Early decision, need help Trinity vs bates

Hello, I’m an International STEM student, (Me in numbers) 3.91 UNW GPA, All honors our school does not provide AP’s, ISEF finalist 2017, Yale African young scholar 2017, (7.5) Overall IELTS.

EC’s in brief includes: Community service, several NGO’s, Entrepreneurship camps and biology teams and clubs.

Need help with which one shall I go with, I’m considering the SAT optional, they both provide 100% meet, I need financial aid probably a most of the fees, I know it is hard to calculate chances based on numbers but I need to know does the 10% difference in the acceptance rate make that huge difference, which one would you recommend to a person with my stats and needs?

Thank you

Before making a recommendation I’d want to know what attracts you to these two schools. Why Bates and Trinity as opposed to Hamilton or Colby or Connecticut College or any other college?

I think most would agree that Bates is probably the better regarded of the two colleges. Have you done your research to understand the similarities and differences between the two colleges? As an example, Trinity is probably more preppy than Bates and has Greek life. Bates has no Greek life. Trinity is a little more diverse than Bates. Bates has better access to outdoor activities and is in a nicer location, in my opinion. Trinity is in a larger city.

I imagine both schools would love to have you. ED will be an advantage at both schools, probably more so at Bates because it is more selective. I believe Trinity gives money to more international students than Bates, but Trinity has about 350 more students than Bates does, so I don’t know who is more generous. Have you run the net price calculators at both colleges? You can email the FA offcie and ask their advice too. Barring a significant difference in financial aid given tointernationals, you should choose the college you like the best.

@Sue22 I have the Connecticut and Hamilton on my list but I’m considering applying regular, as Trinity and Bates are the ones that suit me and I’m really committed to attend if got accepted.

My full list is: Note that: I still don’t have my ACT, thus if you have any suggestion in any one of those that I might have a better chance please tell me.

Bates College

Connecticut College

Hamilton College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Loyola Marymount University

St. Lawrence University

Trinity College

University of Oregon

University of Rochester

Whitman College

@Lindagaf Thank you so much, I think preferably, Bates is much better to me, but I have a friend of mine who’s currently enrolling in Trinity with a full ride, he submitted his scores but he told me I might have a better chance at Trinity

Based simply on the U.S. News ranking for selectivity across all applicants, Bates would be the tougher admit:

Bates: 21
Trinity: 43

However, I wouldn’t recommend you make an ED choice based largely on your probability of admission, at least if you have reason to believe that you would be academically qualified for (and therefore eligible for) either of these colleges.

Honestly, I don’t think that the difference between these two in reputation is so great that it should sway you. It probably depends on who you talk to, which field, where in the country, etc.

I would focus on the differences @Lindagaf notes. They are 2 very different environments, not just socially at the school but geographically. While there are a lot of people who do not like Trinity’s location (not great part of Hartford), the school has worked hard to leverage its location in a good-sized city and make it a positive for students looking for internships and volunteer opportunities. For many, this is a plus. Trinity also offers engineering which could be interesting for a STEM major.

If you’D prefer to spend your weekends hiking, etc., Maine is a better bet. Bates has a reputation for being very friendly. The students I know at both are very happy, and you look like a good candidate for either. You should talk to your friend about his experience.

Bates is more selective. With that said, I don’t know how many international (particularly African) students apply to each, so I would be reluctant to assume that the general selectivity is the same for the international pool. If you are preferring Bates, I would ED1 there and if it doesn’t work out, ED2 at Trinity.

Fwiw, my child looked at and liked both a lot but preferred Bates. He felt that for what he was considering studying - not STEM - the educational opportunities would be equal, but that the social environment and Maine location fit him better.

Great education at both schools, but different campus experiences.

Trinity has fraternities and sororities, and campus is enclosed, with quads and gorgeous “collegiate” looking buildings, but in the city of Hartford which is the capital of Connecticut. Being in Hartford, Trinity has both the positives and negatives of being located in the city – there are opportunities for government and business internships for students, but also possibility of crime. Hartford is 2 hours from New York City, and about 2 hours from Boston, so centrally located on the “Northeast Corridor.” Trinity has the reputation of attracting a slightly more preppy, wealthy student body, but the college is working to create a more diverse community. For those so interested, Trinity has dominated college squash for 20 years, beating Harvard, Yale and Princeton (most, but not all, of the time) and many Trinity squash players are international.

