<p>DS is looking to add a few more smaller schools to his application list. All I know is these are two good LACs, both in Maine. We do not have time to visit this fall. I guess I'm more interested in the "contrast" part. Looks like Bates is a tougher admit, but other than that, what distinguishes these two schools? What kind of kid would be more attracted to one than the other?</p>
<p>I had to keep my D from bolting out the door during the Bates presentation. When asked what do kids do on the weekends, the student replied - and I swear to you - “Go to the library.” They quoted some ridiculously high percentage of students who are athletes. We figured out later that they must join a team to get way from the campus during the weekend. So I guess a more athletic student goes to Bates? Who knows??
We found a much livelier atmosphere at Colby. BTW, when my D was applying, Colby was the harder admit. YMMV.</p>
<p>Roger that. They are neck-and-neck in USNWR-type rankings. Bates has admit percent in high 20s; Colby in low 30s. I just gotta believe there are real differences in the type of kid at each school. (DS#1 looked at quite a few Ohio LACs and they each had their own personality.)</p>
<p>We toured both with S2. Bates has a smaller physical campus and was situated pretty much in town center although when you are Both son and I liked the town of Waterville better with the chain “stuff” away from the campus and the Colby campus is lovely. The Bates kids seemed more intense and almost hyper about their sports, campus activities etc. and all of them we encounted talked about their athletic facilities. The Colby kids we encountered seemed more laid back. The academics seemed and felt about equal in caliber. The Colby kids seemed to head off campus for their recreation like skiing, camping, kayaking while the Bates kids seemed to more involved in activities on campus. The Colby kids we encountered talked more about what they were doing outside the world of Colby in terms of engagment, interests, politics etc. what they were going to do in the future. The Bates kids talked more about specific classes or what they were studying and were more about the moment or what they were doing that weekend, etc. My son definitely felt the fit at Colby while I felt like if I were in college I would have “fit” at Bates, in fact I went to a college that is very similar to Bates in many way. The differences are subtle but there are fit differences. I thought the Bates admissions staff and dead were wonderful, the Colby staff more distant but my son didn’t really notice or care about those subtle differences and really it was about his four years. They are most really excellent colleges so one person’s opinion will be different than another. Ironically I personally think the tour guide at Colby had a big part in my son’s feeling…they were two peas in a pod right down to the fact that they had identical clothes on…wool crew neck sweater, white t-shirt, jeans, Birkenstocks and a braided bracelet. The Bates tour guide had on athletic attire (a college t-shirt, jeans, sneakers and windbreaker) which is so not my son. My impression was that the Bates kids were just downright nice kids…the ones that went to public school, participated in band and NHS and perhaps played a sport in high school. My impression of the Colby kids were that they were a touch more sophisticated or if not sophisticated maybe just more “exposed” to life definitely not hipsters or skinny jeans type, but just more laid back about things. You just never know. Good to visit both and formulate your own opinions.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the info. A visit would have to wait until spring. Both are common app schools, so I guess it couldn’t hurt to apply to both.</p>
<p>Too bad you can’t visit… D1 visited both. She really did not like the feel of Colby. The tour guides were pretty awful. They seemed bored with the campus and the school. I wouldn’t really describe them as laid back (Haverford… that is where our tour guide was laid back…). There were three guides, and none of them impressed us.</p>
<p>Bates did have a bit more of the intensity mentioned by motb. D did apply and was accepted to Bates, but she really never generated a lot of enthusiasm for it and did not attend.</p>
<p>Just an FYI, D ended up at Dickinson and LOVES it. Another small LAC, slightly easier admit than Bates or Colby.</p>
<p>I am a Bates grad, class of '82- so I’ll throw in my 2 cents here for what it is worth. Back when I was at Bates (many moons ago :)), Bates had the reputation of being where the “middle class” kids from public schools went, while Colby and Bowdoin had a greater percentage of kids from private/prep schools. That isn’t a judgment either way, but I think it did shape the atmosphere on the campuses. Nowadays, however, I doubt there is as much distinction- I think Bates students are more “preppy” than they used to be (I live about 45 minutes from campus and have returned regularly- this is just my observation). I have also heard anecdotally that Bates students are more “intense” than they used to be, although it was a challenging place academically when I was there.</p>
<p>It certainly is true that the city of Lewiston (an old mill town) is no great shakes, but at least it is fairly accessible to Portland by car or bus. Waterville is 45 minutes further north and seems like it would be quite isolated, especially in the winter. </p>
<p>My husband and I (both Bates grads) have had many positive expereicnes over the years with Bates staff and administrators in an alumni role. I have not had any experience with staff at Colby. </p>
<p>Hope this helps… I would also encourage campus visits if at all possible.</p>
<p>I think there is a comparison of the two in the first season of the Sopranos…Meadow goes to visit both with her dad</p>
<p>DS’s BF is at Bates; one of my dear friends has a son at Colby. Both young men are having incredible experiences. They are also very similar.</p>
<p>So I have to conclude that some of the differences as very superficial.</p>
<p>Both are very invested in life on campus, and both studied abroad.</p>
<p>Apply to both. See what happens. I think Bates is quirkier in its admissions. I have seen them repeatedly reject kids with higher stats in favor of kids with lower stats. I’m not always sure what they’re looking for, although the Colby at com bragged to me that they rejected a kid that Dartmouth accepted, so you never know. LAC’s are quirky.</p>
