<p>To all of the people interested in Bates, why are you so interested?</p>
<p>I am considering Bates as my top choice because I want to study Economics and I am also interested in the 3/2 engineering porgrams with dartmouth and Columbia, is that program worth it? By the way after college I plan on working at an Investment Bank/Hedge Fund/Consultancy, so I thought the degree would give me an advantage on top of my liberal arts background, but I really am not sure.</p>
<p>Also, how is Bates different from other liberal arts colleges, i read the bits of info about it on princeton review and barron’s, but that really didn’t help much. How is the surounding area of Bates? Is Maine boring? Im not really outdoorsy, even though I play sports like football and basketball. Will I go crazy in maine? I live 15-20 minutes outside of NYC, so I am used to people and not trees. How is the Party scene at Bates? Is the school strict about drinking and drugs? Do any companies come and recruit at Bates? Would you reccomend teh 3/2 engineering program?</p>
<p>I know I have to visit, but can you tell me everything you know about Bates because I really think that it is going to be my top choice for college.</p>
<p>The academics are awesome, you'll have great opportunities to go into i-banking-- especially in NYC and Boston. Apparently the school has a lot of alumni in the Bank of America, I guess a lot of Bates grads work there.
Remember, Bates is known as the "hippie" school out of the Maine school. There are a lot of kids who are pretty preppy-- but those are mostly the varsity athletes. Well, who knows. According to some people Bates is beginning to loose it's hippie feel every year. Anyway, I'm sure you'd find some friends. Lewiston is probably the crappiest town in Maine. It's known to be the ghetto, with a fair amount of crime (for Maine, so still none) including drug dealing. There are also a lot of Somalian refugees in Lewiston now, kinda cool. There is a lot of opportunity for cs. It's also the second largest city in Maine, so it's not like you're in the middle of the forest. Bates, especially for first years, is really into partying. Apparently the administration is pretty lax about it, a lot of people smoke (pot) too. But it's like that at every college, and it can be easily avoided at a college like Bates. I don't know much more-- I don't go there, my good friend does.</p>
<p>That was really helpful, can anyone tell me anything important about Bates? Like what is really good about it and also what is really bad? By the way, my other top choice is colgate because I really like both schools and I am goign to be a junior in high school in september and I know that I am going to go to one of these two schools hopefully. I am going to ED, but can you tell me how the 3/2 engineering program is and the Economics departments at both schools are like.</p>
<p>I found myself in the exact same decision this year, choosing between Colgate and Bates. I ended up choosing Bates, and I just wanted to let you know some of my reasons. These reasons are why I chose Bates, but depending on how you look at them, they could mean Colgate for you. I stayed overnight at both, and sat in at classes at both. I can't really compare Econ or the 3/2 program but I know that Econ is one of the most popular majors at Bates and the girl I stayed overnight with was an Econ/Spanish double major and raved about all of her teachers. For me what really made me choose Bates were the students and the overall environment. Colgate seemed to be really Frat/Sorority dominated and most students said that while they expected a liberal arts college, Colgate's atmosphere was more like a a university without the resources. With the Division 1 athletics and the Greek system, it just seemed way to jock-y, which was fun for me in high school but not what I was looking for in college. Bates overall seemed friendlier and happier, and all of the students actually seemed to like each other. In the classes I sat in on, the students at Bates were much more engaged and actually into the material, while the Colgate students seemed to be bored and not at all into it. It seemed to me that Bates and Colgate are very similar, but it is all of the intangibles that make them different. And Bates really, really wasn't that 'hippie-ish' at all, just a little bit more diverse.</p>
<p>I would say Bates is a lot different than Colgate. The culture at Bates is more laid back, not so preppy (although there is a lot of that). I would say Bates is more prestigious and just overall a better college experience.</p>
<p>thank you so much for your response, but there is a couple of more colleges that are very comparable to Bates that I might visit this summer and they are Hamilton and Washington and Lee. How would say these two schools compare to Bates?</p>
<p>Also,how "good" is Bard because I think that it will be my backup if I get rejected from my other top choices. Again, these are all affiliated with the Columbia 3/2 engineering program. By the way, how is Sarah Lawrence?</p>
