Bates College Biology Program

Hi all
I heard some bad rap about Bates College the other day which I might be applying to. Is it true that their resources are kind of limited?

Not in any way I’ve heard about. What have you been told?

misty519 - You heard correctly.

@stressDad Can you please tell me anything more specific? One of my friend’s cousin mentioned that Bates doesn’t have sufficient resources for everyone in the biology department. Is that true? What else is not good about it?

@Sue22 That resources aren’t very abundant.

Can you tell me more about what resources the person you spoke with thinks the Bates bio department lacks? Lab space, courses, research funding, something else? “Resources” is a very broad terms. Biology is one of the most popular majors at Bates which would probably not be the case if kids were arriving to find an underfunded department.

Of course a school with fewer than 2,000 students will always have fewer professors and less physical resources than a large research university, but then you’d be sharing them with fewer people. Bates has no graduate students so students are always taught by professors and all available student research positions go to undergraduates, unlike some large universities where it’s tough to get access to a professor’s research lab unless you’re a graduate student or an absolute standout as an undergrad.

I suggest you check out Bates yourself. Friends of friends can be helpful in raising issues to explore but I’d caution you against using them as an ultimate authority.

In terms of resources in general, you may have heard that Bates has a relatively small endowment (one reason they get a lower ranking on the US News college report than some peer schools) but that has certainly never held the college back. It’s true it doesn’t own a ski hill like Middlebury, a golf course like Williams, or a 100 million dollar art collection like Colby. but heck, Bates students can use the local ski hill for free, golf at the local course, and visit the area art museums whenever they want. Bates is putting its resources where they count. Visit the school. You’ll find happy, engaged students, amazing faculty, beautiful new dorms, and a welcoming, vibrant community.

Bates recently launched a 300 million dollar campaign and is well over halfway to its goal. http://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/16/maine-family-donating-50-million-to-bates-college/

@stressDad , that’s hard to believe, as it is a very popular major. Many students majoring in bio apply to med school, and Bates does very well getting students into med school. It seems that your child attends Bates, so it would be good to hear more about why you think the bio dept lacks resources or isn’t very good. My D has friends majoring in bio and it seems to be pretty rigorous.