Support Bowdoin

Hyde Scholarships

The Opportunity:

With a multi-year gift earmarked for financial aid, you will enable a student to live the Offer of the College. You will make an investment with a potential multiplier effect because it provides boundless opportunity for the talented and ambitious student you support. It honors William DeWitt Hyde, seventh president of Bowdoin (1885–1917), whose Offer of the College resonates with alumni from all eras and speaks eloquently to the College’s mission:

To be at home in all lands and all ages;
To count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
And Art an intimate friend;
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And the criticism of your own; 
To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you Undertake;
To make hosts of friends…
Who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms
And cooperate with others for common ends—
This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.

The Case for Support:

There is a cost crisis in higher education. A Bowdoin education is expensive, but preserving access to that education has never been more critical. Bowdoin has long believed that the very best students should have the opportunity to study, learn, and grow here, regardless of their ability to pay our fees. That’s why raising money for financial aid is so important. The revenue generated by the College’s endowment does not yet meet the calculated need of the 43% of students who qualify for financial aid. If Bowdoin is to remain committed to need-blind admissions and its “no-loan” policy, the College must raise an additional $6 million in spendable scholarship funds. Hyde Scholarships can help close the gap.

Key Facts:

• It costs more than $84,000 per student, per year, to provide the education and resources available to each and every Bowdoin student. All students, even if their families are paying 100% of the comprehensive fee ($54,470 for 2011–2012), receive substantial financial support from Bowdoin— support made possible from the draw on the College’s endowment and from gifts to the College from alumni, parents, and friends.
• Our peer institutions with greater financial aid resources offer grants to a greater proportion of their students, and in some cases, their grants are larger:

Revenue Sources for Bowdoin's Operating Budget