Bates College

Private · Highly Selective · ME

Photo: Josh Kuckens (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationME · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,760

Student:faculty9:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate82.3%

6-yr grad rate89.7%

Drop-out rate8.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$67k

Out-of-state tuition$67k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity39.8%

Gender diversity51.8%

International9.8%

Identity—

Overview

Bates is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, founded in 1855 by Free Will Baptist abolitionists and open from its start to students of all races and to women -- an unusually progressive founding for the era. That founding ethos carries into an egalitarian campus culture today, most visibly in the fact that Bates has never had fraternities or sororities. The college's relationship with Lewiston, a former mill town, is close and deliberate rather than distant, reflected in the campus's center for community partnerships.

Academics

Every student completes a required senior thesis, a genuine capstone that shapes the arc of the upper-class years. The distinctive Short Term in late spring -- a single intensive course taken in place of a normal course load -- allows for unconventional single-subject study, travel courses, or independent projects outside the standard two-semester rhythm. Politics, economics, and environmental studies are particular strengths, the last reinforced by the college's own coastal research station on the Maine coast.

Campus & student life

Without Greek life, social life centers on dorms, athletics, and campus-wide traditions instead. Bates competes in the NESCAC, a Division III conference known for strong academics alongside serious athletics. Two beloved traditions anchor the calendar: the Puddle Jump, where students leap into the frozen quad pond on Valentine's Day, and Mountain Day, a surprise fall holiday announced with no warning on which classes are cancelled for a communal outdoor day. The Bates Dance Festival also draws national dance talent to campus each summer.

Getting in

Bates was among the earliest colleges in the country to go test-optional, decades before it became common practice, and still reads applications holistically today. Essays and demonstrated intellectual engagement are valued, and fit with the college's egalitarian, non-Greek, service-minded culture is a real part of what admissions looks for.

After graduation

Graduates go on strongly into environmental fields, policy, law, and education, supported by a close alumni network shaped by the shared thesis and Short Term experience. Many stay connected to Maine or New England more broadly after graduating.

Worth knowing

There has never been a fraternity or sorority at Bates, which shapes social life fundamentally differently than at most peer liberal arts colleges. Short Term and Mountain Day's surprise timing are both genuine, well-loved fixtures of the academic year that prospective students should know aren't optional novelties but central to the Bates experience.

bates.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate13.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1420–1530 · ACT 31–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters2

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early decisionNov 15

Regular decisionJan 10

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App, Coalition (Scoir), or QuestBridge.

Early decision IIJan 10

Both Early Decision rounds at Bates are binding commitments to enroll if admitted; Regular Decision carries no early commitment.

Interviews: Bates doesn't require an interview as part of the application review process; optional, non-evaluative conversations with alumni are available if you'd like one.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