<p>I'm also a junior trying to figure out where to apply (wait, are you also a junior?). I also am really interested in Bates. My sister goes there and really wants me to go, and thinks it's the best place in the world. I will definitely apply there RD, but maybe ED-- I don't know yet. I also was attracted to Hamilton to similar reasons I am to Bates. It seems laid back, not cut-throat prestigious. I would say Bates has a little more going for it in terms of location and campus, but I will visit Hamilton also, check it out. I haven't really considered Washington and Lee, I'll look into it though.<br>
Politically Bates is pretty liberal (as are most good colleges) but my sister says it is "half-and-half." It's not like Wesleyan or Oberlin. Also look at Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Whitman, and Colby-- they seem also similar, although Bowdoin is a bit more preppy and competitive. I"m not interested in Sarah Lawrence because of it's location and the men:women ratio. I'm not into engineering, so I don't know about Bard. I would also say Bates and Hamilton (especially) are stronger/ better in humanities, although Bates has great natural sciences and sends lots of kids to med school. Good luck.</p>
<p>^haha. I am going to be a junior in september, but the only problem is that none of the colleges that I apply to will see any of my senior year grades at all, even if I apply regular decision, my school works on a trimester basis. Anyways, Sarah Lawrence seems awesome for any straight guy, I mean a friend of mine said that there are like 3 to 4 girls for every straight guy on campus.</p>
<p>What about Bard vs. Bates
and Washington & Lee vs. Bates
and Colgate vs. Bates
and Hamilton vs. Bates</p>
<p>I highly doubt I can get into Wesleyan and Vassar so I am avoiding them period and i will apply EA to Bard as my safety so far and I will ED to Bates, Colgate, Hamilton or W&L and I really need answers on which is better and why?</p>
<p>So far the only real turn-off of Bates is that, I will have to travel pretty far because I live in NJ and going to Boston which took like 4 1/2 hours seemed kind of far and traveling by car to main would seem even longer, but it really isn't that big of a deal because I only plan on going home during breaks. Also, I am Asian...well I am Kurdish turk so would i feel kind of awkward on campus? Nearly all my friends in high-school are white so its not like I am white-phobe or anything, and people often mistake me for being white and all, but from what I read on forums, W&L is really awkward for non-whities. Also, how is social-life at Bates compared to social life at these other schools?</p>
<p>If you think Wesleyan is not possible to get into, Bates would aslo be a bit of a reach (Colgate same story). There isn't that much of a difference in the student body in terms of grades, SATs, and such. Also, you have time... don't worry about it too much right now. Just do well in school, have fun, and look more into this stuff in a year or so. None of the things you're asking about are too urgent. But, Bates has a lot of Asians and people from NJ. My school is also trimesters, and the fall trimester will go on my app. no matter kind of decision I apply for.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm an Asian student at Bates, from New York, and I can tell you that being Asian isn't an awkward issue at all. Sometimes you might feel like you stick out, but I have gone to predominantly caucasian schools all my life and I'm used to it - and being Asian doesn't affect how people treat you or your interaction with people. I am also actively involved with the Asian cultural activities at Bates - I never intended on it, but next year I'm going to be co-coordinator of Sangai Asia, one of the Asian clubs at Bates. Bates is def not Stanford or Columbia or even NYU, but if you want to be involved in Asian cultural activities there are a lot of options, and a lot of room for them to expand. Plus, there aren't only Asians from Asia, but also a lot of Asians who were raised/born and raised in the US too. </p>
<p>The travelling thing? It can be a pain to travel back and forth, but it's not that bad. The car ride is about 6 1/2 hours, but it can be less or more depending on the day. The bus can be kinda awful sometimes (a little more than 8 hours one way), but there are now flights going from Portland, ME to LaGuardia and maybe Newark, which only cost $79.00 one way and take less than an hour. I wouldn't let the travelling issue bother you or make it the ultimate deciding factor; the tri-state area is still accessible enough from Maine.</p>
<p>Btw, the alcohol policy is very lax at Bates - Security is very chill about what you do in your spare time, and as long as they don't catch you abusing it and staying within pretty reasonable limits they'll leave you alone. Only thing is, Bates has a no-hard-alcohol policy so if you're caught they'll make you get rid of it and you could even get a strike.</p>