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Opening its doors in 1855, Bates is New England’s first co-educational college. Since our founding, Bates has sought – and continues to seek – students inclusive of all racial, gender, religious, and class identities. The college’s long-standing and profound commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is at the core of the Bates community and informs the access-oriented work of Bates Admission and Student Financial Services. 

We recognize that your Bates experience begins with us. As such, we want you to know that Bates’ mission statement, principles, and values, which have been tested and have evolved over time, are central to our mission-critical work. They require us to constantly reflect upon and recommit to the Bates mission to ensure that we can and will best serve prospective students, families, and high school counselors in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Bates Admission and Student Financial Services proudly and purposefully embraces “the transformative power of our differences” and strives to be “a college for coming times” in and through all that we do. Our admission and financial aid policies are clearly tied to these elements of the Bates mission statement. Annually, we seek to enroll diverse and talented students on behalf of the college, and institutionally, we commit to meeting 100% of a student’s financial need.