Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College incoming freshman academic profile

Average high school GPA

Not reported

SAT composite middle score

1,5102025-26 CDS · Source

ACT composite middle score

342025-26 CDS · Source

Average GPA of enrolled freshmen (scale may be weighted or unweighted). SAT/ACT are median scores of students who submitted them — not scholarship cutoffs.

Freshman financial need & merit gifts

2025-26 financial-aid profile · CollegeData source

Average freshman need met

100%

Average undergraduate need met

100%

These groups use different denominators and should not be added together. Need met is an average share of assessed financial need—not a share of tuition or an aid guarantee.

Bowdoin College net price by family income

Historical average cost after all grants and scholarships — not need-based aid eligibility. 2024–25 academic year.

Families earning $150,000+ should not assume they'll get need-based grants; the "Over $110K" group mixes very different incomes.

At what family income does financial aid stop at Bowdoin College?

There's no universal cutoff. Need-based aid depends on income, assets, family size and college rules; merit scholarships are based on grades and scores, so high income doesn't rule them out. Use Bowdoin College's net price calculator for a personal estimate, and the federal aid estimator for federal aid.

Graduation, earnings & student debt

6-year graduation

92.8%Fall 2019 / 2019–20 entering cohort

First-year retention

96.8%Fall 2023 entering cohort; return in fall 2024

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$90,1532011–12 and 2012–13 entering cohorts; earnings in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars

Median federal debt

$15,000Federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025, pooled

Historical group figures, not individual predictions. Debt excludes private and Parent PLUS loans. Source: College Scorecard (ID 161004).

Colleges with acceptance rates similar to Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College accepts about 7% of applicants. These colleges have the closest reported acceptance rates.

• Colby College · Waterville, ME7% acceptance
• Washington University of Science and Technology · Alexandria, VA7% acceptance
• Pomona College · Claremont, CA7% acceptance
• Brown University · Providence, RI6% acceptance
• Washington University in St Louis · St. Louis, MO7% acceptance
• Johns Hopkins University · Baltimore, MD6% acceptance
• Swarthmore College · Swarthmore, PA8% acceptance
• Dartmouth College · Hanover, NH6% acceptance
• Northwestern University · Evanston, IL8% acceptance
• Rice University · Houston, TX8% acceptance

Colleges with merit aid similar to Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College reports average merit aid of $1,000 per year. These colleges report the closest average non-need-based awards.

• California State University-Sacramento · Sacramento, CA$1,012.5 avg merit aid / yr
• Kennesaw State University · Kennesaw, GA$1,070 avg merit aid / yr
• Wichita State University · Wichita, KS$1,090 avg merit aid / yr
• University of North Carolina at Pembroke · Pembroke, NC$1,101 avg merit aid / yr
• California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Pomona, CA$1,304 avg merit aid / yr
• Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi · Corpus Christi, TX$1,393 avg merit aid / yr
• Fitchburg State University · Fitchburg, MA$1,427 avg merit aid / yr
• University of Wisconsin-Green Bay · Green Bay, WI$1,484 avg merit aid / yr
• Montana State University Billings · Billings, MT$1,768 avg merit aid / yr
• University of Nevada-Reno · Reno, NV$1,804 avg merit aid / yr