Bowdoin College: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment
Bowdoin College is a private nonprofit college in Brunswick, ME. Students pay about $14,398 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $82,735 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2.1 years and adds $284,258 over a decade, ranking it #46 of 918 (top 6%) by value added.
What is Bowdoin College's acceptance rate?
Bowdoin College has an acceptance rate of 7.1%, which makes it highly selective. It is a private nonprofit institution in Brunswick, ME enrolling about 1,873 students, with a 95.4% graduation rate.
How much does Bowdoin College cost?
Bowdoin College costs about $14,398 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $76,092. Published sticker cost of attendance is $85,100 per year.
How much do Bowdoin College graduates earn?
Ten years after enrolling, the median Bowdoin College student earns $82,735 per year. That is $36,035 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.
Is Bowdoin College worth it? Degree ROI and payback period
Bowdoin College pays back its roughly $76,092 cost in about 2.1 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $284,258 net of cost, a 4.74x return on the money invested. That ranks it #46 of 918 (top 6%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by a low net price and strong graduate earnings.
Top 10% value
Bowdoin College graduation rate and student debt
95.4% of Bowdoin College students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $18,500 in federal student debt. That debt is about 22% of one year of median graduate earnings.
Bowdoin College by the numbers (vs the typical college)
How Bowdoin College compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).
| Metric | This school | Median college | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg net price / yr | $14,398 | $20,299 | cheaper than 77% |
| Median earnings (10 yrs) | $82,735 | $54,768 | 92th |
| Graduation rate | 95.4% | 57.0% | 99th |
| Acceptance rate | 7.1% | 75.7% | more selective than 99% |
| 10-yr value added | $284,258 | -$28,192 | 95th |
| ROI multiple (per $1) | 4.74x | 0.73x | 97th |
| Payback period | 2.1 yrs | 8.8 yrs | faster than 96% |
Frequently asked
Is Bowdoin College worth the cost compared to other colleges?
By value added net of cost, Bowdoin College ranks #46 of 918 (top 6%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 4.74x the money invested over a decade.
Is Bowdoin College expensive compared to other colleges?
Its $14,398 average net price is below the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 77% of them.
Do Bowdoin College graduates earn more than average?
Median earnings of $82,735 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 92% of the colleges here.
How hard is it to get into Bowdoin College compared to other colleges?
Its 7.1% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 99% of the colleges in the snapshot.
Get the full college ROI dataset (free, CC-BY)
The ranked dataset in JSON. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.