<p>Yeah, I know these colleges are often compared, but I am interested what sounds like the best one for me. I personally am planning to visit all of them this January, I live in New York, and want to play women's college soccer at one of these schools. I am jewish, sporty, a little preppy, not artsy at all and want to major in economics. I don't really care about the soccer school's records, knowing that Bowdoin has the best.
I am not rich, live on Long Island, but have enough money to not need financial aid at all. I love running, any athletic activity actually, not skiing, and I am smart, but not a competitive student at all.
Without visiting, I am going in thinking my order would be Colby,Bowdoin, then Bates. But I do like malls occasionally and would like to get off campus sometimes too. And hear that Bates has a ghetto area, that is kind of putting it behind Bowdoin for me.
Respond, Jamoboo</p>
<p>Jamoboo,</p>
<p>We visited all three of these schools, and actually visited Bates and Colby twice for a tiebreaker. My daughter loved Bates best of the three, and so did I. It is not in a ghetto at all. The campus is just lovely and the students were all so happy to be there. One of the things we always like to do to get a feel for the place is to eat in the dining halls. We had the opportunity to do that in the spring and again in the fall at Bates. I don’t think any students were sitting alone, and there just seemed to be a welcoming sense of camraderie everywhere. Students were very friendly to us and just went on and on about how happy they were and what a great place Bates was.</p>
<p>Bates is only about 45 minutes from Portland or Freeport, I believe.</p>
<p>Colby was beautiful and a close second, but we observed a greater sense of community at Bates. My d had a wonderful interview at Bates with a professional, and we were a little put off by the awkward interview she had with an upperclassman at Colby. </p>
<p>Bowdoin did not seem as quite as comfortable as either of the other two. </p>
<p>These are all intangibles of course, and you will have to form your own opinion when you visit. They are all very selective, so you may want to apply to at least your top two.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for replying, and Bates is a great college, and maybe should analyze it more closely. I was wondering about the people. At colby is the majority, awkard or outdoorsy( odd) people. Just wondering I mean I don’t know if people are like that. But I want a school with school spirirt, and friendly people. Also my jcrew/madewell style would fit in at Bates? Just wondering, because I also hear stuff like Bates filled with drunk people all the time, and cold hearted students. But I also hear that Colby has the nicest?</p>
<p>The three schools are more similar than different. All three are liberal arts colleges in Maine with student bodies that are roughly the same size. If you would be happy at one of them, chances are you would be happy at any one of the three of them. My son chose Bowdoin mainly because it was a good fit for his extracurricular interests (athletics), is in the nicest town of the three and has slightly better name recognition on a national level (we’re from the west coast where none of the Maine schools are well known, so this is important when thinking down the road about jobs etc.). That being said, we liked the other two schools a lot and felt our son would have been happy at Bates or Colby. We actually stack ranked Bates ahead of Colby. I agree with the poster above that it’s wrong to think of Bates being in a bad neighborhood. Bates has a lovely campus (on par with Bowdoin IMHO) and the surrounding neighborhood is not bad at all, although not as charming as Brunswick. Colby’s campus is beautiful as well, although quite different from the other two, and it seems the most isolated. We really liked the people we met at Colby, who were very friendly and seemed to really love their school. The “vibe” on campus was a bit more relaxed than at Bowdoin. Go visit and see for yourself!</p>
<p>Because it’s common for students look at all 3 of these schools there are many CC threads comparing them. Try a search for “Colby vs. Bates” or “Bowdoin, Bates, Colby” and you’ll find a wealth of information.</p>
<p>Seriously, over the course of two visits we were overwhelmed with the friendly and happy students at Bates, a bit more so than Colby and much more so than Bowdoin. Your J. Crew / Madewell style will be just fine there. </p>
<p>We too were concerned too about the remoteness of Colby. We preferred Lewiston to Waterville.</p>
<p>Agree with the poster above about the vibe at Colby (and Bates) being more relaxed than at Bowdoin. Similiarly, my d (and I) felt she would be happy at either Bates or Colby, but preferred Bates.</p>
<p>Yeah, Bates sounds amazing, yes I have looked at the bowdoin v colby v bates posts. But a lot of people treat Bates like crap, saying it is defintly the worse, then people treat Colby and Bowdoin a little better. I have to visit, but online all three just look beautiful.
