Bates College Top Questions

Bates is an excellent school that is an intellectually rewarding challenge that fosters great relationships with professors and students and is a great place to have fun. While classes may be difficult, most professors are sure to keep you intrigued and many are just really nice people. Socially, there are so many different kinds of groups, and it's pretty common to be involved in more than one group, which is widely accepted and even preferred. Bates has great extracurricular activities, ranging from musical lessons and a cappella groups to dance and sports to knitting clubs and even a competitive eating club- the fat cats. Weekends are full of fun with parties if you're into those, or theme nights like bingo night or themed dances. The outdoors are great since we're surrounded by so many beautiful parks and mountains, even right near campus are great places to bike or run to. FOOD: Great dessert, mac and cheese is awesome, BRICK OVEN PIZZA, ice cream and fro-yo, vegan pad thai, great restaurants in the area, late night snacks at the den, sundae sundays, and great staff. Also, we do have vegetables and fruit but that's not as exciting as an awesome slice of pizza or John Corrie's cheesecake (sing for choir and you'll get at least 3 pieces). Bates is an awesome place, and if you're an awesome person who is accepting of differences, openminded, and a bit quirky, you'll have a great time here.

Bates is a small school with about 1700 students. Its the perfect place to make relationships and good connections that will last years after graduation. At Bates you're definitely not a number like some big schools, the professors know you by name, and are genuinely concerned about your success. The administration is absolutely phenomenal! They really genuinely care about you, I've gone through some crazy stuff in my life while at Bates and the administration is really good about listening and helping you in any way they can, no matter what the problem is. A big controversy on campus is the lack of diversity, there's been rallies and meetings demanding an increase in racial, geographic, and other forms of diversity. I'm please to say that Bates is taking active steps in addressing this issue, and in the time that I've been at Bates I've definitely have seen improvement in this area. One thing I will never forget is on my first day at Bates the dean of the college was up at 1 a.m. talking with me and a friend. I was shocked that the dean of the college was up at 1 a.m. having a conversation with us, but if you decide to come to Bates you'll see thats just Dean Reese for ya or like I like to call him Daddy Reese!

Although many people assume Bates is in the middle of nowhere when they hear it is Maine, it is just because they do not know Maine, or Bates for that matter. Lewiston, although it is nothing to write home about, has all the basics. There are plenty of places to go out to eat, there are bars, and all the normal chain stores like Wal-Mart. The area around Bates is not one in which students should stray off alone or even with a small group of friends. However, as long as you are smart there should be no problems. I have never felt unsafe. The fact that students do not travel off campus very much, aside from trips to Freeport or skiing at Sunday River, causes a close knit community on campus. This is very nice and you get to know people very well. On the down side, Bates is very small. By the end of freshman year you will recognize almost everyone you see, and know a good portion of their names. There are obvious pros and cons to this social atmosphere. The gossip definitely spreads quickly and sometimes it feels like there is no escape, but it is nice to see familiar faces all the time. One of the frequent complaints at Bates is the less than impressive athletic department. Our facilities are not great, especially in comparison to our opponents. Our teams, for one reason or another, are not too successful (a few teams are). Because of this, there is not a lot of fan support or school pride which is disappionting as an athlete.

On my last night of sophomore year, my friend asked me, "did you ever think you'd be this happy at college?" On my last night at Bates for an entire summer and semester (I'm studying abroad), I started reflecting on the past two years; they were better than I could have ever imagined. Something that I've noticed since I decided to come to Bates is that when I tell people I go there, a typical response is "that's such a NICE school." I think that's the best response I could get, and it's 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} true. Bates is such a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, and I think that everyone can feel comfortable there. I love the small size; I love walking around campus and constantly running into friends, being able to walk into the dining hall with the guarantee of seeing a friend, and taking classes where I feel like I'm part of the class, not just a listener in a lecture. I'd say that, especially for a small school, there's a great deal of school spirit. People wear Bates attire on a daily basis, especially when they travel to and from school (need to let everyone know that we go to Bates!).

Bates is a really great school, mostly because of the other students. Coming from far away I worried that I wouldn't make many friends, but it was easy to meet people at Bates. The first year center I was in really helped with this. Getting involved is the best thing to do at Bates. I love all of my extracurriculars (even though I sometimes feel like I'm still in high school). Still, my most valued time is just hanging out with friends. There's not allot of school pride at Bates, most people don't really care that much.

Bates is very small, claustrophobic environment where you see the same boring and uninspired people on a daily basis. Furthermore, unless you are from the east coast (ie., a Masshole) you will be thought of as a freak. Not only do the rich kids from Choate and St. Andrews not like you, but the school does nothing to try and get a more well rounded student body. It is not terribly interesting to go to school with a bunch of rich, white, trustfund babies from Mass who only care about getting completely stoned out of their minds.

People often go to Bates because of the friendly people--Batesies routinely go out of their way to make new people feel at home, or to teach someone a fun skill. This of course is a self-perpetuating characteristic of Batesies, since friendly people will want to come to a school with friendly people.

I love the student body at Bates. Students, for the most part, are very friendly and approachable. Because it is such a small school, there is a sense of community that I have yet to encounter at a bigger school. People often call our school "Bates High School" for it's small size and your inability to attend the school and remain just another face in the crowd. Secrets don't stay secret at Bates, but the close-knit aspect of the school is one of its most endearing qualities. People complain most frequently about the long winters in Maine--the wintertime brings a lot of snow and a low of cold temperatures. If you're not from New England (or even if you are), this can be hard to adjust to. If you're into skiing, though, or if you love a snow-covered landscape, winter can be a great time of year. Bates's administration is very easily accessible and very helpful, from what I've experienced. Batesies love Bates. Though there may not be a lot of school spirit in terms of sports teams (Bates doesn't stand out in the world of athletic competition), most Bates students love the school and will be happy to talk about how much they love the school and why.

When I tell people familiar with Bates' setting that I go there, the first thing they ask is, “How do you like Lewiston?” Lewiston is known as the grittiest of Maine cities. I mean, this is Maine, and even it's grittiest is still tamer than plenty of bad neighborhoods in college cities. I feel completely safe walking around by myself during the daytime. At night, I don’t stray far from campus if I’m alone. Lewiston was actually one of the things that made me want to come to Bates. Lewiston is real. Every college campus has great security, so it's nice to be able to have a few minute walk into town that can immediately rattle you back to reality. I really wanted to go to school in a city, but I knew that it was more important to me to attend a small school. With Bates, I was able to compromise these two desires (small school, real--but small--city.) Sometimes you'll hear students complain that Bates is too small. While it's true that gossip gets around pretty quickly and you can almost always find a familiar face in a crowd, that's one thing you have to think about when considering a small school. And, of course, on the flip side of having a small student population is the small class sizes and individual attention you get from professors.

Bates is far from any large university, and I've felt the social claustrophobia that comes from a student body only 1700 strong, but my initial apprehensiveness turned into a deep appreciation for the close bonds that Bates allows. By and large, the friends from my freshmen year are still the closest I have at Bates, but I'm still always meeting new people. The town in which Bates is located, Lewiston, doesn't offer the same amenities a place like Boston or New York does. In fact, Lewiston, a college town to an old (est. 1855) and prestigious undergraduate college, remains second to its twin, Auburn, which lies adjacent across the Adroscoggin River. That in mind, Bates has plenty of opportunities for local volunteer work. However, the tucked away little restaurants like Little Dan's BBQ and She Doesn't Like Guthries are like secret treasures not uncovered before the end of your first Bates semester.