Bringing Bates to You
Welcome Home!
You have an exciting four years ahead of you. We know there is much you still need and want to know about Bates. This page is a helpful resource to revisit and point you in the right direction. We will share new information regularly via email to help answer your questions and create opportunities to connect you with the Bates community and your future classmates.
Ready to Enroll?
If you’re ready to enroll, login to your Bates Application Portal to complete the next steps. We look forward to you joining us at Bates! Here are your candidate reply deadlines:
- Winter Transfer: November 26, 2025
- QuestBridge Match: December 19, 2025
- Early Decision I: January 10, 2026
- Early Decision II: February 20, 2026
- Regular Decision: May 1, 2026
- Fall Transfer: May 23, 2026
Celebrate Your Enrollment with Bates Signs
Want to show your Bobcat pride? Celebrate your enrollment at Bates with a number of sign designs. Just download and order through your local copy and print business. Visit this page to download the printable PDF and see the complete collection.
Connect With Us – On-Campus or Virtually
Connect with us anywhere, any time! In this section, you will find a multitude of ways to join the conversation, get answers to your questions, and connect with our students and staff, as well as your future classmates.
In-person Events: Bates Beginnings
Bates Beginnings is our event for admitted students to visit campus. We will have two opportunities for you to visit during these special events: Friday, March 27 and Friday, April 17. (Registration details coming soon.) During these events, you’ll have an opportunity to:
We invite you to Brunch with Bates
Join us for a lovely day on Saturday, April 4, where you will start the day being greeted by a member of the Office of Admission who will lead a panel with current Bates students. They will share their stories and advice on making your decision. Next, our informative Admission tour guides will take you for a stroll around campus. You’ll then proceed from the tour into Commons — our award-winning dining hall — to experience Saturday brunch with other Bobcats! (Registration details coming soon.)
- Meet other admitted students from around the country.
- Attend academic sessions, and learn from professors who will guide you through Bates’ well-rounded and rigorous academic experience.
- Eat meals in Commons, our nationally-recognized dining hall.
- Learn more about Bates’ athletic, cultural, and co-curricular events.
- Have an opportunity to meet the Bates Admission team.
- And more!
Admission Information Sessions and Campus Tours
The Admission office is open Monday-Friday for all visitors. Register for a campus tour and/or information session. Note that we will only offer tours on Mondays and Fridays in January. Then, in April campus may be quieter during the last two full weeks of the month, as Bates students finish final exams and enjoy a well-earned week of break before Short Term begins on Monday, May 4.
Virtual Events
Check back soon for upcoming virtual events.
Communications and Facebook Group For Parents and Supporters
We know that the decision to attend college is rarely made in isolation, and that rightfully so, parents and other supporters are often involved. Congratulations on your achievement!
Later this spring we will provide access to a Facebook group for parents and families co-facilitated by the Bates Admission, Advancement, and Communications offices.
Families will also receive email messages from Bates Admission, as well as the Bates Parent Giving and Engagement team.
Class of 2030 Instagram Group
You’re invited to join the private Bates Class of 2030 Instagram Group!
To join, visit the account (@bates2030_official) and DM the admins with your name and the email address you used to apply to Bates (for confirmation purposes).
Once you’re in the group, we hope you join the conversation! To be featured on the feed, send us some photos and a short bio via DM, and we’ll create a post for you to introduce you to your new classmates.
Stay Connected and Informed
Guidebook
Coming Soon: Our Bates Guidebook App for the Class of 2030 Admitted Students!
In the Guidebook app, you can:
- Contact current Bates students based on your academic and co-curricular interests.
- Access the schedule of events for our in-person Bates Beginnings days (coming at a later date).
- Explore academic and extracurricular clubs and organizations.
- Examine on-campus housing options.
- See a (partial!) list of the wonderful things to do and places to eat in Lewiston/Auburn.
This Summer
In the summer, you will begin to receive key information from staff in Student Affairs regarding your Bates email, on-campus housing, course placement and registration, and much more.
