Our DD is thrilled to have been admitted to Bates. She is a recruited athlete who had her heart set on another NESCAC college, was deferred ED1, then denied for RD about 5 minutes before she found out she was accepted to Bates. She has not yet visited Bates but would like to visit soon to learn more about the college, meet with coaches and potential teammates, and learn as much about the Bates vibe as possible. Bates parents, do you recommend visiting on one of the Admitted Students reception dates, or can a good visit be created on another date? Is it possible to spend the night in a dorm, at least see the inside of one? Are there better or worse days to visit? Is there anything she should be sure to do when she visits? We will be coming from Texas so I would like to make the most of our trip. I would plan to bring my laptop and let her explore the college mostly on her own but I would be her travel companion. I would be so grateful for anything you could share about your students’ and your experiences with Bates. Thanks in advance.
I am tagging @Lindagaf as her daughter is in her first year at Bates.
My kid visited Bates as a prospective athlete for an individual visit, and has done admitted student days at other schools. Broadly, the difference between an individual visit and an admitted students day is that, the former allows you to set up a visit focusing on your specific interests, priorities, and the latter allows you to see broadly the college experience and meet your prospective classmates. For a recruited athlete, I would think that the recruit would find themselves slipping out of a lot of panels and activities at an admitted student day to spend time with coach, prospective teammates, so she might have a better experience just doing an individual visit. At Bates, my son sat in on a class in his area of interest, and, at other schools where he did overnights, the coach set him up with teammates, so I would imagine those are readily done at Bates.
There is no “right” answer here, but the focus of a recruited athlete, in terms of getting to know the coach and team, would probably be more easily met with an individual visit. Congrats to your daughter!
Congrats to your daughter! As far as when it’s best to visit, I am actually not the best person to ask. My D didn’t revisit Bates once accepted! I do think accepted students days are fun because there will be a lot of buzz around campus and everything will be available to explore. Bates students are really friendly and I am guessing there will be some ambassador types around who will be very welcoming.
As far as overnights, it really depends on how much time you have. I am personally not a huge fan, and here is why: there are too many stories of student hosts who end up not hosting, because they have a huge test coming up, or some other commitment that gets in the way. (For any college, not just Bates.) So they sign up to host, but at that time, they don’t know there is a big test the next day, or they are going to a debate tournament. Often, accepted students end up being handed off to someone else, as happened to my daughter, who enjoyed herself nonetheless. I can tell you that when my D did revisit colleges, she did an overnight and accepted students day; she did a customized day visit including class sit-ins; and she did a routine accepted students day. Of those, I would say the one that made the least impression was when she just did an accepted students day. Her longer, customized visit was good. Her overnight visit at another college was also good.
Given that your D is an athlete, I would probably opt for a custom visit. Bates has a fair few athletes, and she will find herself on a team with smart, open-minded, motivated students. No doubt she should probably meet a few of them if possible. Call the admissions office and ask how to arrange it. She could probably do an overnight too. When my D did a custom day visit, they literally made an all-day itinerary for her and she was rarely alone, though she did have to ask people how to find the classes she sat in on. She ate lunch with students, attended a stduent club, etc… Again, this wasn’t at Bates, but I am sure it would be a similar thing.
Whatever you do, be sure to visit the beautiful Gomes Chapel. It’s my favorite building on campus, and it is used for all kinds of events. Best of luck, hope your daughter chooses Bates!
Forgot to add, as you want to maximize your visit, the countryside is lovely around there. Take a drive to Freeport, which goes along the very wide Androscoggin River for a quite a while. In the fall, it’s absolutely stunning. Freeport itself is a fun little town and Bates gives the kids free transport there. Portland is also a cool, small city with great food, fun shops, a bustling harbor side, and good hotels. The airport is small and quick to get in and out of. One of D’s friends went all the way to the Phillipines and back during the Feb break, so it’s quite easy to get flights to the rest of the world:-)
Lewiston is modest and ordinary. The kids don’t mind. As my daughter says, she’s glad it’s not a twee, perfect town. It’s got a few good restaurants which seem to offer enough variety to keep the kids happy. Try Forage or Pure Thai Kitchen. Both student favorites. There is a huge shopping area nearby for any necessities. Plenty of medical facilities, with two hospitals within walking distance. You can walk to the very pretty bird sanctuary right near the campus, students use it for running.
Relations with the town have improved over the last few years, and the president, Clayton Spencer, is very involved and has an amazing pedigree. I think she is taking Bates in the right direction. Bates is making a big effort to recruit first generation students. My husband and I are both wowed by the purposeful work program. Your daughter probably won’t be interested in that on her visit, but I urge you to learn more about it and pop into the career center. I always find them super helpful. Feel free to pm me with any questions.
Something else I should add is that my D never visited or considered either Bowdoin or Colby, or any of the other small New England LACs. She thought the kids at Bates would be down-to-earth, open-minded, not too preppy, a bit hip, and smart. She was right. She has friends from all over the country and the world. If you read the Fiske guide description of Bates, it’s spot on. It’s a great school.
I live about 30 minutes from Bates. I second going to Freeport - make sure to go to Wolfe’s Neck Woods, the state park. There’s an osprey nest in a tree on an island just off shore that’s cool.
Portland is fun, too. Make sure to go to the Old Port and drive along the Eastern Prom.
If you have any questions about the area, let me know. I grew up in Austin and moved up here in 1986. I miss Texans, but Maine is a wonderful place. 
Thank you all so much for this helpful information. I am excited to take our DD to see Bates.
Just one more thing to consider when planning a trip–Bates will be having final exams the week of April 17 followed by a week of break when few students are on campus. Students return to start Short Term (a very happy time to visit!) starting April 24.
And congrats to your daughter on her acceptance!! My D is a senior who has only one complaint about Bates–you are only there 4 years! It has been a wonderful place for her to grow and learn.
Good luck to your daughter (and you!) in your visits.