On the other hand, Bates is about 45 minutes from Portland, the largest (but still small) city in Maine, and Portland is about 2 hours north of Boston, depending on traffic. Bates also has a lovely campus, and has no fraternities and sororities. The town it is in, Lewiston, is a former industrial town which can appear faded, though there are a number of interesting businesses in some of the old industrial buildings downtown. Lewiston has a large Somali population, so stroll through downtown and you will see a number of clothing and food shops selling specialty items for the Somali population. Bates has the reputation of having welcoming, nice, open hearted kinds of kids. Winters in Maine will be a little colder and definitely longer than in Hartford, but the upside is access to serious winter sports, and Bates students can rent ski equipment from the college and go on day trips skiing etc.

Both are great options, good luck!

Congratulations on your hard work and success! All very good schools with very good reputations. A student can get a great education and have a rewarding experience at all of them. My main thought is that some of them are relatively similar in that they are small northeastern liberal arts colleges (LACs), though Oregon and LMU are West Coast schools, and larger (except in the case of Rochester). You get great, accurate evaluations of Trinity and Bates above. Here are some thoughts on some of the others.

Hamilton: Very beautiful, almost posh campus. Like Bates it is in a small town and very cold. Great academics. For Hamilton, Bates, and the other northeastern schools, my question usually is, can you get out of a warm bed early on a Wednesday morning and trudge through ice and snow with temperatures around 0 degrees (F) to go to class? And again that same evening for a study group? For many students, yes; but it’s a good question to ask yourself.

Loyola Marymount: I don’t know this one well, but unlike the others is pretty classically Los Angeles and Southern California beach culture. Weather would be grand. Does that suit you? School is more medium size, something like 6000 undergrads.

University of Oregon: Classic state public “flagship” university and classic U.S. college town. Eugene is really a great town. There are tremendous opportunities to do outdoors activities. Weather is milder and rainy. Do you see yourself at a very large university. It has about 20,000 undergrad students compared to a little under 2000 at some schools of the schools on your list. This can have advantages (lots to do, typically helps with diversity (and not just racial/ethnic but also economic, etc.), lots of resources and facilities, research opportunities) and disadvantages (very large classes (hundreds in intro classes), maybe puts more on the student to make their place, for example getting to know professors to secure desirable research opportunities etc.) Small is better for some, large for others. Just think about it in terms of YOUR personality.

Whitman College: It’s in Walla Walla, WA (A city so nice you have to say it twice). I liked the campus. It’s a great small school. I love the Pacific Northwest, and Whitman is in a beautiful part of it. There are lots of outdoor things to do. It is small and not close to too much. It does actively seek international students.

University of Rochester: This is also more of a medium-size school, more a small university than an LAC. It has about 5000-6000 students. It has a very nice riverfront campus just a little way outside of Rochester, a mid-size town. I was very impressed by campus, academic program, and students when we visited. I think it offers lots of opportunities. It will also be very cold, though there might be a little more to do because of the size of the town.

Connecticut College: It’s in a smaller CT town than Trinity. It’s nearer Long Island Sound and lots of nice, quaint coastal towns. It’s right on a river and very close to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (a service school whose students will go into the Coast Guard as officers). One note about CC and US schools. Almost 60% of university students in the US are female. Science/engineering schools still tend to be predominately male; LACs tend to be predominately female. CC used to be a women’s school and still has a large majority of female students. I could see that potentially being a surprise for an international student.

Some of these schools, really most of the LACs here, have relatively affluent student bodies. Economic diversity is
pretty limited. That could be a big issue for some, not one at all for others. How is that for you? Bates was founded by an abolitionist and accepted African American students from the beginning. It struck me as the New England LAC/school that we visited with the strongest social justice, social equality vibe. It felt less New England preppy. I liked it for my oldest, though they went another (rewarding) direction. Good luck!

@“Eslam Gamal” I would not worry about the cold winters. You just need proper clothing.

Thank you guys for all your help, I think with what @gardenstategal suggested ED1 Bates and ED2 trinity sounds great for my top two choices, and surely I will apply to the rest in the regular plan. Thank you so much for your help.

I was considering Whitman as I can see it’s a great school, but after I contacted the admissions office they informed me that International students applying ED are usually deferred because they want to see the international body in full so they could evaluate them properly which means I guess they need to see if there are any students with the same qualification and can pay more…

I’m planning on Neuroscience major or Biomedical sciences, I’m from Egypt. If that helps in any way.
and by the way I would appreciate if someone was able to review my personal essay, if possible please PM me, thank you again