Questions
- How do I save my Bowdoin email before I graduate?
- Can I move my Bowdoin email to my Gmail account?
- How do I export Bowdoin email to a personal email account?
- I'm leaving Bowdoin — how do I keep a copy of my email?
- How do I transfer Bowdoin email from Apple Mail to Gmail on a Mac?
Environment
This article applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who are leaving the college and want to save copies of Bowdoin email messages to a personal email account.
- Platform: macOS (Sequoia 15.x, Tahoe 26.x, or newer) using Apple's Mail app
- Destination: Gmail — though the same method works with any email service supported by Apple Mail on macOS
- Not covered: Exporting email on Windows or mobile devices, or saving email to a local file
Important: Access to your Bowdoin email account is terminated when you leave the college. Complete this process before your account is deactivated. Check the Information for students leaving Bowdoin article in the Related Articles section for account closure timelines.
Resolution
- Set up Apple Mail with your Bowdoin account. If Apple Mail is not already configured with your Bowdoin email, follow the steps in Set up Apple's Mail app for Bowdoin email on a Mac in the Related Articles section.
- (Optional) Sign in to your Gmail account in a browser and create a subfolder to organize the Bowdoin messages you are moving. For example, create a folder named "Bowdoin Email."
- Add your Gmail account to Apple Mail. Follow Google's instructions for setting up Gmail in Mail on a Mac.
- (Optional) If the subfolder you created in step 2 does not appear in Apple Mail, create it from within Mail now by right-clicking the Gmail account in the sidebar and selecting New Mailbox.
- In Apple Mail, drag and drop the Bowdoin messages you want to keep into your Gmail inbox or the subfolder you created. You can select multiple messages at once using Command + click.
- Sign in to Gmail in a browser and confirm the messages have appeared in the expected location.
Note: Depending on the number of messages being moved, it may take several minutes for everything to sync to Gmail completely. Large volumes of email may take longer.
Additional Help
If you need further assistance, you have several options:
- Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
- Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
- In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
- Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.
Additional Resources