Brunswick, ME: My most recent collegetrip took me, a suburbanite, to what was seemingly totalwilderness and I returned pleasantly surprised. BowdoinCollege is a small, private, liberal arts college. Beforevisiting I was skeptical about a school in such a remoteplace, but Bowdoin's location works in its favor for manyreasons and, coupled with its great academic program, attractsoutstanding students and professors.

Bowdoin's campusin Brunswick is small and beautiful with pine trees loomingover average-sized brick buildings. The town of Brunswickfeels like a typical, small New England town, with extremelyfriendly people who never seem in a hurry and are willing tochat. One advantage of Brunswick's location is its proximityto the coast. I have seldom seen a place more scenic than theocean areas surrounding the town. The coastline looked as ifit would be perfect for hiking, photography, and just relaxingand enjoying nature.

Bowdoin is nationally recognizedfor its academics. Many students talked of the school'sexceptional courses and programs in English and the socialsciences and its professors. When I contacted professors, allwere willing to take time to discuss their thoughts about theschool and life in Maine. All seemed excited about the schooland the students.

With such an isolated setting, it wasimportant to me that Bowdoin had numerous clubs andorganizations, especially being a small school. In addition,there seemed to be high student involvement in these groups,creating options for out-of-class activities. Bowdoin alsoboasts almost 30 varsity sports teams (Division III) and astunning athletic facility. This makes the school a must-seefor aspiring college athletes who do not wish to commit all oftheir time to a Division I program, includingme.

Overall, I recommend a visit to Bowdoin for anyonewho enjoys nature and would not mind spending four years in asmall town. For me, I found that although Bowdoin may beslightly too remote for my own needs, the highly rankedacademics may be enough to lure me back for a second visit.


Reviewed in 1999