In the meantime, this First-Year Experience and Orientation page or Transfer Orientation page (coming soon), which provide information about the Student Affairs teams, the orientation program (known as AESOP), academics, and life on campus.
More information about your move-in day will be shared this summer (or sooner if you are a Winter Transfer student). For a preview of your welcome to Bates, see the video below of the Class of 2028.
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.
Some are liberal-arts classics (history, mathematics, philosophy). Some are STEM-focused (neuroscience, engineering, earth and climate sciences). Many draw from more than one discipline (American cultural studies, environmental studies, biochemistry, gender & sexuality studies). And some won’t exist until you invent them — by designing your own major with the help of a faculty mentor.
Life on Campus
From our robust arts programs, our talented athletic teams on the field, and more, you’ll have many chances to dive into the unexpected at Bates.
With nearly 100 student-run clubs, you’re sure to find something of interest! What you won’t find are fraternities or sororities. We’ve never had them and never will.
We also encourage you to learn about the Student Center for Belonging and Community, which is “committed to dismantling systems of oppression by actively centering and celebrating the voices and experiences of historically marginalized student identities.” The Center fosters belonging by creating spaces that encourage agency, awareness, and self-advocacy.
Tour Campus
We think visiting campus, if you have not yet, is a great way to get to know Bates, but we recognize that not everyone can visit — so we’re bringing a little bit of Bates to you!
L/A: Where You’ll Live
With a combined population of about 60,000, Lewiston and its twin city of Auburn offer the best of both worlds: A close-knit community and a vibrant downtown.
Inside former factories that once powered the American industrial revolution, you’ll find startups and brewpubs. Lisbon Street, Lewiston’s downtown shopping district, has cafes, bike shops, and galleries, all within minutes of campus.
While many families who live here have French Canadian roots, more than 40 languages are spoken in the halls of Lewiston High School. Lewiston enjoys a growing community from African nations, as well as many other new Americans.
For arts lovers, L/A offers a professional theater company, a film festival, museums, and an underground music scene.
Outdoor lovers will fully appreciate that L/A is nestled in the Androscoggin River valley with easy access to the Maine’s renowned lakes, mountains, and the ocean. Bates even has its very own 600-acre conservation area on the coast, the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, just a short drive from campus.
In other words, you could find many ways to get involved and make a difference here — and L/A could make a difference for you.
Why Does Bates Love Lewiston & Auburn?
Purposeful Work
When you understand what drives you to learn, grow, and thrive, you’ll have a more satisfying relationship with work throughout your life. That’s the idea behind Purposeful Work at Bates.
Most colleges offer career counseling and help with job applications. Our Center for Purposeful Work goes way beyond jobs or careers. We focus on the whole person — your beliefs, your strengths, your interests — and infuse concepts of meaningful work into all aspects of your time at Bates.
With each new Purposeful Work experience, you’ll consider whether a given role feels right for you, and why. By the time you graduate, you’ll have a clear idea of the values you want reflected in your life after college. And you’ll have a professional network and the practical experience to help you make it happen.
Class of 2024 Outcomes
| 89% | of new graduates surveyed are settled in a job, graduate school, fellowship, internship, or other opportunity within six months of graduation. |
| 81% | of Class of 2024 graduates who applied were accepted to one or more law schools. |
| 78% | of students and alumni who worked with the Medical Studies Committee were accepted to medical school. |
| 7 | earned prestigious Fulbright fellowships. In 2025 Bates College was named a Top Producer of Fulbright Student awards for the 14th straight year. |
Take the Plunge
Ready to enroll?
Check your Bates application portal, as well as your inbox, for the action items you need to take to complete your enrollment.
We’re so happy to have you join us at Bates!
Puddle Jumpers
Are you brave enough to make the leap? You have an opportunity each February to join your classmates in Bates’ own version of a polar plunge.
Check out this Picture Story of the 2025 Puddle Jump!
- Have questions? We’re here to help.
- Visit our FAQ page or Ask A Student.
- Contact the Office of Admission.
- Visit Bates!