How to Apply to Economics at Bowdoin College: A Maine Liberal Arts College With No Separate Schools, Declaring Economics in Sophomore Spring, and Admission and Prerequisites for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Students

Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, is a liberal arts college with no separate schools: economics is taught by the Department of Economics, and you apply to the College itself. Bowdoin’s transfer page says it admits students to the College, not into a specific major, and all students declare a major after enrolling. Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on Bowdoin’s official information, for U.S. students, international students (including students from China) and transfer students.

1. Programs and how admission works

• What the department offers: the economics major; an economics minor; an economics and finance minor; and two interdisciplinary majors it takes part in, mathematics and economics and economics and computer science (requirements are on the College’s interdisciplinary majors page). The pages we read list no economics B.S. or other degree name, and no STEM designation; neither is published there, so ask admissions.
• When to declare: the transfer page says students declare after enrolling, typically in the spring of sophomore year; transfers entering as juniors declare the summer before arrival.
• Department advice: prospective majors are encouraged to take at least one core course by the end of sophomore year and all three by the end of junior year. The department also gives every new student an initial course placement based on a math/economics questionnaire, a quantitative skills assessment tool and any AP information officially submitted (AP/IB scores that were not officially submitted are not considered).
• Conditions to enter: the economics pages we read set no GPA threshold, cap or approval; they say only that major and minor courses must be taken for letter grades with C- or better. Anything else is not published there; ask the chair, Dan Stone (dstone@bowdoin.edu).
• Honors: students take ECON 4050 and then ECON 4051 the following semester; a completed honors project counts as only one 3000-level non-seminar credit. Eligibility rules are in the department’s research guidelines, which we did not read.
• Research (department page): majors are encouraged to pursue college-funded summer research, independent study for credit, or senior honors projects. The department usually hires two summer research assistants, with the call emailed to majors in early February; the first funding deadline for independent summer research is usually mid-February.
• Business and computer science have their own guides on this site; Bowdoin’s pages we read do not cover them here.

2. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school: the pages we read set no specific high school course requirement for economics. The international page says there is no prescribed high school curriculum and that the typical entering international first-year student has pursued the most rigorous pathway available to them.
• The major is seven courses:
  • core: ECON 2555 Microeconomics, ECON 2556 Macroeconomics, ECON 2557 Economic Statistics;
  • three advanced topics courses numbered in the 3000s, at least one a seminar (number above 3500);
  • one other economics course (not ECON 1050, 1101 or 1102).
• Math prerequisite: all prospective majors and minors must complete MATH 1600 Differential Calculus or its equivalent before enrolling in the core courses (placement into MATH 1700 Integral Calculus or higher counts). Students aiming for honors or graduate study are strongly encouraged to master multivariate calculus (MATH 1800) and linear algebra (MATH 2000) early, and to take MATH 2606 Statistics rather than ECON 2557 before ECON 3516 Econometrics; completing MATH 2606 and ECON 3516 waives ECON 2557.
• Introductory courses: ECON 1101 Principles of Microeconomics is the standard gateway, with multiple sections each semester; ECON 1050 Principles of Microeconomics and Quantitative Reasoning covers the same material with a weekly one-hour lab and more quantitative support. Either is a prerequisite for ECON 1102 Principles of Macroeconomics and for most other economics courses. Placement puts new students in ECON 1050, 1101, 1102 or a 2000-level elective of their choosing.
• AP and IB: a 4 or 5 on AP Microeconomics earns credit for ECON 1101; a 4 or 5 on AP Macroeconomics earns credit for ECON 1102; a 6 or higher on IB Economics HL earns one general credit and placement into courses requiring ECON 1101 or 1102. The credit is removed if you then take the corresponding course. A 4 or 5 on AP Statistics can satisfy the statistics requirement for the minors but not for the major. Scores must be officially reported to the Registrar by the end of sophomore year to receive credit.
• Courses from other institutions: normally no more than two can count toward the major (one elective credit for a minor); an economics degree entails credited courses taken at Bowdoin, and exceptions need prior approval.
• Other rules: majors cannot also minor in economics or economics and finance; introductory courses (ECON 1050, 1101, 1102) can be taken Credit/D/Fail but then cannot satisfy the MCSR distribution requirement; an independent study can satisfy at most one major requirement.

3. Rounds, deadlines and materials

• The dates table (no year is printed; confirm it applies to fall 2027 entry): applications open 1 August;
  • Early Decision 1: 15 November, aid the same day, decisions mid-December;
  • Early Decision 2: 5 January, aid the same day, decisions early February;
  • Regular Decision: 5 January, aid 1 February, decisions mid-March.
  The QuestBridge Match application and aid deadline is 1 November.
• Bowdoin accepts the Common App, the Coalition on Scoir application and QuestBridge. The $70 application fee is automatically waived for aid applicants and first-generation students, and also for veterans, Explore Bowdoin applicants and those with significant financial hardship.
• Required: the Bowdoin Supplement (the “Questions” section of the Common App), three recommendations (a counselor, a teacher of an academic core subject from junior or senior year, and a third from a second teacher or a coach, employer or community member), the Secondary School Report and a transcript covering grades 9, 10 and 11. ED2 and RD applicants add mid-year grades; ED applicants add a signed Early Decision Agreement; ED1 adds first-quarter or trimester grades.
• Optional: two 250-word supplement essays (a line from “The Offer of the College”, and navigating through differences); a video response; an arts supplement; interviews.
• Interviews: first-year applicants can interview in person or virtually with admissions staff, students and alumni; international students are asked to submit their application before requesting one. Independent interviews through InitialView or Vericant are accepted and weighed equally.
• Test optional: Bowdoin says it has been test optional for more than 50 years and 50% of the most recent incoming class did not submit scores; SAT and ACT are superscored, and scores of enrolling students are verified.

