Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine · Private · 1,873 undergraduates · bowdoin.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
6.8%
of 14,045 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1470 to 1540
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$101,460Est.Estimate
before aid
Your chances and merit aid at Bowdoin College
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
6.8% of applicants admitted
Reach
It admits only 6.8% of applicants, so it's a reach for everyone.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$101,460
a year in 2027-28, from a $101,460 sticker price
What to do with your 1510
Send your score
About 52% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1450, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- Superscores: it combines your best section scores from different test dates.
- You can type your scores into the application; official reports come later.
Source: Test Optional Policy | Bowdoin College · Checked October 16, 2026
Application deadlines
- Nov1Other deadline · November 1, 2026
- Nov15Early Decision · November 15, 2026Binding: if admitted, you commit to enroll.
- Jan5Early Decision II · January 5, 2027A second binding round, after Early Decision.
- Jan5Regular Decision · January 5, 2027The standard deadline.
Who gets in
6.8%
of applicants were admitted: 957 of 14,045 for fall 2025.
Early Decision
Binding. 15% of early applicants were admitted.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 35% of them sent SAT scores and 17% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1470 to 1540
Reading and Writing 730 to 770
Math 730 to 780
ACT composite 33 to 35
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 160096%
- 1200 to 13994%
- 1000 to 11990%
- 800 to 9990%
- 600 to 7990%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$101,460
a year
- Tuition$76,870
- Fees$720
- Food and housing$21,160
- Books and supplies$910
- Transportation and other$1,800
Bowdoin College published $93,800 for 2025-26. Its 2027-28 prices aren't out yet.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24, by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$3,318
- $30,001 to $48,000$5,634
- $48,001 to $75,000$8,694
- $75,001 to $110,000$16,219
- Over $110,000$40,929
Financial aid
100%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$70,186
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
3.3%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $1,000 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Required. It's a second, more detailed aid form some colleges use for their own grants.
- Aid deadline: 11/15 for ED1; 1/5 for ED2; 2/1 for Regular Decision
- The last day to send aid forms.
- Also asks for
- CSS Profile required for noncustodial parents
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Merit scholarships
Awards for grades and scores, on top of need-based aid. You don't repay them.
National Merit Foundation Scholar award + Bowdoin merit scholarship
$1,000 to $2,500 a year
National Merit
DetailsBowdoin National Merit Scholarship
$1,000 a year
National Merit
Deadline: Name this college your first choice with NMSC. To keep it: follow the renewal instructions the National Merit Scholarship Corporation sends you.
Details
Compare awards across colleges with the merit aid calculator.
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
21 of 24
Earn credit with a score of 3
None
You need a 4 or 5 for credit here.
A 3-credit course is worth
about $7,690Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 4 | 1 | |
| 3-D Art and Design | 4 | 1 | |
| Art History | 4 | 0 | |
| Chemistry | 4 | 1 | |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 4 | 1 | |
| Drawing | 4 | 1 | |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 1 | |
| Environmental Science | 5 | 1 | |
| European History | 4 | 1 | |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 1 | |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 1 | |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 1 | |
| Latin | 4 | 1 | |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 1 | ECON 1102 |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 1 | ECON 1101 |
| Music Theory | 4 | 1 | |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 0 | PHYS 1130 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 1 | PHYS 1130 |
| Psychology | 4 | 0 | PSYC 1101 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 1 | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 1 | |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 1 | |
| United States History | 4 | 1 | |
| World History: Modern | 4 | 1 |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
93%
Come back for a second year
97%
Typical earnings
$90,153
a year, 10 years after starting here
- Bowdoin College$109,743
- All colleges$69,240
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 3 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with Bowdoin College. The Bowdoin College logo is a trademark of the college.