Bowdoin College
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:13:57 PM Wikipedia source
Bowdoin College ( BOH-din) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, United States. It was chartered in 1794. In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin owns a 118-acre (48 ha) coastal studies center on Orr's Island and a 200-acre (81 ha) scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy. The college was a founding member of its athletic conference, the New England Small College Athletic Conference, and the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium, an athletic conference and inter-library exchange with Bates College and Colby College. Bowdoin has over 30 varsity teams, and the school mascot was selected as a polar bear in 1913 to honor Robert Peary, a Bowdoin alumnus who claimed to have led the first successful expedition to the North Pole.
Infobox
Motto
Ut Aquila Versus Coelum (Latin)
Motto in English
"As an eagle towards the sky"
Type
Private liberal arts college
Established
June 24, 1794 (1794-06-24)
Accreditation
NECHE
Academic affiliations
Annapolis Group CBBC CLAC COFHE Oberlin Group Space-grant
Endowment
$2 billion (2025)
President
Safa Zaki
Academic staff
211
Undergraduates
1,841 students on campus and 186 off campus (fall 2025)
Location
Brunswick, Maine, United States 43°54′31″N 69°57′46″W / 43 °N 69 °W / 43 ; -69
Campus
Suburban, 207 acres (84 ha)
Newspaper
The Bowdoin Orient
Colors
Black and white
Nickname
Polar Bears
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III – NESCAC NEISA EISA
Mascot
Peary the Polar Bear
Website
bowdoin
Tables
Admission Statistics · Admissions
2030
2030
Class
2030
Applicants
14,727
Admits
962
Selectivity
6 %
Matriculants
TBD
Yield
TBD
SAT scores
TBD
2029
2029
Class
2029
Applicants
14,045
Admits
957
Selectivity
6 %
Matriculants
515
Yield
53 %
SAT scores
TBD
2028
2028
Class
2028
Applicants
13,265
Admits
946
Selectivity
7 %
Matriculants
507
Yield
53 %
SAT scores
1470–1550
2027
2027
Class
2027
Applicants
10,930
Admits
879
Selectivity
8 %
Matriculants
504
Yield
57 %
SAT scores
1480–1550
2026
2026
Class
2026
Applicants
9,376
Admits
862
Selectivity
9 %
Matriculants
508
Yield
58 %
SAT scores
1340–1540
2025
2025
Class
2025
Applicants
9,325
Admits
822
Selectivity
8 %
Matriculants
517
Yield
62 %
SAT scores
1320–1520
| Class | Applicants | Admits | Selectivity | Matriculants | Yield | SAT scores |
| 2030 | 14,727 | 962 | 6 % | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 2029 | 14,045 | 957 | 6 % | 515 | 53 % | TBD |
| 2028 | 13,265 | 946 | 7 % | 507 | 53 % | 1470–1550 |
| 2027 | 10,930 | 879 | 8 % | 504 | 57 % | 1480–1550 |
| 2026 | 9,376 | 862 | 9 % | 508 | 58 % | 1340–1540 |
| 2025 | 9,325 | 822 | 8 % | 517 | 62 % | 1320–1520 |
References
- Bowdoin Collegehttps://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2017/05/commencement-2017-invocation-by-rabbi-simeon-j-maslin.html
- "U . and Canadian 2025 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2025 Endowment Market Value"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2025-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL.xlsx
- Bowdoin Collegehttps://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/pdf/bowdoin-cds_2023-2024.pdf
- https://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/enrollment.htmlhttps://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/enrollment.html
- "Bowdoin College"https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/bowdoin-college-2038
- "Color and Typography"https://www.bowdoin.edu/communications/web-styleguide/color-and-typography.html
- Bowdoin Athleticshttps://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/2020/5/20/information-sid-quick-facts.aspx
- "The Bowdoin Coastal Studies Center"https://web.archive.org/web/20110804222205/http://www.bowdoin.edu/csc/
- "A description of Kent Island"http://bowdoin.edu/kent-island/
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/goerler-pole.html
- Bowdoin Collegehttps://www.bowdoin.edu/about/history-traditions/historical-sketch.html
- wwwhttps://web.archive.org/web/20160325163706/http://www.bowdoin.edu/president/governance/charter.shtml
- Historical New Hampshirehttps://web.archive.org/web/20150817151324/http://www.nhhistory.org/publications/Revealing_RelationShips_Franklin_Pierce.pdf
- Alfred L. Brophy, The Jurisprudence of Antebellum Phi Beta Kappa Addresses, https://papers /sol3/papers ?abstract_id=505https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5052591
- John J. Pullen, Joshua Chamberlain: A Hero's Life and Legacy, Stackpole Books (1999), ISBN 9780585283463, p. 60
- James Grant, Mr. Speaker!: The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed, Simon & Schuster (2011), ISBN 978-1416544944, pg. 9
- The Bowdoin Orienthttps://bowdoinorient.com/bonus/article/10551
- communityhttp://community.bowdoin.edu/news/2015/10/bowdoin-to-discontinue-annual-academic-award-in-the-name-of-jefferson-davis/
- libraryhttps://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/archives/msmg.shtml
- She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Seahttps://books.google.com/books?id=PG6TuUhoq88C&pg=PA265