4. U.S. students

• Admission and aid: Bowdoin says admission is need-blind and that it meets the full calculated need of every admitted student with scholarships and campus employment rather than loans. All aid is need-based with no merit awards. The College reports that about 50% of students in the most recent class received Bowdoin aid, the average package for incoming students is about $72,883, and need-based scholarships ranged from $3,820 to $98,800.
• Aid deadlines are in section 3; submit aid materials with your application.
• The cost page we read lists a single tuition with no in-state or out-of-state difference; any in-state preference is not published.

5. International students

• Admission and aid: the international page says Bowdoin is need-blind for international students, so ability to pay is not a factor in admission, and it meets the full calculated need of admitted students without loans. It says only eleven U.S. institutions are both need-blind and meet full need. International applicants (except Canadians) submit aid materials only after being admitted.
• English tests are optional: TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or Cambridge scores may be submitted but need not be, and there is no minimum score; once submitted they cannot be deleted. There are no ESL courses, so all students must be highly proficient in college-level English.
• Interviews: InitialView (including admissions interviews or VIVA) and Vericant (including Guided View plus BASE) are accepted.
• National exams and transcripts: students from countries with national university entrance exams (the page lists WASSCE, EGSE, KCSE, CAPE, IGCSE, ISC and SLC as examples, “but not limited to”) must submit official results; A-level and IB students submit predicted grades in the final year or final results once graduated. Transcripts should be translated into English, preferably by the school or a certifying official.
• No minimum GPA or exam score and no prescribed curriculum. U.S. citizens and permanent residents at schools abroad are read as domestic applicants, in the context of their school and community.

6. Applicants from China

• The pages we read have no China-specific section and do not name the Gaokao or huikao; whether the Gaokao is considered is not published. The international page points to a staff page for finding the admissions officer for your region; you can also call the College on 207-725-3000.
• The page requires official results from students in countries with national university entrance exams; its example list does not include the Gaokao, and whether it counts as such an exam is not published, so ask your regional officer how Gaokao results should be sent.
• For IB or A-level students, see the predicted/final grades rule above; for IB Economics HL, see section 2.

7. Costs

• 2026-27 direct costs (US$): tuition 74,268, fees 700, housing 10,106, food 10,326, for a direct total of 95,400. Indirect: books and course materials 840, personal 1,660, transportation varies; indirect total 2,500+, and total cost of attendance 97,900+.
• Bowdoin says every student receives a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an Apple Pencil, and may keep them on graduation for $1.

8. Transfer students

• Who counts as a transfer: anyone who enrolled in a degree-granting program after high school, regardless of credits; those with college courses but no degree-program enrollment, and dual-enrollment or early-college students, apply as first-years. Holders of a bachelor’s degree cannot apply.
• Fall entry only (no spring term). Common App; the fall 2027 application opens 1 November 2026, closes 1 March 2027, with notification in April 2027.
• Standing and materials: transfers are admitted as sophomores or juniors. Required: College Report, official college transcripts, final high school transcript and two academic evaluations from college instructors, all sent by school officials. $70 fee, automatically waived when eligible. No interviews (US veterans and military members excepted).
• Credit: Bowdoin typically awards credit for liberal arts coursework with a grade of at least C-, not for pre-professional or vocational courses such as business, accounting, IT or nursing. The Registrar gives a preliminary credit assessment to admitted students, finalized after enrollment. Departments set limits on transfer credit for majors, and transfers must complete the majority of their major requirements at Bowdoin; the economics department says normally no more than two outside courses count toward the major.
• Economics: the transfer page sets no separate threshold for the economics major. The MATH 1600 (or equivalent) requirement before the core courses applies to all prospective majors.
• Aid: aid may be available to domestic transfers, and transfer admission is need-aware; in recent years 40% to 60% of each transfer cohort received need-based aid. International transfers are not typically eligible for Bowdoin aid, though outside grants are accepted.

Checklist

U.S. students:

• Apply by 15 November (ED1) or 5 January (ED2, RD); $70 fee, often waived; three recommendations
• Finish MATH 1600 before the core courses; declare your major in sophomore spring

International students (including China):

• Same deadlines; official national exam results where applicable, A-level/IB predicted or final grades, transcripts translated into English
• English tests optional with no minimum; aid materials only after admission; ask your regional officer how the Gaokao should be submitted

Transfer students:

• Apply by 1 March for fall only, as a sophomore or junior; two college instructor evaluations
• Most major requirements must be completed at Bowdoin; at most two outside courses count toward economics

Sources: Bowdoin College, Department of Economics; Economics major and minor requirements; Economics: student research; How to apply; Application dates and deadlines; International students; Transfer applicants; Test optional policy; Costs and aid. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures). Check Bowdoin for the latest details.