Faculty closeness
highSmall classes and senior work support direct faculty contact.
COLLEGE FIT GUIDE
Evidence checked · 2026-10-06
Bates College
Bates is a small residential liberal-arts college with a longstanding commitment to inclusion, close faculty teaching, and a flexible academic culture. A short term supports focused study and field experience, while Maine shapes outdoor access and campus life.
- Liberal arts with a focused short term
- Academic choices and structure
- Separate institutional opportunity from individual access
QUICK READ
- Location
- Lewiston, Maine · Small-city setting
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,760
- Aggregate admission rate
- 13.3%
- Average net price
- $29,351
FIT SNAPSHOT
How this environment may feel
These are directional interpretations of the college environment, not a score or universal verdict.
Community closeness
highSmall residential scale supports repeated contact.
Learning by doing
highShort term supports intensive and field-based work.
Outdoor access
highMaine provides extensive regional outdoor access.
WHY IT MAY FIT
Consider Bates College if…
- You want close faculty relationships.
- You value an intensive short term.
- You like a small residential community.
- You want Maine outdoor access.
POSSIBLE TENSIONS
It may not fit if…
- You want a major city.
- You prefer a large university.
- You want extensive professional schools.
- You would find a small community limiting.
WHAT STANDS OUT
The environment behind the name
Liberal arts with a focused short term
Students pursue broad liberal study, a major, and substantial senior work with close faculty guidance.
Source: Academics
Academic choices and structure
The May short term allows one intensive course, field experience, project, or off-campus study.
Source: Short Term
A setting that shapes the experience
Lewiston, Maine gives students a distinct context for campus life, work, community, and recreation.
Source: Academics
LOOK CLOSER
Questions worth asking before you decide
Use these prompts during a visit, an information session, or a conversation with a current student.
- 1
Separate institutional opportunity from individual access
Bates documents substantial opportunities, but availability can differ by program, timing, prerequisites, capacity, and student initiative.
Source: Academics
- 2
Interpret scale and selectivity carefully
Federal data report 1,760 undergraduates and an aggregate admission rate of 13.3%. These figures describe the institution, not an individual applicant’s probability or a particular program’s experience.
Source: Bates College institutional data
- 3
Use the current price for your circumstances
Federal data report an average net price of $29,351. This historical average is not a quote; residency, income, housing, aid eligibility, and program costs can materially change what a family pays.
Source: Bates College institutional data
FEDERAL CLERY DATA
Campus safety statistics, with context
Federal Clery records describe reported incidents within defined campus geography. They are not a measure of crime prevalence or an overall safety rating.
2024 reported on-campus offenses:11
Per 1,000 enrolled:6.2
Reporting campuses:1
COMPARE THE TRADEOFFS
Schools that sharpen the question
A useful comparison for students evaluating Bates across academics, setting, scale, and student experience.
A useful comparison for students evaluating Bates across academics, setting, scale, and student experience.
A useful comparison for students evaluating Bates across academics, setting, scale, and student experience.
EVIDENCE
Sources and method
View the reviewed sources
- Academics - Bates College (official, retrieved 2026-10-06)
- Short Term - Bates College (official, retrieved 2026-10-06)
- Bates College institutional data - U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (federal, retrieved 2026-10-06)
Navastra interprets Bates’s documented academic environment, setting, opportunities, and federal reference fields through preference dimensions. The page describes documented structures, not every student’s experience. It does not calculate an individual fit score, predict admission, or estimate a financial-aid award. Read the methodology →
Programs, policies, costs, and campus life change. Verify current details with the college ↗
PERSONALIZE THE QUESTION