<p>I am really interested in Bates and considering applying early decision. I have heard from various sources that the town of Lewsiton (where Bates is located) is not a very nice town and also somewhat dangerous. Could anyone tell me more about the town and what it is like and what it is like if you are at school at Bates. Thanks.</p>
<p>This will not encourage you, but when we went to visit Bates, we did not get out of the car. The comment from some smarty was that students must arrive by helicopter.</p>
<p>Now, after that rather snarky comment, I would add that Lewiston is an old manufacturing town and you know from history what has happened to manufacturing here in the U.S. The campus itself is lovely, but the area around it is a bit depressed. </p>
<p>You really need to visit before applying ED.</p>
<p>D attends. Area is depressed as MD Mom indicated. I didn’t feel that I couldn’t walk the streets and did when we visited. It is an old New England manufacturing town and many old factory buildings that did textiles. Think WWII and making blankets. The city is trying to utilize these old buildings and some are being refurbished. I would say that the area is trying to make a come back. </p>
<p>There is this “Bates Bubble”. Most of the students stay on campus most of the time. There seems to be enough activities to keep the students occupied. When D and her friends did venture out is was more to go to Portland - about 45 minutes away or Freeport about 30 minutes away. I do know that there is a Walmart that the students go to regularly as well as a CVS. Not sure if this helps or not.</p>
<p>Thanks. I did visit and I really loved the campus and the school itself but I never really had a chance to look around at the town because we were on such a tight schedule trying to visit many schools. I will definitely go back and visit again if I decide to apply ED. Thanks for the honesty.</p>
<p>Although as seen above Lewiston does get a really bad reputation, it does have a lot to offer and is often fun to explore. It’s always great to go on runs through town and me and my friends head out to dinner quite often. It may not be the nicest college town but I don’t feel scared walking around town and it’s nice to have shops and restaurants within biking/driving distance. I was dreading living in Lewiston but I have in fact found it much better than I expected with new things to explore and places to take advantage of.</p>
<p>We visited before my son applied. Didn’t think Lewiston was as bad as its rep, and actually kind of liked it. It’s gritty, yes, but so what? If you want Candyland, look elsewhere. Still remember a seafood diner we ate at called Governor’s - great food, diner decor. The Bates campus is great. My son didn’t choose Bates, but I wouldn’t have been upset if he did.</p>
<p>It’s overhyped how desolate Lewiston is. This past year at Bates (my first year), I ventured into Lewiston and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find things to do, especially during Short Term. There are some great restaurants (Fishbones, Fuel) and bars for the over 21-set (Gritty’s, which also serves food, and the Goose). There are also clubs like Club Babylon and O’Shea’s that have college nights, and although I’ve never been to them because I can’t drink legally, my senior friends typically had a good time. There are also some cute shops on Lisbon street, which is essentially Lewiston’s main street. My favorite is a vintage store called Orphan Annie’s. If I needed to buy something I could walk to CVS or take the shuttle provided by Bates to Walmart or Shaw’s. And if you prefer to stay on campus, there are lots of things going on every weekend, including concerts (classical and non-classical), stand-up comedy shows, lectures, poetry readings, coffee house open-mics…if you’re bored, you’re doing something wrong.</p>