Which is more selective: Bowdoin or Middlebury?

Bowdoin is typically viewed as slightly more selective overall, though the difference is small enough that applicants should treat both as reaches. Both schools attract very strong students, both have highly competitive admissions, and neither is meaningfully “easy” compared with the other. In practical terms, applying to one instead of the other should come down more to fit than to trying to find the less difficult admit.

Bowdoin tends to appeal to students drawn to a highly intellectual liberal arts environment with a strong emphasis on writing, discussion, and a close-knit residential campus in Brunswick, Maine.

Middlebury is right in the same tier, but it often attracts a somewhat different mix of students, especially those interested in languages, international studies, environmental studies, or a campus culture with a strong outdoor component in Vermont. It is still extremely hard to get into, and for many applicants the admissions difficulty will feel basically indistinguishable from Bowdoin.

So the simplest answer is Bowdoin by a slight margin, but not by enough to build an application strategy around that difference. A student who is a stronger fit for Middlebury’s academic strengths and campus culture is not making a “less selective” choice in any meaningful everyday sense.