<p>(Full disclosure – DS at Williams. DD at Barnard. A LAC lover here.)</p>
<p>Very useful info. Thanks to all. DS is not up to Williams/Barnard, and mostly has larger schools on his list. I am applying a little arm-twisting to get him to include some small schools–DS#1 is at one and having a really good experience. (DS#2 is a very shy, quiet kid who I think would be happy going through four years of college never having to interact with a professor. DH is the one who wisely pointed out that he might need a smaller school more than any of our kids.)</p>
<p>I appreciate the Dickinson suggestion. I was going to ask for other recommendations in the original post but didn’t want to broaden the scope too much. After my oldest I feel a have a good grasp on OH LACs, but for some reason his search never took us to PA. We are in VA, and many PA schools would be <relatively> close. I’m very open to other LAC suggestions.</relatively></p>
<p>momofthreeboys wrote:
</p>
<p>I realize it was just a typo, mom, hidden within your really great report. But it made me laugh out loud. I’m glad you found the dead people at Bates so congenial!</p>
<p>Oh goodness, I rip off my typing so fast generally and never proofread, naughty me…so funny. Of course I meant dean and he was a wonderful man and quite alive. Even spell check would not have fixed that one! Honestly I don’t think one can go “wrong” with any of the three Maine schools it’s just a matter of which one feels like “home.”</p>
<p>Colby grad here – even more moons ago than TWINMAMA graduated from Bates … It really is a matter of personal fit since the schools seem so similar in many respects. I will say, though, that out of all my friends at Colby (back in the day) I can only think of 2 who went to a prep/private school. I have no idea what the #s are today. When I looked at colleges, and I did look at both Colby & Bates, the two schools really weren’t on an equal footing, IMO. From all reports, times have changed. I know Bates was a “hot” school among S’s classmates.</p>
<p>Dd applied and was accepted at both and we visited both. Let’s see…</p>
<p>Bates was a bit ‘crunchier,’ a bit more into recycling/granola. It was definitely more accessible although Lewiston was a bit sketchy. (Colby wasn’t too much farther but it felt like it was the first time we drove out there.) It is need aware. It also had a senior thesis requirement (unless you were a math major in which case you could take some huge exam.) We ate at the Bates cafeteria and the food was good. (I still remember TONS of cereal choices!) </p>
<p>Colby was a bit preppier and further out. I think the school itself was a bit whiter and had fewer black students than Bates. We spoke to kids randomly at the school and, frankly, the Colby kids we met were a bit more down to earth. (That said, the Bates admission staff was friendlier than the one at Colby-- so maybe it was more a matter of who we met.) If I remember correctly, Colby also had a one-month minimester calendar which was interesting. </p>
<p>We liked both schools but, after visiting, dd liked Colby a whole lot more. I really think it was a dislike of Lewiston (although I can’t see that Waterville was any better) and the Bates tour guides. In both colleges, the students spoke about very close relationships with professors. I would say that the biggest difference I perceived outside of admissions (don’t know if it’s accurate) was that by being in such a remote location, Colby really seems to foster an interdependence in their community. The Bates students seemed more gregarious and talked about getting off campus, parties and sports more than academics. The Colby students talked about working with professors and academics and activities seemed very nature-oriented (rafting, kayaking, etc). That was just a perception and it could be wrong. I really think they are both lovely schools.</p>
<p>So a nature-loving but non-atheletic city kid fit in at these schools?</p>
<p>Putturani, only you can make that decision. Some kids that live in cities look forward to living in a small town hours away from a big city and thrive. Other kids find out they are very unhappy in that environment.</p>
<p>2college, interesting that you have the same perceptions. Perhaps described in slightly different terms, but similar.</p>
<p>OP: Depending on your S’s interests I suggest adding Skidmore to your list. It has crunchy kids (lots of actors and artists) and their opposites (one of the few LAC’s with a business major) and the town of Saratoga Springs which is just about my favorite “college town.”</p>
<p>Probably a tad less competitive than Bates and Colby on the order of Dickinson I would think. I also second the suggestions of Dickinson.</p>
<p>Bates is super-popular among private-school kids here. Six of my son’s private-school friends are seniors there now. It’s funny – based on kids here, I would have a sense that Bates is a little more crunchy-granola than Colby, but I’m not certain that’s accurate. Of course, the set of people each college attracts is almost exactly the same.</p>
<p>Waterville itself is no great shakes, but the surrounding area is stunningly beautiful. You have to go a little farther from Bates to find stunning beauty. Isolation, however, is the flip side of that; Colby is farther from every other aspect of civilization (except the state capital).</p>
<p>I have a cousin and his wife who have taught at Colby for a long time and love it unreservedly. One of the things he would point out is that Colby is on much more secure financial footing than Bates. Bates’ endowment is by far the lowest of the famous Maine colleges, and it pretty much lacks any kind of financial cushion. He also claims that the Colby faculty is much more thoughtful about and committed to improving their teaching ability on a constant basis than the faculty at Bates, and that more of them live there all the time.</p>
<p>Other similar schools to check out that are five or more driving hours closer to you: Ursinus, Franklin & Marshall, Bucknell, Goucher.</p>
<p>DS is definitely not crunchy/granola, but at least for now is thinking about majoring in business. I think one of the high school’s college counselors went to Skidmore. I will explore. Similarly with Dickinson and the other PA/MD schools (except maybe Goucher–DS#1 looked there and the kids were great but very politically involved, just not his cup of tea).</p>