What can you tell me about the athletic teams at Bates and the community for athletics in general? My daughter is a two-sport athlete (lacrosse and field hockey). She is looking at Bates and many other NESCAC schools so I’m trying to get a sense. Right now it looks like she might play lacrosse but she is likely able to play both and would decide - are there a lot of two sport athletes? My husband and I are alums so we would naturally love to push her to be a Bobcat but are open to other options (except Colby maybe). Is it hard to major in sciences and be on a varsity team? What about study abroad?
Newsweek included Bates in an article on colleges particularly suitable for student-athletes with this introduction:
Fellow NESCAC teams the Polar Bears, Ephs, Panthers and Continentals also received recognition. The Mules, in this case, did not appear.
My daughter is on the cross-country and winter track teams there. She is also a hard-science type and took chem, bio, and linear algebra courses this semester. She works hard, but she does fine.
Like all freshman, she feels overwhelmed at times, but it hasn’t held her back
Thanks @merc81 - that is good to know. The more I see of the current Bates vibe, the more I wish I were going there today instead of the 80’s! The men’s lacrosse team has this weather thing on Instagram that is great.
@Kenneth1960 good to know that your daughter does two seasons of sports and can still take on a science track. Do athletes get to select classes earlier than other students so they can work around practice schedules? I have painful memories of how we once did class selection for Bates, standing in line in Merrill Gym. I don’t think athletes got any priority then so I’m curious if that has changed.
You might be interested in reading the full article, in which the Bobcats place fourth, @LMC9902:
She got no special accommodations for course selection.
@LMC9902 - Your comment: “My husband and I are alums so we would naturally love to push her to be a Bobcat but are open to other options (except Colby maybe).”
Why not Colby?
@InquiringMom3 I am saying that totally tongue in cheek because Colby is a HUGE rival and I’m not sure we would encourage her to be a mule after both of us played for Bates!
^lol, @LMC9902 ! We have those BBC rivalries in our house and they are not pretty!
Exactly @gardenstategal - I am not sure we could actually yell “Go Colby”! So many great memories from our college days around times we beat Colby (or Bowdoin) and I’d want to be on the “right” side of that as a parent. Time will tell where she winds up but we are hoping Bates if it’s a BBC choice.
@LMC9902 : Got it – figured it was that, but just asking in case it was other factors too! By the way, what are your thoughts on the overall social scenes at both schools? Bates is in small town; and Colby is in pretty remote area so have read/head that the kids there (Colby) “party a lot” – so wondering how those that are not into that as much fit in; what they do, etc.
@InquiringMom3 You will find kids who party at both schools but I think Bates has more to offer the non-partier in terms of the surrounding area. Colby is more remote without a walkable town, whereas Bates has a few shops close enough for walking - pizza places, coffee shop etc. Small differences but something to consider. I also had several jobs off campus during my Bates tenure and could walk to the restaurant where I worked (though it was cold!).
Bates is also fairly close to Freeport, about 25 minute drive. Lots of Batsies drive there in groups on Saturdays or Sundays to just walk around, outlet shop, eat etc. It’s a really cute town. We hardly ever went to Portland back when I was at Bates but maybe that has changed. I can’t see Colby kids going to either very often, given the distance.
In general, I think all types of kids can be happy at both schools. I can’t speak too much about Colby, because I never went there except for sporting events, but I can tell you that Bates has lots going on every weekend. People have always been very open and friendly and I don’t think most students have difficulty fitting in - I knew many different "types"at Bates and people all seemed to coexist well. I recall attending many plays, concerts, movies, on weekend nights as well as spending days at the local Range Pond, going skiing or roller skating, doing intramural teams and more.
My son (Bates '17) was not into the standard partying scene. He was active in a club that organized non-alcohol/chem events on campus–smoothie & a movie nights, board game nights, the famous “leaf jump” in the fall, a Halloween haunted house, the all-campus zombie game, etc. The administration was very supportive. He always seemed to have plenty of options and made good friends with students who had similar sensibilities.