Fall 2024 Orientation FAQ

Yes, all Pre-Orientation webinars are recorded and posted on this page.

For complete timeline for selecting, adding, and dropping courses in your first semester at Bowdoin, please refer to the Registrar's Calendar.

First-years make initial course selections over the summer:

• June 11-21 Start choosing options for your First Year Writing Seminar and take your placement tests!
  
  
• July 17 First Year Writing Seminar Assignments and placement survey results available in Polaris
  
  
• July 17-22 Optional drop-in placement sessions hosted by some departments to answer questions
  
  
• July 17-July 31 Choose your primary choices and alternates for your three remaining courses!
  
  
• August 12 Provisional course schedules available to students

At the end of New Student Orientation, students will have the opportunity to add and drop courses. Students in their first semester at Bowdoin are eligible for an extended drop period. This allows newer students more time to decide to drop a course than typically allowed later in their education.

Over the summer, there will be different resources available to you as you explore courses that may interest you, including webinars with staff and faculty from the Office of the Registrar and the Office of the Dean of Students in mid-June. There will be Zoom drop-in sessions in July with specific departments. The first building block in creating your academic schedule will be your first-year writing seminar, a requirement for all first-years.

For questions about the course registration process over the summer, please contact the Orientation office at askacademics@bowdoin.edu or 207-798-4303.

You will not be permitted to get your OneCard and move into your residence hall on Arrival Day until you complete all required forms.

A Bowdoin computer lab will be available on Arrival Day to complete and submit any remaining forms. Upon submission of all required forms, you will receive access to your room.

On Arrival Day there will be opportunities to attend various information sessions, including afternoon programs and events for families, visitors, and guests. Arrival Day programming will conclude at approximately 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Students will be required to register for an arrival time between 8:30 a.m. EDT and 1:00 p.m. EDT. Students will register for a time slot when they receive their roommate assignments. 

Very detailed information will be available soon, and we will cover all of your Arrival Day questions during the August 7 Town Hall (via Zoom).

No. Students only need to register for one Arrival Day time slot "ticket" in CampusGroups.

Yes. You can cancel your Arrival Day time slot and register for another one any time before 1:00 p.m. on Arrival Day, Tuesday, August 26, 2024.

If you are having trouble registering for an Arrival Day time slot please contact the Orientation interns—you can email them at orientation@bowdoin.edu or call them at (207) 798-4302.

• Three required placement exams (Writing, Information Literacy, and Quantitative Skills)
• Health forms
• Enrollment Form

We provide information on the Orientation website, on Canvas, on the @Welcome_to_Bowdoin Instagram account, and via your Bowdoin email!

Yes! International Student Orientation (ISO) includes programming specifically for international students (F-1 and J-1 visa holders) and provides an opportunity for them to gather with each other and form close relationships that will continue throughout their experience at Bowdoin. 

ISO will take place on August 24 and August 25, 2024. Please note that the earliest arrival time for international student visa holders is 5:00 p.m. on Friday August 23, 2024. 

Further details and invitations will be sent out later this summer. Please email international.student.orientation@bowdoin.edu with any questions.

You will receive more information at the end of May regarding F-1 and J-1 visas from the Office of the Dean of Students.

No. ISO participants will move in together as a cohort the evening before Arrival Day.

All students participating in International Student Orientation (ISO) need an ISO Bag, which is a small weekend bag to carry some essentials while you stay in temporary housing on campus before Arrival Day.

We ask that you pack a smaller, separate bag just for ISO. We will have a secure location for you to store the rest of your belongings and ask that you only take your ISO bag with you into your temporary housing.

• The College will provide you the following for the duration of ISO:
  • Blanket
  • Pillow
  • Towel
  • Washcloth
  • Bathmat
  • Sheets
    
    
• Please Pack the Following in Your ISO Bag:
  
  • Three days' worth of clothing (weather averages 60–80 Fahrenheit or 15–25 Centigrade)
  • Three nights' worth of clothing/pajamas
  • Raincoat and/or umbrella
  • Underclothes
  • Socks/shoes
  • Bathing suit (optional)
  • Personal medication
  • Toiletries/hygiene products—
    • toothbrush
    • toothpaste
    • hair products
    • shower products
    • towel
    • shower shoes, etc.
  • Travel documents, including but not limited to:
    • I-20
    • Passport with valid/current visa

There are many ways to get to campus!

