Bates College has always been committed to the ideals of academic rigor and intellectual curiosity.  We have served those ideals so well that publications like U.S. News & World Report  and The Princeton Review annually list Bates among the nation's best schools.

Our high academic standards present an opportunity, not a barrier.  Bates graduates of color have gone on to notable careers in civil rights and education (Benjamin Mays '20, Morehouse College president and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr.), the law (Karen Hastie Williams '66), religion (the Rev. Peter Gomes '65), the media (Bryant Gumbel '70) literature (author Christina Chiu '91) and business (Trustee J. Michael Chu '80, Bank of America executive Benjamin Robinson '86).

Founded just before the Civil War, Bates is also committed to principles of social justice, equality, and freedom.  It was the first coeducational college in New England and among the earliest in the United States.  Our graduates have always included men and women from a myriad of racial, national, and religious backgrounds.  All organizations on campus are open to everyone (and for this reason, Bates has never had fraternities or sororities.)

Recognizing the barriers of economic reality, Bates pledges to make a high-quality education accessible to all admitted students regardless of family circumstances.

Today, about 9 percent of most graduating classes at Bates are American citizens of various non-majority cultural backgrounds, and about 5 percent are citizens of other countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe.  Whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, or agnostic; African American, Asian, Native American, or Latino/a -- all find a place at Bates. 

Yet as diverse as our community is, Bates understands that it must do better.  So, just as you're seeking a college that will help you become the best you can be, Bates seeks the student who can help the College, too, realize its full potential.  Perhaps you're that student.