I just got off the waitlist for Bates and am now very overwhelmed with my choices. Any advice?? I feel like Brandeis is my number 1 but I’m honestly not sure. Bates is more prestigious but I’m worried about the location being too isolated. I like that Brandeis is so close to Boston. Although, I feel like the student body vibe at Bate may be more fitting. Denison also seems nice and gave me a good scholarship.
Help plsss
All great options, sounds like you are trying to figure out your own preferences and priorities. I’d commented before when you were asking Brandeis vs. Denison. Now that Bates is thrown in the mix, I can add some additional thoughts. First and foremost though, my advice as a parent is – forget about perceived prestige, as Bates, Brandeis and Denison are all highly regarded colleges where you can flourish and grow.
My son went through athletic recruiting at Bates and Denison – Bates had to come off his list because it does not give merit aid and we knew, as a full pay family without full pay resources, the only way to make schools affordable was merit aid. That being said, my son found a lot of similarities in the vibe and culture of Bates and Denison – nice kids, not overly politicized or SJW (social justice warrior), collaborative, supportive communities. He liked Bates campus physically, liked the intimacy of the space, though the athletic facilities really could not compare, especially in his sport, so he had no qualms taking Bates off his list. For him, as a Denison student, a huge benefit has been the combination of the picture-perfect village of Granville and the accessibility of Columbus for entertainment as well as professional development/networking.
If you were leaning Brandeis because it aligns most closely with your preferences, then don’t let the WL offer throw you off just because you think Bates is better known or higher ranked. However, if you were choosing Brandeis over Denison because you think Brandeis is more prestigious, then I would suggest sitting down with your pros and cons list or spreadsheet to identify characteristics and opportunities at each school of the three schools to help with your decision.
The perception of prestige flips in various directions on CC. By some objective academic standards, Brandeis has placed in the same range as a few of the NESCACs within recent years:
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
What do you want to study ?
Is COA an important factor to you & your family ? If so, what is the annual cost for each school ?
I don’t know whether you had the opportunity to visit Bates, but it is actually in a small city, Lewiston, and only about 45 minutes from the state capital of Portland, which is a great city. Bates is not Boston, but it’s not isolated, and Maine is beautiful. Maybe @Lindagaf can chime in, as she is more knowledgeable about Bates, but I was very impressed with the school. It’s beautiful but kind of low key, and it was my impression that the friendly, inclusive culture of the school reflects its history as one of the first schools to offer educational opportunities to blacks and women, a school that has never had a Greek presence, etc.
I super love Bates. I like Brandeis a whole lot, too. I don’t know Dennison well. I personally would choose Bates because I like it the most (not rankings). But I’d be very happy with Brandeis, too. Congrats on having the choice. 
Everyone knows Brandeis has academically talented and motivated kids. Don’t leave brandies because some other school has “prestige. “ the Brandeis name is highly regarded.
Bates is not isolated. It’s in the small city of Lewiston, and is connected to Auburn. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance. Bates puts on regular free shuttles to Freeport and Portland, both of which are nearby. The airport is only 45 minutes away and flies to a number of major cities. Boston is two hours away and it’s common for students to go there for a day out or the weekend. Bates’ alumni network is well connected to Boston too.
Personally, if you are looking for a great LAC experience, you would be hard pressed to beat Bates. My D is a senior, and despite the disruption of the current situation, she wouldn’t have traded her experience for anything. The professors are fantastic. My D has close relationships with a number of them, and they’ve been so helpful to her. She’s had excellent recommendations which have enabled her to get grants and scholarships. She has loved her classes, has great friends for life, and has had a lot of fun. If a good social scene is important to you, you will get that at Bates. If you like, I can pm you and give you more information.
I honestly don’t know much about Denison, but I’ve heard good things. I think it’s improved in the last couple of years. Brandeis is a solid school, but I think most people would agree that it hasn’t got an amazing social scene.
Sounds like you have excellent choices. For a little more perspective, I will share that my D got into Bates from the waitlist. She would have been at Kenyon otherwise, also a wonderful place. She ended up choosing Bates because she liked the vibe. Students are friendly. It doesn’t have a competitive atmosphere. It’s got a sense of creativity that appealed to her. There’s strong school pride. It has great access to the outdoors, a lot of popular clubs, fun traditions, and so on. If those things are important to you, you will get all that, along with a great academic experience and excellent career services. She is so glad she took the chance and ended up at Bates.
Best of luck choosing!
I’m very fortunate that COA isn’t the most important factor for me and my family. Although, that being said, Denison definitely gave me the most money, Brandeis also gave me some, but Bates none. I’m interested in studying education. I know Brandeis and Denison have a major and Bates a minor.
