Come as you are.

Life is full of pre-established lanes and rules. But there’s a lot of freedom at Bates. We believe the best way to approach college is to find what makes you tick, and then build the coming years around it.

A Bates education is open-minded.

We’ll help you try things on for size — in the lab or on the basketball court or in the ceramics studio or wherever your interests lead — until you find what fits for you.

Academics

Bates students tend to be up for just about anything.

It’s a good thing we have about three dozen majors and two dozen minors to choose from.

Some are liberal-arts classics (history, mathematics, philosophy). Some are STEM-focused (neuroscience, engineering, biochemistry). Many draw from more than one discipline (American cultural studies, environmental studies, biochemistry, gender & sexuality studies).

Some won’t exist until you invent them.

Majors and Minors

M = major
m = minor

Africana (M, m)
American cultural studies (M)
Anthropology (M, m)
Art & visual culture (M)
Asian studies (m)
Biochemistry (M)
Biology (M)
Chemistry (M, m)
Chinese (M, m)
Classical & medieval studies (M)
Dance (M, m)
Digital & computational studies
Earth & climate sciences (M, m)
East Asian studies (M)
Economics (M)

Educational studies (m)
Engineering*
English (M)
Environmental studies (M)
European studies (M)
French & francophone studies (M, m)
Gender & sexuality studies (M, m)
German (M, m)
Greek (m)
Hispanic studies (M, m)
History (M, m)
Interdisciplinary studies (M)
Japanese (M, m)
Latin (m)

Latin American studies (M)
Mathematics (M, m)
Music (M, m)
Neuroscience (M)
Philosophy (M, m)
Physical education
Physics (M, m)
Politics (M)
Psychology (M)
Religious studies (M, m)
Rhetoric, film,
& screen studies (M, m)
Russian (m)
Sociology (M)
Teacher education (m)
Theater (M, m)

*Engineering students participate in the 3-2 Dual Degree program, completing three years at Bates and two years at one of our partner institutions, including Case Western, Columbia, Dartmouth, RPI, or Washington University

A Bates education is open-hearted.

We know that college isn’t just about developing your intellectual side. It’s also a time to find the people you can lean on so that you can thoughtfully and authentically test your limits.

Campus life

Location

Class of 2024 Profile

14.9% Admission rate
488 Class size

Demographic

53% Female
47% Male
U.S. students of color: 27%
First generation to college: 12%
Non-U.S. citizens: 9%

Education

50% Public high school
50% Independent/private high school

Financial Aid

% of class receiving Bates grant aid: 37%
% of class receiving Pell Grants: 9%

Testing

Test optional since 1984
For those who submitted testing, the middle 50% had score ranges of:
SAT Evidence Based Reading and Writing: 710-740
SAT Math: 730-770
ACT Composite: 33-34

Geographic

22.5% Middle Atlantic
6.3% Midwest
38.3% New England
5.1% Southeast
17.1% Southwest and West
10.4% Outside the U.S.

A Bates Education is open-ended

You’ll never feel like you’re just on a treadmill working toward a diploma. You’ll be too busy making connections across academic fields, job-shadowing alumni, learning in the community, and doing graduate-level research that you really, really care about.

You belong here. Through it all, you’ll have our support to ask big questions — and you’ll find the courage to push through when there aren’t clear answers.

Financial Aid Fast Facts

We awarded $38 MILLION+ in grants last year

When you study abroad, your aid travels with you

Average federal student loan debt for the class of 2019 was $13,552 — less than half the national average.

The average financial aid package for last year’s admitted class was $47,051

Get to Know Us

Explore

While you may be unable to travel to campus right now, there are lots of great ways to get to know Bates. We invite you to take our YouVisit virtual tour, view our online guided tour, or attend an online information session.

Student Financial Services

1-207-786-6096
finaid@bates.edu

44 Mountain Avenue
Lewiston, Maine 04240

Affording Bates

Connect

Ready to talk about Bates with an expert? After exploring campus via YouVisit or attending an online information session, strike up an email conversation with a current student, reach out to your regional admission representative.

Connect Now

Apply to Bates

More information on applying to Bates, including requirements (we are test-optional), options, and deadlines.