• If you choose to fly you can arrive at the Boston Logan Airport (BOS) or the Portland International Jetport (PWM).
• You can ride with the Amtrak Downeaster train from Boston North Station to Brunswick Transportation Center 
• You can take the Concord Coach line from Boston Logan Airport or Boston South Station to Brunswick.
• If you arrive in Portland, the Amtrak Downeaster, the Breeze Bus, or a taxi can take you to Brunswick.  

For directions and general information please visit our traveling to campus page. We are monitoring each of the resources on the list to make sure they are operating as described.

The College is providing shuttle service from Portland International Jetport (PWM) to campus for students who are traveling alone. The College cannot provide transportation for family members or other guests.

If you are flying on your own to PWM and would like to request a shuttle, please contact the Orientation Interns at orientation@bowdoin.edu.

Students are not allowed in the residence halls before Arrival Day.

If you arrive in Brunswick before arrival day you can stay in one of the many hotels, motels, and bed & breakfasts in Brunswick and the mid-coast region.

View information about some of the local accommodations on the Bowdoin website.

Three services—United Parcel Service, Federal Express, and the United States Postal Service—are available for shipping belongings to campus. The address you must use is:

Your exact Smith Union address can be found in the "My Personal Profile" section on Polaris. 

Please note, the Mail Center will accept your shipped items beginning August 5th. Please avoid shipping belongings before then.

Students should receive their O-trip assignment by August 1st, likely sooner.

After your trip is confirmed, you’ll get more specific details from the Orientation Trip Coordinators about what to bring—including special items or gear that may be available from the Bowdoin Outing Club.

As an example, here are a few packing lists from previous years for community immersion trips, backpacking trips, and cabin trips.

Absolutely! All trips will have plenty of meals and snacks for a variety of diets, and any necessary transportation is provided. Each trip will also have first aid supplies and an emergency cell or satellite phone.

Please be sure to communicate any dietary restrictions you have on your medical form, and if something changes, please let the BOC or McKeen Orientation Trip coordinators know via email.

Nope! That’s one of the ways we make connections between ourselves and the environment and community around us. You’ll leave your phone in your room before departing, and trip leaders will remind you and confirm this before you leave.

Please contact the Office of Accessibility at accessibility@bowdoin.edu if you would like to submit a request for a medical/disability accommodation regarding access to your phone during your Orientation trip. Your request should be submitted by August 15th for consideration.

Please note that Bowdoin is not responsible for lost or damaged devices. Keep in mind that some trip locations may not have access to power/charging, or cellular service—students should not expect to be able to communicate.

If an emergency occurs on the trip, all trip leaders are equipped with a cell phone or InReach satellite phone. They will be able to contact local emergency personnel, Safety and Security, the Office of the Dean of Students, or any other required resources.

If an emergency happens elsewhere and someone needs to get hold of you, they can contact Safety and Security (24/7/365) at 207-725-3500.

Many of us do! But since this is Bowdoin, let’s check the research :)

Studies have shown that the presence of mobile devices detracts from people building interpersonal connectedness (Misra 2016; Przyblylski & Weinstein 2013). More specifically, a 2021 study conducted with outdoor orientation trip participants showed that while phones could be useful tools (ie. for photography or checking the time), phones also were a distraction from building connections with others on their trip, and students were worried about damaging or losing their devices (Edwards et al. 2021).

Similarly, Bowdoin students have reported that while initially daunting, not having a phone on their Orientation Trip allowed them to be more present and build deeper connections with their peers.

It’s a good idea for students and families to practice being “unplugged” over short intervals during the summer. When you return to campus, you’ll reenter the world of technology and have lots to share—along with a new MacBook and iPad to learn about!

Your housing assignment and information about your roommates will be communicated to you in early August.

