Hey all, son will be attending Bates this fall. From Central NJ if anyone else is from the area. Also, if anyone wants some feedback on the school or comparisons to peers feel free to reach out.
Hi BatesParent2019! Welcome to bobcat nation! Your son has made a great decision. My daughter is a current sophomore and could not be any happier with her education and experience at Bates. We are also from NJ so if you have any questions that I might be of help with, please ask. There are a bunch of NJ students up there, and they are enjoying short term right now! I believe that the clam bake is this Sunday…
@mbsmom1 My wife was contacted by a person on a welcoming committee with a daughter going into junior year. Perhaps that was you? We are excited and he is excited to start training up there. He is hoping to get in Smith Hall since it is all freshman and its close to the athletic facilities and the dining hall. It doesn’t appear too many of the boys are willing to post on the Bates 2019 Facebook Page. We can’t get him to introduce himself but he did join the group.
No, it was not me, but I’m glad that you got the welcome call! If your son wants to be in Smith, he’ll probably get it because that is not most students’ first choice. My daughter did not think she wanted Smith, but was placed there and it ended up being great and she loved it. Smith is kind of the first year social center. She made some great friends and it is very convenient. I think that your son’s class may be the last in the Smith quads with the new residential halls going up. Is your son an athlete? If he can, he should definitely sign up for an AESOP trip. That is where the first years really start to make friends. Facebook can be good, but not always.
And you will love visiting Bates and Maine! We try to plan some extra days for vacation when we are driving up.
@BatesParent2019, Congrats on your son becoming a Batesie!
Just a bit of advice from a parent of a graduating senior - Smith can be extremely noisy. You might want to read this thread about dorms at Bates. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/bates-college/1497370-dorms-at-bates-p1.html
The best advice we were given was to request a mixed class dorm. Your roommate and the rooms closest are designated First Year rooms (at Bates Freshman are referred to as First Years) I think there was a cluster of 4-6 rooms with first years on his floor in Rand.
Also, don’t worry about lack of posts on the FB page - he will meet plenty of kids once on campus. I do suggest First Years all sign up for an Aesop trip the week before orientation. You get to move into the dorm early and being on a trip with a group of other kids is a great way to make friends initially.
I am not 100% sure this is done anymore, but there usually are small gatherings around the country over the summer to meet other first years going from your area. Parents of upperclassmen usually host. Look for a letter in the mail. One of my son’s closest friends is a girl he met at the meet & greet.
Also, if you haven’t done so, make your reservations now for parents weekend. If nothing is available in L/A, Freeport is only 20 minutes away. And don’t wait to long to make dinner reservations for that weekend if you are planning on eating in Lewiston.
@mbsmom1 Yes he was recruited for track. If you follow NJ high school track and field you would know his school. He has been on 5 state championship teams and hopefully 6 after next week. We are from Monmouth County. He is coming from an all boys Catholic school. He ventured out and decided not to apply to Georgetown, Notre Dame, Holy Cross and Boston College like most of his classmates.
He signed up for the hiking trip in NH.
@emilybee They are likely to group the athletes together. Thanks for the advice parents weekend.
“They are likely to group the athletes together.”
@BatesParent2019, are you sure about that? I have never heard of them doing that and it sounds very un Bates like.
@emilybee We were told that was likely but not with other track team members. The reason is athletes have similar schedules.
deleted - dup post.
Ok, if that is what you were told. My son was on the sailing team and his first year roommate wasn’t an athlete. Maybe @BTMell knows, as her S is also an athlete.
Hi - my son is a rising junior on the golf team. His roommate first year was a football player but I think they were grouped because they were both neat and went to bed at a decent time (rumor has it they had the neatest room on campus that year). Unless things have changed, I haven’t heard of them doing it either and agree with @emilybee that it is very unBates-like. I do know that sophomore year, many of the football players lived together I think in one of the Frye Street houses but they grouped themselves together. I do know a huge percentage of the student body is on a varsity team of some sort though so rooming with another athlete is a good possibility.
I’m a welcome parent - it’s been so much fun - and there definitely are receptions area to area. We live about two hours from Boston, so that’s where receptions we were invited to were held but I’m guessing if you’re from a metro area, there might be an opportunity for that.
I’m really glad your son is doing an AESOP trip - my son really enjoyed his, in spite of the pouring rain. He also did a NH/White Mountains trip. He still gets together with folks from his AESOP group.
The Bates webpage has information on places to stay in the area. The aren’t nearly enough places to accommodate everyone so do make your reservation early. Friends of ours ended up staying in Freeport which isn’t too far from Lewiston. This same couple also did an AirBnB in Lewiston last year and had a good experience (who knew Lewiston/Auburn does AirBnB?!) And for all things dining out, menusinLA.com is wonderful!
I had no idea there was AirBnB in L/A! We couldn’t even get reservations last summer for graduation weekend in Lew, so we are going to Freeport. There is a new Hampton Inn in Lew which just had opened in Nov when we went up to visit. They had rooms available but wanted me to pay the $1500+ right then to book. I politely said no thanks to their rooms. I don’t mind spending $400 a night just not at a Hampton Inn. So we are in Freeport at the Hilton Garden Inn for $259/night and we didn’t have to pay in advance.
We’re also going out to eat in Portland the night before graduation with S and friends and their parents. Closer to Freeport and no problem getting reservations.
Sorry for hijacking this thread.
Sounds like I should be doing reservations NOW for 2017! Congratulations to your son - such an accomplishment.
@BatesParent2019 Well we live in Monmouth County too, so of course I know what school you are referring to. And they have a fine cross country/track team that’s for sure. I’m glad he’ll be running for Bates! I think that he will be pleased with the NESCAC experience. My daughter says that if he’d like to meet up with her and the other Bates student in Monmouth (we don’t know of any others at least), they might be able to get together sometime this summer. Or at least on FB or somethiing. If he is interested, pm me and I’ll put them in touch. He will find that Bates is a very friendly place!
And @emilybee, congratulations to your son!!
Another happy parent of two recent grads.
The best advice I got from my welcome call (and I was later a caller,) was to book graduation hotel rooms as early as the hotels will allow. What I found is the Hilton Garden Inn just doesn’t accept them the prior fall. BT, book what you can, when you can, and if something opens up later, you can decide.
Same applies for parents weekend.
Frankly, on one of our early trips, we stayed at the Motel 6 (because we had the dog and they allow pets) and continued to stay there. We’d see plenty of Bates folks. We were more about the time with the girls.
Both of mine started in Smith, neither complained about noise (that came later, when one lived in a quiet dorm.) The rooms are funny- the ones I know are old doubles with two rooms, now set for four kids. D1’s roommates were an amazing match, close during the four years and after. (Two non-athletes, two athletes.) D2 continues to be close with one of her freshman roommates.
The highlight for both AESOPs was seeing moose.
It’s a great college. Congrats.
Just chiming in with a child that just completed his freshman year. Athletes from the same team are not placed in the same room. You may find a few teammates in the same building. Its really the best of both worlds. I think Bates does a nice job with placement. My son had Smith as his last choice for all the reasons you hear - noisy, 4 crammed in 2 rooms, etc. However, Smith is where he ended up. He was very happy with Smith and made lots of friends there. Its a social place.
Sorry if this is late but congrats! I’m a rising sophomore from Princeton, NJ if you want to ask any questions!