Congratulations!

Your Bates journey is already taking shape, and there’s so much ahead — new ideas, new friendships, new places that will become your own. Think of this page as your starting point: a resource you can revisit as you begin to deepen your connection to the people, programs, and values that animate life at Bates.

Expect regular emails from us with updates, answers, and invitations to meet the faculty, staff, and classmates who will shape your next four years.

Ready to take the next step? Log in to your application portal to complete your enrollment and join the Bates community.

Start Enrollment

Enroll at Bates

Ready to take the next step? Log in to your application portal to complete your enrollment and join the Bates community.

Start Enrollment

Enroll at Bates

Explore Bates through on-campus visits or virtual sessions — meet future classmates, engage with our community, and experience life here in the way that works best for you.

See All Events

Events

Explore Bates through on-campus visits or virtual sessions — meet future classmates, engage with our community, and experience life here in the way that works best for you.

See All Events

Events

Meet your classmates, share your story, and join the Class of 2030 community in our private Instagram group.

Join the Group

Private Instagram Group

Meet your classmates, share your story, and join the Class of 2030 community in our private Instagram group.

Join the Group

Private Instagram Group

Parents and supporters can stay informed with dedicated updates, resources, and access to our family community.

For Families

Facebook Group for Families

Parents and supporters can stay informed with dedicated updates, resources, and access to our family community.

For Families

Facebook Group for Families

Get ready for fall with key summer updates on housing, course registration, orientation, and your first days at Bates.

What’s Ahead

Summer Updates

Get ready for fall with key summer updates on housing, course registration, orientation, and your first days at Bates.

What’s Ahead

Summer Updates

Discover academics, campus life, Purposeful Work, Lewiston-Auburn, our virtual tour, and the outcomes that define Bates.

Explore More

Explore More

Discover academics, campus life, Purposeful Work, Lewiston-Auburn, our virtual tour, and the outcomes that define Bates.

Explore More

Explore More

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

Connect with us anywhere, any time. Here you’ll find ways to join the conversation, get your questions answered, and connect with Bates students, staff, and your future classmates.

Bates Beginnings

Bates Beginnings is our premier event for admitted students to experience campus together. We will have two opportunities for you to visit during these special events: Friday, March 27 and Friday, April 17. (Register below for March 27. Registration opens in March for the April 17 event.) During these events, you’ll have an opportunity to:

  • 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.
  • Meet the Bates Admission team.
  • And more!
Admitted Student Day Visit

Can’t make it to Bates Beginnings or want to visit on another day? You’re still welcome to visit campus! Day Visits are available to admitted students and offer a distinct experience from our typical information session and campus tours for prospective students. You and your supporters will have a chance to experience Bates academics, campus life, and the people who make our community what it is. Come as you are — tell us what you’re most interested in, and our team will handle the scheduling details and follow up with a finalized itinerary.

Day Visits are customized and subject to availability. Requests must be submitted two business days prior to your intended visit date.

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 in March.)

Admission Information Sessions and Campus Tours

If you’re unable to schedule an Admitted Student Day Visit, you’re still welcome to visit campus. The Admission office is open Monday-Friday for all visitors. Register here for a regular campus tour and/or information session. Note that in April our 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.


Bobcat Chats!

Bates offers live virtual panels featuring current students who discuss all facets of student life and answer your questions. No admission staff members are present. This is a casual opportunity to connect in real time. We encourage you to come with plenty of questions and curiosity! Join us for these one-hour events by registering below. All Bobcat Chats are scheduled for 8pm–9pm EST.

Creativity is found and demonstrated in a myriad of ways at Bates College! Join us to gain insight into how students seek opportunities for self-expression and artistic pursuits through academics, clubs, and personal projects at Bates. Learn about the Bates Arts Collaborative, our outstanding programs and museum, and annual events.

Hear from current Bates students across a range of disciplines about our rigorous yet collaborative academic environment. You’ll learn about research opportunities, the seminar-style class environment, and how students find faculty mentorship and support from staff to help them reach their academic goals.

Have questions about anything at Bates? Join us for this virtual program to ask questions and hear honest answers from current Bates students.

Have questions about dorms, orientation, or the first-year experience? Want to know about campus traditions and what students do for fun? Join us for a panel discussion to learn tips and tricks on joining the Bates community, preparing for new experiences, and why students love their first year on campus!

Bates has a unique academic calendar: two regular semesters and a four-week spring session we call Short Term during the height of Maine’s spring. You’ll immerse yourself in one class, and you’ll be a better student at the end of it. Short Term is your opportunity to learn from guest experts and Bates faculty offering unique classes you won’t find during the regular semesters, both on campus and abroad. During this event you’ll hear from current students about the different Short Term courses they have taken and what this time of year at Bates looks like!

Collaboration and support are at the heart of the Bates experience. Hear how students encourage one another to be their authentic selves at Bates and discover the ways our community fosters a sense of belonging.

Discover how Bates helps you grow as a writer across all disciplines and majors with our sequence of writing-attentive courses. Hear from current students about the mentorship they receive from professors, the support provided by the Student Language and Writing Center, and the many ways your abilities will evolve from your first semester onward.

This virtual session provides an opportunity for admitted international students from across the world to connect with current Bates students, ask questions, and learn more about the international student experience at Bates.

You have an exciting decision in front of you. If you are still wondering what it’s like to be a student at Bates, we’re here to help. Join us for this session to hear from current Bates students about why they chose to become Bates Bobcats and why they’re still excited to be a student on campus. No specific topic or area will be highlighted, so any questions can be asked!

Ask the (College) Experts

Join us for this webinar series to hear from Bates educators in and out of the Office of Admission as they share insights, tips, and stories about the Bates experience before, during, and after college.

A Bates education is more than the wide array of classes at your fingertips. Bates also fosters a supportive community that will advise, mentor, and challenge you along the way. At Bates, we connect students with opportunities to explore and discover careers that infuse purpose, passion, and fulfillment. Join us for this opportunity to learn about the many ways our faculty, Center for Purposeful Work staff, and alumni come together to help students find a path for life after Bates that aligns who they are with what they do.

Are you excited about beginning a journey as a first-year student at Bates? Nervous? A little of both? Well, look no further! Join us and learn about the intentional ways we build community on campus, even before your first steps into a Bates classroom. Hear from Bates students who have been in your shoes and our amazing First-Year Experience team. We will dive into how you will be supported academically, socially, and personally throughout your first year and beyond.

More virtual events will be posted in February. Stay tuned!


Instagram Logo

You’re invited to join the private Bates Class of 2030 Instagram Group!

Once you’re in the group, join the conversation! To be featured on the feed, send us some photos and a short bio via DM, (and your social handles if you’re so inclined!) and we’ll create a post for you to introduce you to your new classmates.

Facebook Logo

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!

In late February, we will provide access to a Facebook group for parents and families co-facilitated by the Bates Admission, Advancement, and Communications offices.


Coming in February: 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.

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.


You will receive key information from the First-Year Experience team regarding your Bates email, on-campus housing, course placement and registration, pre-Orientation requirements, arrival day, and much more in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, this First-Year Experience and Orientation page will provide information about the Orientation program including AESOP, academics, and life on campus. Keep an eye on your inbox, and on the Class of 2030 Instagram!

Students help carry suitcases up the stairs of a dorm on move-in day

Two students stand together in a garden, surrounded by plants, while holding potted plants and smiling

A tour guide walks backwards through campus while facing three visitors on a campus tour


We’re so happy to have you join us at Bates!

The Bates community is ready when you are — and we hope to see you next year.