by our College Data Analytics TeamBowdoin College is a private not-for-profit institution in Brunswick, Maine enrolling 1,873 undergraduates. It accepts 7% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 95%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #51 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Bowdoin College ranks #51 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Bowdoin College was awarded 443 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Bowdoin is ranked #51 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Bowdoin is also ranked #1 on the Best Colleges in Maine list.
See all of the rankings for Bowdoin College.
With an acceptance rate of 7%, Bowdoin is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.
About 31% of students accepted to Bowdoin submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 730 and 770. Math scores were between 740 and 780.
Bowdoin received ACT scores from 17% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 33 and 35.
Learn more about Bowdoin College admissions.
At Bowdoin, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 9 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Bowdoin College is 89%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 97% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Bowdoin College enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Bowdoin the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 95%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Bowdoin College.
In the current academic year, there are 1,873 undergraduates at Bowdoin.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Bowdoin College.
The average net price of Bowdoin is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,145 | $2,800 | $9,007 | $13,801 | $35,196 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Bowdoin, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Bowdoin, approximately 8% of students took out student loans averaging $6,253 a year. That adds up to $25,012 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.3%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Bowdoin College.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Bowdoin College make around $82,735 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Bowdoin College students since it is 68% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Bowdoin College make the most money.
Bowdoin College is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Brunswick, Maine. Brunswick is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of Bowdoin College.
Contact information for Bowdoin College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 255 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME 04011 |
| Phone: | 2077253000 |
| Website: | www.bowdoin.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowdoin_College |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/Bowdoin |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/bowdoincollege |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 16 majors graduated from Bowdoin College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 763 | NA |
| Economics | 97 | $61,127 |
| Political Science & Government | 78 | $51,934 |
| General Biology | 50 | $44,658 |
| Area Studies | 50 | $46,244 |
| Mathematics | 50 | NA |
| Computer Science | 47 | NA |
| Neurobiology & Neurosciences | 41 | NA |
| Child Development & Psychology | 33 | NA |
| Natural Resources Conservation | 31 | NA |
Interested in comparing Bowdoin? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References