Bates had a 45% increase in applicants this year: from 5316 in 2016 to 7688 in 2017. http://www.bates.edu/news/2018/02/21/bates-college-attracts-record-number-of-applications-for-incoming-class/
It’s about time that Bates started getting the attention it has long deserved. It has been on the rise for many years now but now it seems the secret is out. As an alum this is exciting to see!
Bates eliminated the supplemental essay and recruited very heavily outside the region. There were increased numbers of apps from all areas outside the Northeast.
It is nice to see Bates getting the recognition it deserves. I graduated in the early 1990s and I can’t say enough about the four years I had there. My closest friends in the world are from Bates (my freshmen roommates) and I got into the graduate school of my choice and never had trouble getting any job I wanted based on the reputation of the college. I also felt so well prepared for the work world and for life because of the school’s strong academics. The professors and administrators are so supportive and really care about the students and the student body is filled with intelligent and caring young people who really want to make a difference in the world. I think the Fulbright awards speak to this.
I would be thrilled if one of my kids wanted to go to Bates. Anyone who gets in is lucky to have the chance to spend four years at this wonderful institution. It really is a special place.
Bates is an excellent school, however, the rise in applications is probably due in large part to the school’s generous financial aid combined with optional standardized test schools &, now, no supplemental essay.
I know a handful of students who applied to Bates in the past few years & the primary reason was for financial aid at a top 30 LAC.
I also noticed that Bates’ applications from foreign students has risen dramatically. What is Bates’ policy with respect to financial aid for international students ?
Bates covers full need for both international and US students. International students are given aid in the form of grants.
I wonder if part of the increase in international student applications was due to the fact that the Bates supplement required applicants to dissect a part of the Bates mission statement. Language like “With ardor and devotion—Amore ac Studio—we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action” may have been daunting for applicants for whom English was a second language. It also made it very hard for applicants to retrofit an existing “Why us?” essay.
I think @Lindagaf’s post in #2 sums it up.
Dropping the supplemental essays results in huge boosts in applications. It makes it super easy for a student to apply - a few clicks and a credit card. We saw the same phenomenon happen when Colby and Kenyon dropped the supplements.
This doesn’t take anything away from Bates. It’s a great college. Things like aid to international applicants are appealing but aren’t a new policy. Kenyon attributes an increase in diversity in its applicants to the supplement drop.
https://kenyoncollegian.com/opinion/2015/04/lack-of-supplement-drives-diversity/
A few other reason:
-Greater travel and outreach, particularly to areas outside the Northeast, where Bates was already well known and respected.
-The new American Talent Initiative,“Colleges working collaboratively to expand access and opportunity for highly-talented lower-income students,” of which Bates is a founding member.
-A new digital and computational studies major.
-Good press as a result of a $50 million donation from a Bates alumni family, the largest single gift to a Maine college ever.
-Continuing communication about the Bates Purposeful Work program.
Like it or not, all colleges need to play the US News game and Bates hadn’t been doing that as well, which made it seem like Colby was leagues better due to its lower admit rate. Colby also doesn’t charge a fee to apply so it is even easier. If taking out the extra essay and doing more promotion outside of its stronghold areas can help Bates rise then I can see why they did it.
The fact is that the number of high school graduates in US has been on the decline and colleges are now operating in a more competitive environment. Many of the top Liberal Arts Colleges have dropped their admission requirements (e.g., writing and SAT subject tests) to try and boost the number of applicants. This certainly raises their acceptance rates. Colleges are also trying to fill the gap with international students. So I can’t read much into the rising applications story. It’s a game!
Although the number of high school students in the US may be dropping, the top colleges and universities have been receiving a record number of applications year after year, and this year is no exception. The average SAT/ACT scores for applicants and admitted students are also on the rise. The drop in the number of overall students certainly has not affected the top schools. I suspect this is partly due to students applying to a larger number of schools. It seems applying to 10 - 15+ schools is now the norm. I also think there is a degree of game playing by the colleges. By eliminating application fees, supplemental essays and making the school test optional, they are maximizing the number of students applying, ensuring that their admit rates become lower. And to preserve their yield numbers and their US News Rankings, I think colleges are admitting more students from their ED applicants, and placing a greater number of students on the waitlist and only admitting those that demonstrate very strong interest from that group. And some schools, like the University of Chicago and others, will bombard students with literature enticing them to apply even though that student has no real chance of getting accepted. Some schools are employing these tactics more aggressively than others and skewing the US News rankings somewhat. I wonder when US News will start factoring in some of these games in their rankings.