Pros/cons of the schools?</p>
<p>Something new- The installation of Bates’s new president, Clayton Spencer, has been very enthusiastically received. Until taking on the top job at Bates she was part of Harvard’s leadership team. Google her. The fact that Bates was able to hire her was seen as a coup. </p>
<p>As for how Bates is treated I think it would depend on who you ask. It’s actually more selective than Colby and has a higher yield, though both are great schools.</p>
<p>We visited all three schools two summers in a row. In the end, my S decided to apply ED1 to Colby and fortunately he was accepted. In our mind, Colby appears to attract a student body that likes the outdoors a bit more than the other two schools. We also liked the feel of Colby and the friendliness of the students. Our S had a disappointing interview with an upperclassman at Bowdoin who was quite snobby. Bowdoin also appeared a little more intense/stressful from an academic standpoint. The fact that Sugarloaf is close to Colby was also a strong plus, as our S loves snowboarding. All three schools are excellant, and it comes down to a personal decision.</p>
<p>Totally disagree with those who prefer Bates to Colby, but to each his or her own and certainly both are fine schools. Visited both and S did not even apply to Bates. The campus and facilities at Bates did not seem comparable at all to those at Colby. Bates doesn’t have much of an endowment compared to other NESCAC schools–in fact it may be the lowest. That makes a real difference in programs, campus and quality of life. Lewiston is pretty shabby no matter what anyone says–not that Waterville is exactly a thriving metropolis. Thought the atmosphere, sense of community, food, quality of life were all far superior at Colby. And really, Colby is not significantly more isolated from anything worth being close to than Bates. Kind of like saying Middlebury and Williams are isolated. Maybe, but if that’s your primary concern you should probably be looking at BU, NYU etc. and not any of the Maine schools or NESCAC colleges.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t mind the isolation, it would probably be a pleasant change from Long Island. I don’t think I want the more challenging education route because I am not the brightest, and probably would be the dumb one in the class at Bowdoin. Yeah, I guess its more between Colby and Bates.</p>
<p>All three of these three colleges are very challenging academically. I can’t imagine you would find that aspect of your education lacking at any of them.</p>
<p>Bowdoin might be a bit more well known and a bit more competitive to get into than the other two, but Colby and Bates are no less academically challenging. If you think you might struggle at Bowdoin then, to be honest, you might struggle at the other two as well. Not trying to be mean, just helpful.</p>
<p>You know, reading all these posts together, it seems like there is a consensus among some that Bowdoin is a bit more “uptight”, less “relaxed” and “more intense.” When it comes to the Bates versus Colby question, it is entirely a matter of personal preference. My sense was that the academics were comparable, it is really a matter of which environment you might (slightly) prefer. But unless you are planning to apply ed II, there is really no reason that you need to make this decision now. I would apply to both, visit if you can because it will strengthen your application, and then visit again if you are admitted and are lucky enough to be in a position to choose between the two.</p>
<p>I agree with treksixchick, and would add that it’s probably not wise to apply ED2 to a school you haven’t visited.</p>
<p>My guess is that when you visit in January one will strike a chord with you. For now looking closely at each school’s website will both help you differentiate between them and write compelling “why us” supplements.</p>
<ul>
<li>I know all are academically challenging. I guess I am not wording this correctly. I am bright enoguh to get into all three, but Bowdoin just seems “more” challenging and competitive which I am not particularly for. I guess I should just visit in January and see for myself. Thanks all.</li>
</ul>
<p>as already pointed out, all three are vastly more similar than different-- all great schools with engaged faculty committed to teaching undergraduates, where you would be challenged academically and can get a fantastic education. you really need to visit to form your own opinions, but also beware of the potential effect of “limited sample size” on your impression (eg, obnoxious interviewer casting one school or another in a bad light).</p>
<p>while most i think would agree that bowdoin may be a bit more competitive for admission, based on my daughter’s experience there, it is the exact opposite of the uptight hypercompetitive environment more prevalent at some of the ivies, but instead (i’m told) a very supportive and close knit campus culture, where most kids are very talented at one thing or another outside of academics, and above all happy and well-adjusted. i think the same could easily be said about colby and bates, though, so, again, visit and form your own opinions…</p>
<p>if you are at all interested in playing soccer in college, by all means contact the coaches at all three to gauge interest, and take them up on potential offers of official visits-- you may find that how you perceive the fit between yourself and coaches/teams helps differentiate these schools as well. based on my experience (colby), and my daughter’s (bowdoin), i’d say athletics play a significant though non-dominant role in campus life at both colby and bowdoin, in a positive, D3 sort of way. not sure about at bates, though our sense in visiting a couple years ago was perhaps not quite so much.</p>
<p>finally, there’s the test-optional thing at both bowdoin and bates, if that makes a difference to you.</p>
<p>good luck, and try not to over-agonize about it-- if the idea of a small non-urban LAC appeals to you, you really can’t go wrong with any of these schools.</p>
<p>You may be bright enough to get into all three, but so are alot of students who weren’t admitted. Your course rigor and grades will be very important. Definitely contact the soccer coaches, this can help alot.</p>
<p>The academic calendar, Bates is a 4-4-1 and Colby is a 4-1-4. What does this mean, what does it benefit? Also what is Bowdoin?</p>
<p>Colby has a three week January term or “Jan plan”, a mini-term sandwiched between the fall and spring semesters. During this time students take a single course, do an internship or study abroad.</p>
<p>Bates has a “Short Term”, A month long mini-term after the fall and winter semesters. As in the Colby Jan plan, students take an on campus course, do an internship or study abroad. </p>
<p>The big difference in my opinion is that the Bates Short Term offers the possibility of extending whatever the student is doing for short term into the summer. For instance it’s common for students to turn a research internship into a summer job or to use a Short Term study trip as the jumping off point for a larger pleasure or research trip. </p>
<p>Many schools have a Jan plan. As far as I know Bates’ Short Term is unique.</p>
<p>Bowdoin has a standard 4-4 calendar with a slightly longer winter break than Colby or Bates.</p>