one of the most popular colleges in the country. What Bowdoin is, in truth, hasn’t change at all. It’s the same school is has been for a long time because the college is true to its mission. Public perception, though, has skyrocketed. As a result, the acceptance rate has plummeted, dropping nearly 20% over the past 20 years. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was only 7%, a record low.
Bowdoin offers Early Decision I and Early Decision II application options, and they defer students who are neither accepted nor denied from each round to the regular decision cycle. This process isn’t lip service. Every year, “many applications with the defer decision are admitted in RD.” But there is work to do after a deferral to strengthen your application and increase your chances of acceptance when they give your application a second look.
The admissions office at Bowdoin looks for students who are “engaged inside and outside the classroom,” and they especially want to see that applicants, “demonstrate curiosity and a willingness to take intellectual risks." Remember this, as it will be critically important when we break down the step-by-step actions you need to take if you want a shot at Bowdoin RD. First, though, you need to get the rest of your college application process rolling. A deferral from Bowdoin means that you really need to kick into gear for RD deadlines, and there may even be opportunities to address previous mistakes that hurt your Bowdoin application.
If you’re struggling to see through the disappointment of a deferral, contact us. We help students get into dream schools.
Before your do anything to boost your chances of getting into Bowdoin, you need to zoom out and look at the big picture of your college admissions process. Being deferred means that this isn’t a ‘one school game’ anymore — you need a strategy.
Review Your College List
The first step of putting together a winning college application strategy is deciding on your final college list. A strong, well-balanced college list sets you up for success, whereas an imbalanced or unrealistic list is a rough way to start. So, let’s break down what makes a great college list. Start with your foundation. This should be comprised of 3-4 safety schools, or schools that you are very likely to get into based on grades, scores, area of interest, and, in the situation of state schools, geographic location. On top of your foundation, you need to layer 3-4 target schools. These are schools that you are likely to get into, but they aren’t sure things. Finally, you’ll want a small group of only 2-3 reach schools — including Bowdoin.
Once you have a set list of 8-10 colleges, it’s time to look back at your writing.
Reassess Your Common App Essay
Obviously, you know how to write. If you didn’t, Bowdoin would have rejected you. But that doesn’t mean that the Common App essay you submitted to Bowdoin is your best possible work. Give our guide to the 2024-2025 Common App Essay a read, and then take another look at your essay. Does it hit the high bar? If you know you’re missing something, you should give these acceptance-winning essays a read. There is always room to improve writing, and so it’s absolutely worth taking the time to strengthen yours.
Same goes for the supplements. You may have drafts already — or more — but even if you think they are ‘done,’ there’s room for improvement. Our college-specific supplement guides can help.
Press Submit
Once your applications are written, edited, polished, and ready to submit, you need to close your eyes, hold your breath, and press the button. The worst edits we see happen in the time between an application being done and the deadline. So, submit when it’s done.
WHAT BOWDOIN WANTS
Bowdoin regularly admits deferred students in the regular decision round. Not all deferred applications are treated equally, though. As a deferred applicant, you have the opportunity to strengthen your application. While this is optional, you shouldn’t treat it as optional at all. If you don’t update your application, it won’t stand up well when compared against the applications of students who have put in the effort to strengthen their case for admission.
Now it’s clear that there’s work to do, let’s get into it.
Grades
Your “overall academic record is the most important credential.” Now you have the chance to update your grades — and that’s a really good thing. Your school counselor should automatically send an updated transcript and school report after your fall grades are released, but it’s worth following up with them to make sure that it happens. Book a meeting in person to confirm and check in, because there’s one other thing you can ask them about: an advocacy call. An advocacy call is a literal phone call made by your school counselor to the admissions office of a college after a deferral or waitlist decision. In this call, they basically hype you up. An advocacy is not required to be admitted after a deferral, and making one is entirely up to your school counselor, but it can really help.
Application Update
Bowdoin invites students to also submit “an update about any new activities or other relevant material you feel might be helpful.” This should be submitted through the Application Portal, but don’t get carried away. While you can submit multiple documents, we highly recommend only submitting one document: a Letter of Continued Interest.
A Letter of Continued Interest is a short update that reminds Bowdoin that they are your first choice school and that you absolutely will attend if accepted. This letter isn’t binding, as you have been released from the Early Decision agreement, but it can be hugely impactful. Bowdoin only wants to admit deferred students who still have the same enthusiasm for the college as they did when they submitted their ED application, and this letter is an opportunity to show that.
The Letter of Continued Interest is also an opportunity to update them about big things that have happened since you initially submitted. This doesn’t mean a strong test grade. Updates should include new leadership positions, extracurricular changes, roles or responsibilities, or awards or recognitions. You don’t need to include detailed descriptions for each, as this letter should be less than one page, but it’s good to give your updates some ‘color’ that conveys your enthusiasm and excitement.
Close the letter by stating, again, that Bowdoin remains your first choice. Then edit, and submit. The college wants your update early in 2025 if you were deferred EDI, and we recommend submitting your update within two weeks of receiving your deferral decision if you applied EDII.
Applying to college nearly always comes with a layer of uncertainty and stress, but addressing a disappointment like a deferral in a systematic and strategic way can make an enormous difference. Go step-by-step, cut yourself some slack, and find joy in this process of charting your college future. You’ve got this.
Every year, we help students get into their dream schools — even after a deferral. Email us to learn more.