My kid was a Posse Scholar, and I have been volunteering as an interviewer and a mentor for the past few years, so I’m now pretty familiar with the process.
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Google: The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Maine Right Now
Lewiston, Maine (home of Bates College) is #2 most dangerous due to rise in violent crime. Adjacent city Auburn was also listed among the top 5.
OK, but #2 in Maine is not like #2 in … well, any state that has much bigger cities (and more of them). Lewiston is also the second largest city in the state, so it’s not all that surprising that it has the second most violent crime. Going to college in Maine is like going to college in any city – you take reasonable precautions, don’t walk alone in higher crime neighborhoods at night, etc. My daughter and her friends have not encountered problems. They walk back and forth between campus and downtown, and my daughter volunteers in an after-school program for underprivileged kids. There’s a campus shuttle that takes her there and back (though she often walks there and shuttles back). She has not felt unsafe.
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Well, a Bates College tour guide stated that he did not feel safe in Lewiston according to another who toured recently. That is what prompted me to google this subject.
Most parents & students want to know this type of information. Whether or not it affects their decision is a personal matter.
The rate of violent crime in Lewiston, Maine is above the national average.
Maine is still statistically the safest state in the nation, at least according to this article. I mean, someplace has to be the second most dangerous city, even in the safest state.
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Why do you feel the need to share this info? The OP went to Bates. The most dangerous place in Maine is still not a dangerous place.
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Whether or not this is important to an applicant and his or her family is a personal matter.
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Seems to me that Lewiston is following national patterns. Crime rates are probably lower now than they were in the 1990s, but higher than they were in 2019. Post-Covid, the entire nation has experienced a spike in crime. Obviously Lewiston is more dangerous than Middlebury. I’m sure the OP knows that. But the entire state of Maine had fewer than 30 murders last year, and half of those were domestic incidents (no less tragic, but not random crime that endangers the general public). So it’s important to keep these things in context. And it’s important for every college student to be aware that most crime on college campuses is committed by fellow students, not random members of the surrounding community.
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From what I’m seeing the rate of violent crime is definitely lower than that of the US and Bates is the safest part of Lewiston (even if the rate of crime overall is higher I’d be more concerned about violent crime personally). It looks like most years there are 0 murders and very few (in absolute numbers) other violent or serious crimes and like most other places with small numbers a few incidents can have an outsized effect on rates. Having spent time in Lewiston I’d feel pretty safe downtown or right around bates, but there are definitely other neighborhoods that would give me pause. No idea if they are actually dangerous but they certainly look sketchy. But Bates itself feels safe.
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Please move on from debating safety. Further posts will be deleted without comment.
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A few comments:
–These are two outstanding LACs with a lot of overlap. I know people who have been happy and successful at both. Only your D can say if she feels one is a better fit FOR HER.
–If your D truly loves the schools equally or if she prefers Bates I would ED to Bates where the chances of admission seem higher.
–If your D prefers Middlebury then she can apply there ED and if it doesn’t work out I believe (please check) Bates offers ED2.
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thanks @happy1 ! She’s working on her decision. Bates does offer ED2.
Re: safety - if we didn’t feel comfortable with Lewiston, we wouldn’t let her apply! I’m fine with it. OUr tour guide said that he didn’t feel safe on campus - my daughter was the one who heard him say that, and clarified - which is a bit puzzling because I’ve never heard of on-campus safety issues, but none of my friends’ kids who attend Bates feel that it isn’t safe.
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The reports that matter are Clery reports, which record instances of crime on and off campus as concerns students. Neither college reported any crimes off campus or on public property for their students from the years 2020-2022, with the exception of violations of liquor laws.
Is it notable that Middlebury reported more sexual assaults than Bates for these years? Probably not, given that Middlebury has about 800 more students than Bates. Any sexual assaults are too many, or course, as are liquor violations. These are probably the most common crimes on a college campus.
These colleges are overall extremely safe and have excellent security and campus policing.
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Middlebury is generally not involving the police in most cases of alcohol and drug violation that only include use , only Public Safety. So these violations are generally dealt with by the colleges without informing the police, unless another crime was committed like assault, DWI, dealing drugs, etc. Among other reasons was that involving the police was generally something that hurt low income and minority kids a lot more (for the same offence), since these are crimes that money and connections can easily make go way, and police were also more likely to treat lower income and minority kids as criminals.
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Hi Sarah - Which school did you guys pick? Best of luck on ED1 - hope you hear by Dec 15!
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