Bowdoin is a small liberal arts college in the woods of Maine with less than 2,000 students. For decades, Bowdoin was a bit of a hidden gem, but with plummeting acceptance rates at better-known top-tier colleges, Bowdoin stepped into the spotlight as a comparable offering that was, at the time, more accessible. Ultimately, this increase in attention has caused the same result at Bowdoin as applicants in the early 2000’s were trying to avoid. The acceptance rate has fallen from nearly 30% for the Class of 2014 to only 7% for the Class of 2028.
Today, the best way into Bowdoin is through the early decision process, where students are given a statistical advantage in exchange for committing to Bowdoin ahead of a decision. The Early Decision acceptance rate for EDI and EDII combined is about 13.5%. Now, this can be a little misleading because it includes recruited athletes and other applicants who have a leg-up over a standard applicant — but there is still an advantage over Regular Decision even if you aren’t going to join the soccer team.
In this post, we’re going to break down what you need to do to make your EDII application to Bowdoin stand out ahead of the January 6 deadline.
Applying Early Decision benefits from planning and strategy. We’re experts at both. Contact us to learn more.
In 2024, Bowdoin adjusted to the rise in applicants by switching up their application review process. Previously, they had one admissions officer read an application initially, and more layers of review down the line. With the switch, two admissions officers read each application together, and were able to discuss and make preliminary decisions on it before pushing it further along (or deciding not to). While this means for Bowdoin that they can get to a “no” faster, we feel this is amazing for applicants who write strong, story-forward applications that invite conversation and discussion.
Keep in mind when working on the supplement, which we break down below, that you want the readers to want to talk about your application. By giving them moments of excitement, intrigue, and fun, you make their job more enjoyable and increase the chances of an acceptance. Now, let’s get into the supplement.
The Supplement
The Bowdoin supplement consists of a single prompt, and they mark their supplement as “optional.” It is not optional if you want to get in. That is to say that it should be treated as mandatory. If you don’t care to get into Bowdoin, sure, don’t do the supplement. If you would like to get in, though, you absolutely must.
This is the prompt.
The Offer of the College represents Bowdoin’s values. You have the option to reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you. (250 words)
First and foremost, The Offer of the College is a poem written in 1906 by then Bowdoin President William DeWitt Hyde. This poem is very important to the identity of the college, and this is why they spotlight it in the supplement. If you read The Offer and it doesn’t resonate with you, Bowdoin may not be a good fit. But if you read it and nod, you’re on the right track.
In the Common App, you select a section from The Offer, and respond to it for the supplement. Below is The Offer, then we’ll break down the options you have for selection and how to respond to each.
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
To count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
And Art an intimate friend;
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And carry the criticism of your own;
To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms an cooperate with others for common ends –
This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Now, the options…
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
Students who pick this line often choose it because they see it as an opportunity to write about travel or an experience living abroad. We understand this impulse, but it isn’t our favorite. This is because the application readers aren’t necessarily impressed that you (or, rather, your parents) can buy a plane ticket. Writing about being a fish out of water, too, is fun in concept but can end up dull when executed for a college application. After all, they are trying to learn about you, not a week you spent in Indonesia.
Instead, we recommend selecting this prompt if you have something to write about close to home that connects with connecting with a diversity of people. Maybe your grandparents helped raise you, or your neighborhood is full of cultures and backgrounds. Whatever the story, you want to keep it close to home if you select this prompt.
To count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
This prompt is another where first impulse and best answer don’t necessarily align (and you’ll see that this is a theme all the way through). The “impulse answer” for people for this prompt is often something about loving nature, which can be beautiful but isn’t as specific as we’d like it to be. If you want to write in response to this prompt, we invite you to zoom in on something super, super specific.
If you like walks in the woods, maybe it’s the sound of needles crunching under your feet, or the way the birds get loud when you stop moving, slow your breath, and simply listen.
If you grow a garden, maybe it’s a radish you started from seed, harvested, cooked, and then composted the greens to go back to the garden.
