As I drove up the coast of Maine visiting colleges recently, I had to make stops at three small liberal arts colleges that are part of a college consortium known as the Maine Big Three. The students at each can access the resources of any of the other - including cross-registering for courses, library resources, athletic competition, and study abroad programs. They are not in the same town, but relatively near each other - with Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Bates College in Lewiston, and Colby College in Waterville. As Maine’s three oldest higher education institutions, each has a long history of academic excellence and each is considered highly selective for admission.
Colby College has a friendly, outdoorsy feel that is fostered from the beginning when new students begin college and participate in COOT (Colby Outdoor Orientation Trip) to meet other students and make connections on campus and in the local community. The college has a 4-1-4 semester plan in which students take a January term designed to be a deep-dive into one subject or for participation in a career experience that supplements their studies. The 2,300 students come from over 45 states and 70 countries to pursue academic programs within 45 majors. Colby focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach to student discovery and one example is the nearly 200 classes across the curriculum that participate with their well-known Colby Museum of Art. (A learning laboratory with galleries that attract 30,000-60,000 visitors annually.) Historic buildings (like Eustis Hall, honoring an important pioneer of the college) stand alongside modern state-of-the-art buildings like the beautiful $95-million, 74,000-square-foot Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts. A few more shoutouts include their new Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence and their Island Campus for climate change research. The college also meets 100% of “demonstrated need” without loans, saying that 95% of families who make $200,000 or less qualify for aid.
Bowdoin College has a focus on a free exchange of ideas, independent thinking, and social responsibility. Their McKeen Center for the Common Good encourages students to think critically about and then act for the common good through initiatives in civic engagement, leadership opportunities, and community immersion programs. Bowdoin has a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and 71% of classes have fewer than 20 students. As part of the liberal arts foundation, each student completes a first-year writing seminar class and at least one class in five distribution areas: mathematical, computational, or statistical reasoning; inquiry in the natural sciences; difference, power, and inequity; international perspectives; and visual and performing arts. At the end of their sophomore year, students declare a major in consultation with their faculty advisor and approximately 25% of students complete their degree with a double major. Most Bowdoin students live on campus in one of the nine College Houses (after their 1st year residence hall) and these houses are the hub of campus social interactions. A few shoutouts include that Bowdoin provides a laptop for each student, they have unique programs in Arctic Studies and Romance Languages and Literatures. They also have a 118-acre coastal farm and a remote scientific station on Kent Island. Their polar bear mascot honors the college’s Arctic connection and their 1,900 students are known as the Bowdoin Bears. Finally they have some really interesting traditions including the Bowdoin Hello, Dinners with Six Strangers, and a Lobster Bake the night before commencement.
Bates College is also a small liberal arts college and they focus on academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, equal rights, social justice, and freedom. With approximately 1,800 students and a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, they host an annual Mount David Summit which celebrates academic achievement by highlighting the research, creative works, projects, and community engagement of their students. Their academic calendar has two regular semesters plus a short term in May for focused coursework or fieldwork. In addition to the majors and minors offered, students can design their own major and all Bates students complete a senior thesis or capstone seminar. Beyond their 109-acre Lewiston campus, they have a 600-acre Bates–Morse Mountain Conservation Area and more than half of the students study abroad. A few shoutouts include cutting edge programs like the interdisciplinary digital and computational studies program and new research and teaching spaces for neuroscience/chemistry/biology in the Bonney Science Center. They also have some really interesting musical ensembles like the Steel Pan Orchestra playing music of the West Indian peoples and the Gamelan Orchestra playing traditional and contemporary music of West and Central Java, and opportunities for student leadership through the Dana Scholars, STEM Scholars, and Honors programs.
For football fans, the Maine Big Three consortium has also provided a strong NCAA team rivalry between these three colleges. There are many sports teams offered, giving student athletes and spectators interesting competition with teams across New England.
There is a lot to consider when selecting a college and learning about the unique programs offered can be very helpful. Confident College Planning guides students and families in the process of finding colleges which best meet their personal needs and interests so that the student will be most successful. Our services include planning discussions for exploring majors, making college lists and college visits, and individualized attention for essay editing, application review and tracking, scholarship research, and funding strategies. Contact me at nancy@confidentcollegeplanning.com for a discussion on what I can do for you!
Bates College in Lewiston:
Colby College in Waterville:
Bowdoin College in Brunswick:
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