---
title: Bowdoin College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Brunswick, ME
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Bowdoin College

Brunswick, ME · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $82,735 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $50,534 – $126,498 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $5,541 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 95% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $85,100 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 86% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.14× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $54,735 | derived |

**95% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,000 (≈ 14% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $34,060 to $61,127 across 6 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,127 | $19,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,934 | $19,634 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,244 | $24,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,658 | not reported |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,454 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,060 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Bowdoin College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?161004

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/bowdoin-college-me.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`