<p>My daughter just got a call from Bates, one of her top choices, that she’s in off the waitlist. Impressive. Great school. Hard to be admitted. No Greek life. Widely known and admired. She had settled on Lafayette College after much debate (including other NESCAC schools) and is now totally conflicted. She’s a political science/government major. Bates has a well-respected department in this field I believe and Laf seems to have mixed reviews on profs in that area. Help. Any thoughts? What would you do?</p>
<p>Has she visited Bates, and if so, did she like the feel of the school? It is clearly ranked higher (US News), and offers a more rigorous academic environment than Lafayette, including the requirement that all students do a seniors project/thesis.</p>
<p>My brother attended Bates years ago, and loved it; he ended up majoring in rhetoric, which is a program unique to Bates.</p>
<p>Hi, I think they are both excellent schools and she should go with her gut feeling. I know several kids at my school did not get into LC but got into Bates. LC SATs are quite high and competitive. I am surprised that Bates is still using the waitlist at this time. That is excellent though if she is still interested. I know a lot of the small liberal arts school did not use there waitlist at all this year so I am a bit confused that Bates is still trying to fill the class. I know they always list there acceptance rate in the 25% rate so that is interesting. Does she have friends at either school to weigh out the pros and cons? How long did they give her to decide? Good luck.</p>
<p>I would say that if you are interested in a more down to earth environment, go to Bates. My son just finished his first year there and loved it. Academics are demanding but students work together in the harder classes and help each other. As a parent, I like that the weekend stuff is on campus not in local bars like at some colleges. Also, he is on a sports team, but friends are not exclusively on the teams. Kids mix and match. The short term is nice because they have a lot of fun for that five week period where they take just one class. Lafayette struck me when we visited as lots of very attractive, name brand oriented students. I could be wrong but that’s what we saw in the dining hall. I don’t think you can go wrong with either one though. Good Luck!</p>
<p>My son (rising Soph) is a politics major/history minor at Bates and he has been very impressed with this professors and classes (and loves everything else about Bates, too.) As photogirl said, academics are quite demanding but the atmosphere is collaborative, not competitive.</p>
<p>I looked at both Bates and Lafayette, really liked both, and strongly considered both. Laf has a beautiful campus, strong traditions, excellent academics. I saw some really nice dorms, beautiful buildings old and new. I thought the town was interesting and had a lot of character. However, my visits were fairly impersonal (cattle calls) and that was a bit of a turn-off. Also, I got the impression that the vast majority of kids are from the PA / NJ area, and rather homogeneous. On the other hand, my interactions with Bates and Bates people were very personal and welcoming. Bates has excellent academics, a great campus, great arts scene and athletic teams, and a lot of school spirit. I think it draws a wider range of students than Laf. I really like the variety of housing options, from Victorian houses to really nice modern dorms and everything in between. I think there is a geniune sense of community at Bates (it’s not just in the viewbooks!), and the lack of frats is probably an advantage and contributes to that.
It’s great that your student got in off the wait-list. This is probably the result of “summer melt” – not anything negative about Bates’ yield, etc. Good luck with the decision!</p>
<p>Actor, which did you choose??</p>