Yes, you will! Rooms for first-year students will be doubles, quads, and quints for the upcoming year.

You can find information about what to pack in the first-year student packing list.

All the beds at Bowdoin are "dorm size, extra long" (36" x 80") or "Twin XL".

Find additional items on the First-Year Packing List.

Students and staff rave about the food at Bowdoin College—Princeton Review has ranked Bowdoin #1 in the country. In the Princeton Review's "Best 361 Colleges" and "Great Campus Food," Bowdoin's dining service has consistently been very highly ranked! Bowdoin's chefs use local ingredients whenever possible and the college has its own organic garden near campus. Bowdoin also scored an 'A' on our sustainability practices based on environmental choices.

Students may eat in the Moulton Union and Thorne Dining Halls. First-year students are required to have a full food plan, which means twenty-one (21) meals per week in addition to "Polar Points." Students may use "Polar Points" at Jack Magee's grill, which provides short-order food, Bowdoin's Cafe, and the on-campus Convenience Store where food, beverages, and necessities can also be purchased.

In downtown Brunswick there are a variety of reasonably-priced, quality dining establishments, including Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Thai, seafood, pizza, and fast-food restaurants. Some of the tastiest food establishments in downtown Brunswick accept the Bowdoin OneCard as well!

For other groceries, Hannaford, our local super-market, is a five-minute walk from campus, and Morning Glory, a natural food market, is a ten-minute walk down Maine Street. 

You can rent a microwave/fridge combo from Polar Rentals, https://www.polarrentals.com.

You can buy a mini fridge online or from a local store (Walmart, Target, etc) and have it delivered to your Smith Union address. You can also buy a mini fridge when you get to campus if you have access to a car.

It is strongly recommended that you pack a separate storage container for any emergency medicines you require to keep in your room, to avoid misplacing any lifesaving items.

Please contact Health Services directly for additional questions about coordination of care as you transition to Bowdoin.

There are coed bathrooms within the coed residence halls. However, your residence halls will make adjustments depending on each student's level of comfort. There are also gender-neutral bathrooms in several locations on campus.

Weather in Brunswick varies greatly. It can be very warm at the beginning of the academic year, but will probably be snowing near the end of the fall semester. The good news is that the weather normally changes gradually, so you will have time to adjust to the temperature drop. And even in winter, we get a lot of bright sunshine!

In Brunswick, students may shop at many convenient stores including Walmart, T.J. Maxx, and Staples. Within a ten-minute walk of campus, there are a variety of boutiques, consignment shops, gear shops, and thrift shops.

Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Reny's, among other stores, are in the neighboring town of Topsham, which is a short drive from campus. Topsham is a great place to shop for all of your dorm needs. 

For more extensive shopping, Freeport is a fifteen-minute drive or bus ride from Bowdoin. Freeport is home to the L.L. Bean's flagship store and outlet along with many other outlets such as J. Crew, North Face, Patagonia, and Banana Republic.

The Maine Mall is a thirty-minute drive from Bowdoin, located in South Portland.

Also, online shopping is always a great option. Remember, Amazon Prime and other online retailers offer student memberships.

Should you have special dietary needs you will find our staff understanding and accommodating. 

If you have a food-related medical condition, please email Operations Manager-Nutritionist, Susanne D'Angelo-Cooley, M.S., R.D. at sdangelo@bowdoin.edu or call (207) 725-3542 to make an appointment.

Bowdoin Dining Services will work directly with you to assist you in making menu selections and making sure that we have any additional products or ingredients available for you if necessary.

First-year students are not permitted to have cars on campus.

Many students bring bicycles, skateboards, or scooters—and there have even been a few unicycles. But first-year students are intentionally in the central part of the Bowdoin campus, and you can walk to class, the library, the dining halls, and the athletic facilities in under ten minutes.

For helpful information about biking around campus head to: Bicycles at Bowdoin.

All first-year residence halls have free laundry facilities and detergent is provided.

In the comfort of your room or at any computer you can view when the washer and dryers are available through a website called LaundryView.

The College has no contracted services with local laundry businesses so make sure you get a crash course on how to do laundry before leaving home!

