Bowdoin College, a liberal arts school on the coast of Maine, has produced luminary alumni like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Franklin Pierce. This rich history has shaped its current and traditional academic vision of a well-rounded education. New students are required to take a writing seminar, and at least one full-credit course in each of five subjects: mathematical, computational, or statistical reasoning; inquiry in the natural sciences; difference, power, and inequity; international perspectives; and visual and performing arts. Sophomores can then choose their majors from a wide variety of over 30 subjects, ranging from traditional fields such as history, physics, and English to modern focuses such as Digital and Computational Studies. Bowdoin encourages academic exploration so that students have the time to take courses outside their main areas of study. This freedom is enhanced by small classes that facilitate thoughtful discussion, with a notable student-faculty ratio of 9 to 1. That ideal class size, according to students, has resulted in one of the college's greatest strengths: excellent and dedicated professors who can provide personalized attention. "I'm really grateful to go to a liberal arts college where I can get so much more attention from professors...they are only here to teach and they love it." As another explains, Bowdoin offers "amazing professors who are passionate and smart and who care deeply about their students.