Fall 2025 FAQs

First: take a deep breath.

There's a lot to do, and we're here to help, and you're doing great.

Second: finish high school, and do it the right way. 

You may still have AP exams, finals, projects, plays, work shifts, speeches, or games—and those deserve your full attention. You will have plenty of time! Also, avoid any conduct issues that could show up on your last high school transcript.

It's important to us that we get your name right.

Visit Bowdoin's Lived Name Initiative webpage to make sure the College is addressing you as you wish.

If you need to update or correct your legal name or chosen name, please contact the Office of the Registrar or visit your Workday account.

Under the Federal Educational Records Protection Act (FERPA)Students have exclusive access to, and control of, their academic record once matriculated, according to federal law. Students may adjust who has access to their information in their Workday account

Over the summer, there will be different resources available 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, as well as Zoom drop-in sessions 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.

Make sure to check your Bowdoin email inbox regularly as well as @WelcomeToBowdoin on Instagram for event notifications.

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. But that computer lab is usually dark and quiet, and away from all the action. You really want to avoid this situation if you can.

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.

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. 

Arrival Day programming will conclude at approximately 5:00 p.m. EDT for families and guests, at which point all families and guests are invite to depart campus.

New International Student Orientation (ISO) (for F-1 visa holders only) begins on Friday, August 22, at 5:00pm EDT.

This accordion with more questions and answers is just for you! 

No. Students only need to register for one Arrival Day time slot.

Yes. You can cancel your Arrival Day time slot and register for another one any time before 1:00 p.m. on Arrival Day, August 25, 2025. Please note that if you need to reschedule your arrival slot, we cannot guarantee your first-choice preference will be available.

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

No. You will need to wait until your timeslot to help keep roads, parking lots, and residence halls free from congestion. Feel welcome to visit downtown Brunswick, an easy stroll from campus.

Students will receive multiple communications over the summer about deadlines for submitting required documents. If you are missing any of these requirements, you will not be able to receive your OneCard and move in.

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 23 and August 24, 2025. Please note that the earliest arrival time for international student visa holders is 5:00 p.m. on Friday August 22, 2025. 

Further details and invitations will be sent out later this summer.

Please email orientation@bowdoin.edu with any questions.

Generally speaking, ISO is reservered for students entering the United States on an F-1 or J-1 student visa. However, if you are interested in attending, please contact orientation@bowdoin.edu to be put on the waitlist.

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 during 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 bus with Concord Coachlines 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.

For students who are 1.) receiving financial aid and 2.) traveling alone, the College can provide shuttle service from Portland International Jetport (PWM) to campus via taxi service. Please contact orientation@bowdoin.edu to request transportation.

If you are traveling alone, regardless of your financial aid status, please contact the Orientation Coordinators for additional, on-campus assistance.

For all other students, please take a look at this list of options for getting to campus.

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:

You will receive your Smith Union address in July.

Please note, the Mail Center will not accept your shipped items until August 11th.

Nope! There is programming for families on Arrival Day that concludes at 5:00 p.m. 

Families and guests must depart campus at 5:00 p.m. on August 25, 2025.

Orientation is the first common residential experience and it is required for all incoming students.

Students are expected to be present for all programming throughout each day and evening.

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 1st 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 —but do not do this yet!

We advise students to wait until they receive room and roommate assignments so that they can have conversations about what is needed. Ideally you don't end up in a room with four fridges and zero lamps :)

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.

Thumb tacks are the preferred method of hanging things on the walls of the dorm.

Over-the-door hooks are also allowed, as long as they fit between the door and its frame.

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, Staples, and T.J. Maxx. 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 an 8-minute 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 an option. Amazon Prime and other online retailers offer student memberships, but please do not ship any items to campus before August 11, 2025.

No problem.

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.

All first-year residence halls have laundry facilities at no additional cost. However, you will need to provide your own detergent.

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 15, 2025.

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.

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.

Placement survey result will be available in Workday on July 25, 2025.

We will have an entire section of this website dedicated to academics and course registration. Registration for incoming first-years starts on Thursday, August 7 at 10:00 am EST. Transfer students can register starting at 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, July 30.  Course registration is on a first come, first served basis, so set your alarms!

Typically, students take 4 full-credit courses (most Bowdoin courses are worth 1 credit, which is the same as 4 semester hours).

In the fall semester, all incoming first-years are required to take a first-year writing seminar. Transfer students do not take a FYWS.

To place out of intro-level classes in some sciences, foreign languages, or music theory you will have had to take a placement survey during the summer. All placement surveys will be available in Canvas, alongside their due dates and any other requirements.

If there are any questions, please contact the Orientation interns or email askacademics@bowdoin.edu .

You do not need to purchase books until after course 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.

When you arrive at Bowdoin you will meet with your liberal arts advisor on the last day of Orientation to review your schedule and make any final changes, if needed. Your liberal arts advisor is a faculty member who will provide academic guidance during your first three semesters (at that point you declare a major and switch to a major advisor). 

You’ll be able to find out who your advisor is in Workday Student after returning from your orientation trip and meet with them on Monday, September 1, 2025.  

Yes, the College will provide each incoming student for the fall with a 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad mini, and an Apple Pencil. These will be distributed after Orientation Trips conclude. No student will be permitted to pick up their technology early.

To learn more about student employment options on campus please review the information form posted in Canvas under Student Employment. You can also find helpful information at the Student Employment webpage.