Bates vs Vassar

<p>Hi, I am considering Bates and Vassar. Which school is better at Science and has more friendly students</p>

<p>I think these two schools are really similar in a lot of ways. Vassar is a bit larger and, from my impressions, has a more liberal student body. Vassar is probably more well known, although Bates is very prestigious in the North East (it has good relations with the Ivies and such for grad school). They are both awesome schools, probably about the same in science-- you'll just have to visit. If I were choosing between the two, I would pick Bates, but that's just my opinion.</p>

<p>This may be indirectly helpful, but I know a couple of people who picked CBB (Colby Bowdoin Bates) schools over Vassar and Swarthmore because of the on-par academics and friendlier/more comfortable atmospheres. I, for one, am having the best time of my life up here, and am working with a Bates sophmore this summer who loves Bates just as much.</p>

<p>Yeah, everyone just seems to love Bates. My sister goes and just couldn't like it more. Bates has a reputation in Maine for being the most liberal/artsy out of the Maine schools. Bates just seems like a lot fun: great profs and opportunities, laid back atmosphere, cool students.<br>
Keep in mind that Bowdoin probably is the most prestigious out of the three, although people choose Bates or Colby over Bowdoin (and Bates and Colby will get you anywhere Bowdoin can). A lot of people go to Bates and Colby who didn't get into Bowdoin. Bates is known for being very strange in admissions. They accept people pretty much based on their character. Interviews are really important to Bates, and Bates turns down a lot of kids who have excellent stats and ecs who were thinking Bates was their safety school.<br>
You should also look at Bowdoin and Colby... they are all cool schools.</p>

<p>Bates is phenomenal at science. I'm a history major, but I've taken courses. You can do pretty much anything with the facilities at Carnegie science building. I know for a fact that Bates has a very high percentage of graduates who go on to a higher degree program (somewhere near 80 or 90 percent). Plus by the time you're a junior, there will be a brand new dining hall and new suites.</p>

<p>My brother went to bates. He didn't like the professors there. The campus was a bit small for him.</p>

<p>Hi, do you think Bates is more prestigious than Vassar? Thank you for your help!</p>

<p>Um, I don't know-- in New England probably. But don't worry about that. I think one of the things that makes Bates cool is that the students are not really into being prestigious. I know that Bates has awesome professors. Probably the worst thing about Bates is the town it's in, but that doesn't seem to bother the students. And, Bates does give a lot of financial aid, but it doesn't have quite as much money as say Vassar, Bowdoin, or Amherst... so it isn't completely need blind. I think if you can fully pay for Bates (I think it's like $44,550 next year), you might have a bit easier time getting in. So, there are a fair amount of rich kids there. I think the most complaints about Bates come from those kids. Maybe it's not as quite as enjoyable as their yacht or penthouse. But, Bates has moslty overwhelming nice people, great resources, wonderful campus, brilliant students, and is just a awesome college experience.</p>

<p>I agree with autmaine's assesment of Bates (I'm a rising Jr batesie myself) -- but the whole need-sensitive thing only affects ~5% of an incoming freshman class, so I wouldn't take that into consideration.</p>

<p>about prestige: i think both vassar & bates are quite prestigious; i don't think you can go wrong with either of them.</p>

<p>I got into both, and ended up choosing Bates -- something about the ppl at Bates just "clicked" for me. Spend time at both schools and see where you feel more comfortable. But chances are you'd be fine at either place, so don't sweat the choice too much!</p>