<p>I was accepted into both Hamilton and Bates. At first, I was almost certain that Hamilton was the place for me, but after I got accepted into Bates, I got a little confused and now I’m really lost. I was wondering what everybodys opinions are on each school and which you think is better. I’m also thinking of doing the pre-med route, so which school has a better program? Any help would be great! Thanks :)</p>
<p>I am in the exact same position! Lol…so unsure…Bates has a really impressive med school placement rate…(to top top med programs!)…in my eyes they are very similar w. Bates having a less fratty prep school feel</p>
<p>Congrats to both of you!</p>
<p>From the sound of things, the truth is: you’ll be happy at either. If you know you want a small NESCAC and got good vibes from both, you really can’t go wrong. </p>
<p>I’m a current Batesie, just inspired by all the prospectives around campus to come and check in on here. Since I’m obviously biased I’ll say that the Bio Department and whole pre-med crew are pretty great here. I’m not on that track myself, but many close friends are on it and have loved it. Many of them have had the opportunity to do research with a professor over the summer or during short term – not just lab tech mundane work, but actually working side by side with professors running tests and analyzing data. I’ve always been impressed with how many opportunities it seems like all the bio-med kids have to do stuff like that.</p>
<p>Other than that, to make the decision I’d say maybe try to narrow down the differences between the schools. For example, Hamilton has Greek life (frats/sororities) while Bates doesn’t. To me, the overarching campus-feel difference is that Bates feels more like one unified community (one dining hall = you run into everyone, no frats = the social scene is more inclusive) while Hamilton (and many other NESCACs) feel more disjointed. But anyway, that’s my biased take on things.</p>
<p>Feel free to message me with any more questions. Best of luck to both of you!</p>
<p>Weel, of course I am the ideal person to answer…I’m not “oldbatesiedoc” for nothing…The science departments are all awesome, I had a shared office and did research, and was a TA as an undergrad. Of course the pre-med committee gives you great advise, great recs, practice interviews, etc. I got into 5 med schools, so I had my choice, and my Bates education helped me get where I am today.
Bates really is not cut-throat, no one will steal your notes or wreck your experiments. It’s a strong college community, and the lack of any organization that all students can’t belong to really helps foster that sense of community. Go for it!</p>