Bowdoin has a mail center where students can send or receive mail and packages. Please visit Canvas to view the letter from the on-campus mail center with information about your specific mailing address.

Yes. The Health Center, centrally located on campus in the Peter S. Buck Center, is generally open Monday through Friday during the academic year, and its hours can be found on the Health Center website.

If you need help during vacation or after hours, the Midcoast Walk-in Clinic is a five-minute walk from campus. In addition, Midcoast and Parkview Hospitals are both a few minutes drive from campus.

In the case of emergencies, College Security (or an ambulance) will drive students to an emergency room—students are not expected to transport themselves in emergency situations.

Bowdoin requires all students to be enrolled in a health insurance plan while attending the College.

Questions about student health insurance can be directed to Cathy Hayes, the Student Health Insurance Coordinator, at (207) 798-4284.  You may either choose to purchase Bowdoin's Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan or rely on your own coverage, if comparable. All students will be automatically enrolled in Bowdoin's plan and charged the plan's premium unless you go online to waive coverage. Details of the plan and instructions for waiving will be mailed to students. The deadline for waiving coverage in Bowdoin's Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan is August 26.

An optional 'Accident Only' insurance policy is also available to varsity athletes who have family health insurance. Please refer to the mailings you receive this summer for more information about this option. 

The College is not responsible for the loss of, theft of, or damage to personal property by fire or other causes. Students and families who wish to ensure student belongings should consider insurance offered by Gallagher Koster. 

Yes, the College provides a high-speed network that is accessible in residence halls, public areas, and libraries. Wireless access points are available across almost all locations on campus. Each student is assigned an email account and information about this email account is provided in your May information packet—first-year students should have started checking their email daily in the early summer for valuable and timely information. Email is the primary way we communicate with students, and we then expect student to relay that information to parents and guardians as necessary.

If you have information technology questions before Orientation, you can consult Bowdoin's IT website.

You can find a listing of all local banks here.

There is one ATM located in Smith Union on campus provided by Bank of America, near the convenience store. Branch offices of Androscoggin Bank, Bangor Savings Bank, and Bank of America are a short walk downtown. A TDBank is located inside the local Hannaford Supermarket, also a short walk away, and it offers extended hours.

There are several hair salons in Brunswick, including Pura Vida, Starz, and The Looking Glass as well as the barber shop Kings and Queens on Maine Street. Mainely Hair is in Freeport, just south of Brunswick.

For hair products, there are local shops on Maine Street in Brunswick, Sally's Beauty Supply in the Topsham Fair Mall (not too far from the school), and several outlet stores in Freeport.

Many students also choose to purchase beauty supplies online. Some good websites include www.hairsisters.com, a site for ordering hair supplies and hair extensions; and www.carolsdaughter.com which offers hair and body products.

July 17th, 2024. Check Polaris!

You will submit your requests First-Year Writing Seminars in mid-late June and finalize course requests in mid-late July . In mid-August you will be notified of your provisional course schedule. You will will finalize your course selection at the end of Orientation when you meet with your advisor.

To place out of intro-level classes in some sciences, foreign languages, or music theory you will have had to take a placement exam during the summer. All placement exams will be available online on the Canvas website and with deadlines still to be determined.

If there are any questions, please contact the Orientation interns or the Office of the Registrar.

You do not need to purchase books until after class registration!

Bowdoin partners with online textbook vendor eCampus https://bowdoin.ecampus.com/ which offers the books that Bowdoin students need. A customized Bowdoin website allows you to search for your textbooks by course. eCampus lists new, used, rental, ebook, and marketplace options. Please refer to the “Ordering Textbooks” document in Canvas for more details.

Your pre-major academic advisor information will be available to you during Orientation.

Yes, the College will provide each incoming student for the fall with a 13-inch MacBook Pro, iPad mini, and an Apple Pencil. These will be distributed during Orientation. No student will be permitted to pick up their technology early.

To learn more about student employment options on campus please review the Student Employment Information form that is posted in Canvas under Student Employment. You’ll find helpful information, links, and contact information there!