Bowdoin College is a school in the small coastal town of Brunswick, Maine that thinks differently. The college is intensely linked to its environment (“this place makes us who we are,” they say), and it’s a small liberal arts institution that packs a serious punch.
If you’re looking for somewhere intensely academic, that’s Bowdoin. They have 33 cooperative departments that require students to think cross-disciplinarily, and to ask big questions while seeking bold answers. The most popular majors are Government and Legal Studies, Economics, and Mathematics. If you’re looking for somewhere intensely inclusive, that’s Bowdoin. “We value kindness, diversity, creativity, and hard work,” they say. And it you are looking for somewhere intensely athletic, that’s also Bowdoin.
Bowdoin attracts high-achieving students (over 1,900 of them) who want to be in a tight-knit community that pushes itself as a unit, and each other as individuals, to do more and do better. In athletics, that means winning on the scoreboard and excelling in the classroom. Bowdoin is an NCAA Division III school and a member of the competitive NESCAC conference, and fields 31 varsity sports. Each student-athlete in the program is expected to be a leader on their team, in their classes, in their residential communities, and in the broader Bowdoin and Brunswick community through service and community work.
As Bowdoin has transitioned from a bit of a hidden secret of an east coast small liberal arts college to one of the most popular small-town schools in America, the number of applicants has soared, and the acceptance rate has plummeted. For the class of 2028, they received 13,265 applicants and admitted 924 students from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 40 countries. The acceptance rate was 7%.
In this post, we’ll break down what prospective athletes at Bowdoin need to know about being a student-athlete at Bowdoin, navigating the recruitment or walk-on process, or simply enjoying your sport alongside exceptional academics.
If Bowdoin is one of your top schools, send us an email. We help outstanding students get into exceptional colleges.
What is Bowdoin looking for in Student Athletes?
Bowdoin is looking, first and foremost, for students of exceptional intelligence and potential who want to change the world. Complimentary to that, they’re strongly attracted to students who are also athletes. Bowdoin fields 31 teams, but only has around 1,900 students — so a high percentage of Bowdoin students compete in varsity DIII college athletics. They need to fill these teams, so whether you’re into baseball or golf, Nordic skiing or squash, there is likely a spot on a team for you if you’re talented, driven, and have the academics to back it all up.
Recruited Athletes
If you are interested in becoming an athlete at Bowdoin, start with a virtual visit. This is no-stakes, and simply a way to learn more about the Bowdoin athletic program. As you learn more about Bowdoin, you need to prepare some materials for the coaches so they can see who you are. This may be a combination of stats sheets, results, and video. The video doesn’t have to be professional, but it should be crisp, clean, and concise. As you work on the video, you also need to do the sports-specific questionnaire for the team you’d like to join. This will give the coaches their first glance into you as a potential team member, and open the door to them requesting the materials you’re already busy compiling.
Don’t simply submit the questionnaire, close your computer, and wait, though. At Bowdoin, prospective student-athletes are “welcome to contact our coaching staff directly.” You can find the appropriate coach contact information here. Treat any outreach you do as you would treat applying for a job. Don’t be annoying, do be professional. Don’t follow up incessantly, but do stay on top of communications and responds quickly to any requests.
It's important to note, too, that Bowdoin cares a lot about diversity and is actively working to increase diversity on their teams. They have frequently shown a higher rate of diversity among recruited student-athletes than other NESCAC schools.
It’s also crucial to know that NESCAC schools do not offer athletic scholarships, so while being an athlete can give you a boost in admissions through the coaches advocating for you, it alone won’t lower your tuition bill.
Walk-Ons
As a DIII school that fields a lot of teams with a small student body, Bowdoin has a strong tradition of walk-ons. What is a walk-on, you ask? A walk-on is a student who is not recruited for a team, but who joins the team through a try-out or test-out process after they’ve been accepted as a student. This doesn’t mean you should just plan to show up, though. Successfully walking onto a team requires planning, so we suggest that all potential athletes start down the recruitment process even if they know upfront that they aren’t accomplished enough on the field (or court, or whatever) to stand out as a recruit.
So, still do the questionnaire, still reach out to coaches, still make a highlights reel even if it feels silly. You need to take yourself seriously if you want them to take you seriously!
Intramurals
Intramural sports are open to all students, and are the most inclusive way to be an athlete at Bowdoin without having to sign-away your afternoons…and weekends…and mornings to training and practices and competitions. If the idea of having a sport be your second love at Bowdoin after academics, intramurals are a great option for you.
There are also fitness and wellness classes open to all students, such as yoga, pilates, and barre.
Making Sports a Mission
We wouldn’t be doing right by Bowdoin in this post if we didn’t take a moment to reflect on how Bowdoin brings mission and purpose into the athletic arena. They seek students of “uncommon promise, and uncommon character,” and they expect the same of their student-athletes — and more.
Bowdoin puts their social good beliefs first through programs like Green Athletics, which works to incorporate sustainability initiatives into the Bowdoin athletics programs, and a more inclusive transgender and nonbinary athlete policy than most other colleges.
Bowdoin is a college that pushes boundaries while asking a lot of their students. They seek out students who are exceptional not just on their transcripts, but in how they see and operate within the world. The way they assess athletes is no different, so be prepared to be held to a high bar if you’re eyeing a spot on a team at Bowdoin.
If you’re an athlete and Bowdoin is one of your top picks, send us an email. We help students gain access to their dream schools.