{"id":39,"date":"2011-11-09T21:42:04","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T21:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/?page_id=39"},"modified":"2025-10-24T08:26:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:26:46","slug":"faqs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why do we offer Bates alumni conversations to prospective students?<\/h3>
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A Bates alumni conversation is meant to help a student in their unique college search process<\/em>. It\u2019s their opportunity to connect one-on-one with a Bates community member (you!), and to ask the deeper and specific questions that will help them determine if Bates aligns with their interests and aspirations. Be ready to chat about life after Bates, and the community that Bates resides in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many prospective students are unable to visit campus, and may wish to connect with a local Bates alumnus\/a. This is where you come in!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When is the alumni conversation season?<\/h3>
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Prospective students may request a Bates alumni conversation between the beginning of September and the end of January of their senior year. Alumni conversations are only available to high school seniors or transfer applicants. Conversations should take place as soon as possible after you select a student’s request through the Alumni Portal. Please see our website<\/a> for the complete list of conversation deadlines by application decision round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bates Office of Admission receives most of our conversation requests between September and January. We understand that the winter months can be very busy! We do not expect alumni to hold these conversations during the holidays.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How many Bates alumni conversations will I be asked to conduct in an admission cycle? <\/h3>
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Demand varies year-to-year, and region-to-region. We generally ask that volunteers conduct one to two conversations per application cycle, but volunteers are welcome to conduct more if they would like, and many do. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If I know a student interested in Bates, can I conduct a conversation with them? <\/h3>
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No. All alumni conversations must be requested by the prospective student through our website. Alumni should not conduct any conversations that are otherwise arranged. This policy is to ensure an equitable experience for all of our applicants that request an alumni conversation. This process allows us to track the connections made between prospective students and alumni volunteers and this does show demonstrated interest on behalf of the prospective student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we do accept additional letters of recommendations from alumni for students they know well.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once I’ve selected a prospective student, should I contact them?<\/h3>
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Yes. We ask the alumni volunteer to initiate the contact with the student.<\/strong> Upon selecting a conversation request, you will be able to see the student’s contact information. Please contact the student as soon as possible. If you have trouble reaching the student, please let us know at aia@bates.edu<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve provided a template for initial outreach to students below for volunteers seeking further guidance: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello (Prospective student name),<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for your interest in Bates! I am an Alumni in Admission Volunteer that conducts conversations in (your state) for prospective students, and your name has been shared with me as a student that has requested an alumni conversation. Please email me at your earliest convenience with your availability so that we can find a mutual time to meet. I look forward to discussing your interests and answering your questions about Bates! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerely,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Your name and class year)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alumni in Admission Representative <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Where should the alumni conversation take place?<\/h3>
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The AIA Conversation program will be offered in-person or virtual. The student will make note of their preference when they register for an alumni conversation. Please take note of their preference when selecting the student in the alumni portal. If meeting with a student in-person, plan to meet in a public place such as a library or a coffee shop. These conversations should never take place at a person’s house. <\/strong>If the conversation is taking place virtually then we ask that you conduct your conversation on a web medium that utilizes a camera (e.g. Zoom and Google Meet). Please do not conduct these conversations via FaceTime unless it is the only option. Do not record the conversation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is the best way for me to prepare for the conversation with the prospective student?<\/h3>
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Please see our Guide to Alumni Conversations<\/a>, Bates Fact Sheet<\/a>, and What Makes Bates Unique<\/a>. In addition, we encourage you to explore our website at bates.edu\/admission<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How long should a conversation be?<\/h3>
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Conversations vary in length. In general, reserve 25-30 minutes for the conversation with the prospective student. Conversations should not run beyond 45 minutes. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What should I do if I can’t answer some questions?<\/h3>
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Don’t feel like you have to know everything about Bates or the selective college admissions process. If you receive a question that you do not know the answer to, do not hesitate to refer the student or family member to the Bates Office of Admission (admission@bates.edu<\/a> or 207-786-6000). We can answer any of their remaining questions and\/or put them in touch with faculty or staff resources on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, prospective students and families may find that the answers to many of their questions can be found on the Bates website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do I submit any sort of report?<\/h3>
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As conversations are informational, there is no need to submit a traditional report. We ask that you provide your name, your year of graduation, and the date during which the conversation took place for record-keeping purposes. This is how we know the two of you met. Sitting with an alumni volunteer indicates a student’s demonstrated interest, so it is important that we track it. If the admission committee has any questions about the student they will be able to contact you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What does the Bates application involve?<\/h3>
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Please refer to our Application Checklist<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_dimp_site_id":"","_dimp_override_contact":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":true,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-39","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/aia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}