Either way, you’re not writing about walking in the woods; you’re writing about listening to the world around you. You’re not writing about gardening; you’re writing about nourishment of yourself and the earth.
And Art an intimate friend;
This supplement is fundamentally the same as above, but we don’t suggest selecting it if you are applying to major in the arts. If you are a prospective arts major, your identity as an artist will come out elsewhere in your application. It may be in your main Common App essay, or your activities list, or your supplement. This supplement offers an opportunity to show a piece of yourself they may not see otherwise, so skip this if you are an art person.
But what if you aren’t? That’s where we find this prompt interesting. If you love art, or connect with a specific type of art, but aren’t looking to pursue art in college, showing them how art informs what you do and how you think can be a powerful way of adding nuance to your application.
Remember, too, that “Art” doesn’t just mean pieces that hang on the wall. An algorithm can be art. A formula can be art. A concept can be art — if you feel it as such. And if that is true for you, tell the application readers that by showing them.
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And carry the criticism of your own;
This section is an interesting one, but not necessarily in a good way for the purpose of this prompt. We like the sentiment, but we don’t love it as something to write towards with the goal of strengthening your application.
So, what to do if you read this and think, “yes, this one”? Do it. If you see this and immediately feel drawn to it, we don’t want to discourage you. Maybe you can knock it out of the park. But we do issue a warning: it is easy to make a response to this prompt about a lot of things other than yourself, and you don’t have much space to work with. Don’t let that happen. If you see yourself writing about other people more than yourself, rethink and, potentially, reselect.
To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
This prompt offers an opportunity to write something really beautiful — if it resonates with you. If you have seen access to information as a ticket to understanding and exploring the world, this may be perfect. Perhaps you’ve done independent research that has unlocked big ideas for you. Or maybe you have explored the world through books about a particular person or subject. Whatever the avenue for exploration, take the reader on a journey with you. Think about creative ways to present your journey outside of a standard essay through inventive formatting or structure.
To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends
This option is a great one to go with if nothing above immediately clicked for you. If you are applying to Bowdoin, you have a strong answer to this prompt. There is a place in your life where friends have supported you, and you have supported them. There is a place in your life where you’ve led (ideally as part of a team). And there are places in your life where teamwork and enthusiasm drove you to exciting outcomes. So, this really is a strong option for anyone applying to Bowdoin. That also means that this is a really popular pick. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing that is worth being aware of. You want to stand out, not blend in, so if you are going to pick this prompt you need to make sure that your story has something about it that is distinctive.
Should you do an Arts Supplement?
Like many colleges, Bowdoin invites students with a passion for the arts to submit an arts supplement if they feel it will strengthen their application (https://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/apply/deadlines-requirements/index.html) . If you hope to seriously study art in college, even if it won’t be your major necessarily, this is very important. However, if you are not intending to take arts classes beyond one or two here or there, submitting an arts supplement may actually weaken your application.
You see, more is not more when it comes to your college application. Giving the application readers more to look requires them to take less time for each piece, so they may rush over what you consider the most important bits to squeeze in the arts supplement you just sent on a whim. Arts Supplements are also most often reviewed by arts faculty, who then let the admissions office know what they think. If your art supplement is thrown together, a negative faculty response could seriously hamper your chances of admission. Even when an arts supplement is strong, though, it can muddy your application if you don’t actually intend on studying art.
There are also places where an arts supplement can strengthen a non-arts application. For example, if you want to study Biology and do paintings with an environmental theme, those two could pair together well, especially if you reference how your art informs your interest in science in your supplemental essay.
Ultimately, it’s up to you if submitting an arts supplement will strengthen your application, but if you’re considering doing it “just because,” that’s a big clue that it may be a bad idea.
Applying to Bowdoin ED II isn’t hard. There is only one supplement, and so you could knock it out pretty quickly. If you want to get in, though, you need to do more than simply get it done. Take your time, start in advance, and ask those you trust for feedback.
If you want an expert eye, email us to learn more.