My D is deciding between Bates and Colby for pre-med with a minor in French. She loves them both. She was accepted in the Global entry semester in France program at Colby which sounds pretty amazing. We live in Maine so are familiar with both campuses and the towns that they are in. Any pearls of wisdom of how to decide between them?
Either one will be fine for pre-med. I think Bates is less isolated than Colby, but that is just my opinion. We know happy graduates from both.
Congratulations to your daughter! She can’t go wrong either way.
Assuming both are affordable!
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While S has zero interest in pre-med or French, he did decide between Colby and Bates. In the end, he loved Bates’ culture but felt (a) Colby had been changing a lot for the better in terms of culture, and he’s confirmed that he’s happy with the culture, and (b) the investment in an arts center, a new gym (he climbs), the town, etc, all provided a sense of dynamism that Bates seemed to lack. There were major-specific reasons he liked Colby too (he’s English-CS double, and difference was CS), admittedly. Oh, and he didn’t like Bates’ campus as much, most notably the location of the football field in the “middle” of campus.
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The atmosphere at Bates will likely seem more liberal than that at Colby. Your daughter may have a preference along these lines, from, “Bates appears too liberal for my personality,” to, “I want that.”
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Assuming the cost is in the same ballpark I’d go to both accepted student days and let your D decide. No right or wrong answer here – just personal preference. Congratulations to your D on the great acceptances!
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I agree that the revisit days could help. DS has friends who were set up well for med school at Colby, but I really don’t know the details. Your D could ask more question (officially and of students) at revisit.
These were my kid’s top choices and it was a relief to know that no matter which he chose, he’d have a great experience.
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Does your son feel like Colby is still a “study hard, play harder” type culture? My D is an introvert and doesn’t party. After watching the Colby life documentary I felt a little disenchanted. That video was from 2014 so I realize a lot may have changed since then.
If you might find an additional perspective helpful, note that Bates makes an appearance in this site: The 25 Best Colleges for Pre-meds.
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Thank you!!
Both are great for premed and will have excellent premed advising. Both have high acceptance rates to med school, largely because of that premed advising.
Full disclosure, my D is a Bates grad. Their grad school advising is fantastic all around, as is their scholarship advising. She loved the location in Lewiston. Not a glamorous city, but it offered enough to do, with plenty of places for food and shopping. When they wanted more, Portland was nearby. The close proximity of the airport in Portland was convenient. You child can read this excellent thread for a better idea of what to expect from both Lewiston and Bates. The Horrible Misconception about Lewiston
My D was a very studious kid and while she did party, she didn’t party hard. It wasn’t her scene. My D didn’t didn’t apply to Colby as she felt the slightly more laidback and collaborative vibe of Bates suited her better. Most people here would say Bates is a bit more liberal than Colby, but it’s not like there are hippie flower children and regular demonstrations on campus. There are a ton of kids at Bates who applied to Colby, and vice versa.
Bates’ language program is small, but excellent. My D studied a completely new language at Bates and ended up doing so well with it that she won a couple of awards for her language achievement.
I’m personally not a fan of first year college students starting their college careers abroad. I know kids who have done this (not at Colby), and while some have had good experiences, most didn’t get the experience they hoped for. It was a dramatic adjustment to kids fresh out of high school. Some felt it put them at a disadvantage when they finally arrived on campus. It also made it hard to decide if junior year study abroad was a good idea.
She should try to attend accepted students’ days at both. She is going to have a wonderful time at either school, but these schools have so much in common that it’s probably best to go with the atmosphere she prefers, barring a big difference in FA.
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Thank you. I think she is leaning towards Bates this point. While going to school in a city was not her top choice, she realizes the benefits of being in Lewiston and working close with the community. That appeals to her a lot, especially the immigrant population. She loved the students that she has met that have attended Bates. They remind her of the students in her high school. She originally, didn’t want to go to school in Maine. We live 25 minutes from Bowdoin, 45 from Bates and just over an hour from Colby. But when you have three great schools in your backyard, why not? She didn’t apply to Bowdoin because it felt too close and too familiar. Colby appealed to her because of the beauty of the campus and she found the global entry semester appealing to a point. The thought of going abroad doesn’t intimidate her. In her high school, most of the kids do a 3 month exchange in 10th grade. BUT, as you mentioned, the thought of finding her way on campus in the spring term is scary. She is nervous that Colby has more of a party scene than she would like. She was hoping to get out of Maine, but Bates seems like an excellent choice and she can go south for med school if she ends up following that path. I have read many threads on cc and I really enjoy what you write. You have a lot of insight and I am sure many readers find what you say quite helpful! Thank you!!
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I don’t think there is any reason to believe that video (which is about students mostly discussing their first year in 2011) couldn’t have been made at any other rural liberal arts school. My S is an introvert and not a partier at all at Colby, and has had no problem finding his people or having a social life. I think the culture has changed a lot in the last 10+ years. And it seems very different from my (long ago) experience at another SLAC.
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Totally agree with @nyreader about the video. It is very outdated. I wiuld guess, OP, that being from Maine, your D knows kids at both schools. If she can, she should try to visit and talk to them about their experience. Inany ways, they are more alike than different.
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“the thought of finding her way on campus in the spring term is scary” at a college just an hour away from home. = Doesn’t make sense to consider a first term abroad in France in this situation.
“She is nervous.”
Is your daughter ready for college ?
P.S. Just read your prior thread about best college for introverts. If your daughter is an introvert, I think that you should consider study abroad before attending a small LAC which is an environment which tends to label students. Otherwise,a large state public university may be the best option for an introvert.
i suspect that this will generate responses from the usual suspects. (smile emoji)
My very confident kids would not have wanted to spend their first college term abroad and would have been nervous about how they would adjust and fit in when most other freshmen had been there the fall term.
And yes, they were more than ready for college.
Am I one of the usual suspects?
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I’d consider Colby and Bates to be peer institutions. However, I’d lean towards Bates in order to be on campus from the first semester of freshman year.
Congratulations on your daughter’s the wonderful acceptances.
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Understood. But this is not a thread about a very confident individual.
No, you were not.
Let’s move on please
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The way I understand the OP, this student would be comfortable abroad due to experiences in her HS, but she would be nervous entering college in the spring of her first year rather than fall (I don’t blame her).
Congrats on two wonderful acceptances!
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You know I’m going to disagree with that 100%. You might remember that I have mentioned many times, especially a few years ago, that my kid was an introvert. She was very shy. She had no label at Bates. In fact, she is no longer the introvert she used to be. Your experience at an LAC decades ago is not necessarily going to be the experience of all students at LACs.
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