Thank you all for the information- it’s so helpful!! Especially the information about Bates’s location. I think the social scene aspect of Brandeis is honestly what I’m stuck on the most. It would be perfect if that weren’t so lacking.
@sealott , I’ll send you a message. Re education, my D is friends with two kids who both created education majors. Lewiston’s Middle School is next door to Bates and my D had to do a course that involved her going there most days. She also had to do a course that involved her doing research at the nursery school near campus. I know a lot of Bates students volunteer in the Lewiston school system, which is perhaps why it isn’t too difficult to create an education major.
Btw, Bates doesn’t give merit aid to anyone.
@sealott – what are you looking for, socially? From your posts, it seems like ready access to city experience is a priority and that is part of what appeals to you about Brandeis. Can you ask Admissions at Brandeis to connect you with some students to talk about social experience more? What else about social life/college community is a priority for you? Have you asked Bates and Denison admissions for student contacts to learn more about Hillel and Jewish life at each campus?
All three schools are excellent and will prepare you for your future. The more noticeable differences between Bates and Denison are location and the presence of greek life at Denison. Both schools will feel different than Brandeis which has about 3500 undergrads but also about 2000 grad students and is located outside Boston.
As a parent, I can only imagine the challenges for high school seniors trying to make these decisions without the opportunity to re-visit campus at their top choices. I encourage you to ask Admissions to connect you with students knowledgeable about your particular questions/concerns. Best wishes – there is no wrong choice here!
Bates doesn’t have an education major, but the minor earns you Maine teaching certification and Maine has a teaching reciprocity agreement with 40 states, meaning you can teach almost anywhere. Ohio and Massachusetts are part of the same network. One of my daughter’s best friends graduated from Bates last year and is teaching science at a Boston area public school. She did her observation and student teaching at the middle school literally across the street from Bates.
If you’re thinking of teaching on the high school level you should know that teachers are usually expected to have a BA/BS in the discipline they’ll teach. To my mind being able to study the subject that most interests you while still earning certification is the best of both worlds. That may be possible at Denison or Brandeis as well-it’s something to check out.
I would choose Bates personally for the reasons you suggest. It’s not really in the city at all. But it’s certainly has a big league academic reputation.
Side note, I thought you have to earn a masters degree to be a full fledged teacher? I know nothing about the field, so this could easily be my misinformed understanding.
I don’t know Brandeis, but either Bates or Denison would seem to be a great choice. Bates has the higher ranking, but Denison is rising rapidly, and I would not discount the fact they have offered you a scholarship. My son also has a large merit scholarship from Denison, and, while that was not the deciding factor, it has really helped take the pressure off in this difficult time. If you are still considering Denison, you might want to take a look at the Twitter feed of Adam Weinberg, the school’s president. He is a visionary thinker and leader, and his personality and academic philosophy both come through in what he posts. It seems I am not able to include a link but you can find it at “Adam at Denison” on Twitter.
Update- I’m deciding between Brandeis and Bates now
The two things I’m weighing are location and student body vibe I guess. Brandeis to me has the better location of being close to Boston and has more opportunities with that. However, I like that Bates is more work hard play hard and the kids seem more chill rather than being all academically focused. Obviously there’s a mix of students everywhere and I hope to find my people no matter what, I’m just kind of torn.
It’s just been difficult because I think I’ve been mentally committed to Brandeis for awhile now and I’m more familiar with it so the idea of picking something else is scary. Bates would be a little more out of my comfort zone but I don’t know that could potentially be a good thing.
I love Bates so much. I also toured Brandeis on a day right before they were having finals. Everything was in bloom and it was a beautiful day. Even though it was right before finals, everyone on campus was smiling and happy! Literally everyone I passed seemed to be in the best mood! It really stood out to me. I know Brandeis has a reputation of having serious students and I bet there is truth in that, but they were sure happy students that day.
That said, Bates stood out to us as extremely friendly. The admission staff were standouts for that for sure but so were students who lead events at one of the visit days. DS was immediately comfortable there and is normally reserved. They had separate events for students and parents and at one point I saw him from far away laughing and taking to people. It is very unusual for him to feel so comfortable with a group right away like he did there.
You really are choosing between two great options, like if you want one flavor of ice cream or another. Good luck! No wrong choice in my opinion.
Then you know where to go. Go with your heart. Your heart states Brandeis :), plus it gave you some money.
@sealott so you know, Bates is well connected to Boston. My D and a lot of her friends have had interviews for all kinds of jobs there. That isn’t something to worry about. Brandeis is a wonderful place too, but Bates is the last place you need to be afraid of, lol. Also, don’t underestimate academics at Bates. You will be academically pushed, for sure.