Admissions Factors
What Bowdoin Looks For
Bowdoin rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
How Bowdoin rates each factor
Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.
Very important
Considered
Not considered
The numbers behind the class
Overall admit rate
6.8%
957 of 14,045 applicants
Early decision admit rate
14.9%
Early decision admits equal 57% of the class
Admitted from the waitlist
Not reported
89% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.
Frequently asked questions
What does Bowdoin look for in applicants?
Bowdoin rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
Does Bowdoin consider legacy status?
Bowdoin rates alumni relation as "considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
Does Bowdoin track demonstrated interest?
Bowdoin rates the level of an applicant's interest as "considered".
What is Bowdoin's early decision acceptance rate?
Early decision: 296 of 1,985 applicants were admitted (14.9%), against 6.8% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
Source: Bowdoin’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.
