<p>Not familiar with Maine - logistically, what's the best plan to visit these colleges (flying in from the Midwest)? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>We went to Colby (furthest north), then Bates, then Bowdoin. I think there is a variety of ways the trip could be planned. Have fun.</p>
<p>You have a choice between Augusta and Portland. Augusta looks a little easier on the map. I’ve made a lot of trips to mid-Maine this summer and passed by the signs for the schools on 95/295.</p>
<p>Portland Airport is the most convenient for Bowdoin and Bates. Both are within about 30 miles of Portland–besides which, Portland is a wonderful little city. 
Augusta has little or nothing to recommend it. Portland Airport is small, and easy to get in and out of.
Waterville is about 75 miles from Portland, so about 40 miles north of Bowdoin.</p>
<p>Is it safe to assume that you are not going to try to do all three on one day? If you give me some idea of how long you were planning to devote to the trip, and what time of year it would be, I could advise you.</p>
<p>we stayed in brunswick when visiting the three schools. bates was just up the road and quite easy to get to, colby required a bit more of a drive, but of the three towns we wanted to check out brunswick the most since bowdoin is only a couple blocks from the downtown. as mythmom said, there are a variety of ways to plan this trip, depending on your priorities. for instance, if one wanted to visit skowhegan one should stay near colby. staying in portland is great, but you’ve got to drive about a half hour each way to get to either bates or bowdion. we felt brunswick gave the most pleasant options.</p>
<p>have fun!</p>
<p>Not sure yet what time of year or how long (most likely a long weekend). Not afraid of cold weather though:-)</p>
<p>You can do Bowdoin and Bates in one day. Colby, as everybody mentions, is further away.
I don’t think you could do all three in one day. So how you apportion time depends on which one you choose to visit first–and whether you want to stop by Freeport, ME and visit LLBean!</p>
<p>If you choose Columbus Day weekend, everybody will be out looking at fall foliage.</p>
<p>If you have any extra time at all try to see the Colby Art Museum - it has a wonderful collection. All of October tends to be leaf peeping season in New England.</p>
<p>We did Bates and Bowdoin in one day – well that was the plan anyway. We spent most of the day at Bates however and didn’t get to Bowdoin until after dinner and looked at the school by ourselves. Not the best way but D didn’t like the outdoor track at Bowdoin at all so it wasn’t in contention. Did Colby the next day. </p>
<p>If you want tours on the campuses be careful. We did Colby on a Sat. and it was the worst tour we had in the entire time of looking for D. The admissions building wasn’t open, no info session just the tour and they didn’t have any of the handouts because the tour guides didn’t pick them up on Friday. We weren’t able to get into most of the buildings as they were locked either. Coach stood us up even though we had an appointment (Bates coach was great which is why we spent most of the day there). Colby was just a true waste of our time. D will attend Bates this fall.</p>
<p>R’Mom makes a good point if you want to do tours and info sessions: be sure to check the schedules in advance. When we visited last fall, Bates for some reason was not offering info sessions on some weekdays. So we ended up visiting Bates on a Saturday, and visited both Bowdoin and Colby the following Monday. We did a tour and info session at all three schools. The drive from Bowdoin to Colby, if I remember right, was about an hour and a half. Definitely do-able.</p>
<p>I also agree that you should visit no more than two in one day. Ideally, we like to visit only one college per day so we can do a tour, info session, and a class - but that has rarely worked out for some reason.</p>
<p>All three schools are well worth visiting.</p>
<p>You should also consider in your planning that interviews at all three schools, and particularly at Bates, are strongly recommended. You can do alum interviews, but it is probably worthwhile to try and put everything into one trip. We went back to do interviews at the favorites, but planning for interviews in the beginning would have saved time.</p>
<p>I also suggest that besides visiting the schools themselves, you should visit the towns where they are located. Bowdoin is right smack in Brunswick which is a pleasant little town; Bates is just outside Lewistown, which is a run-down formerly industrial town; Colby is well outside Waterville, making trips into the town in the middle of winter a bit more of a hassle.</p>
<p>Re: interviews, it makes a difference if you are a junior or a senior. We visited the three in the fall of S’s junior year, and the colleges were only scheduling interviews for seniors at the time. Doubtful that we can make another trip back this year just for interviews ($$), so S will have to do alumni interviews, if at all.</p>
<p>We also found it helpful for DS to talk to students there. The population of the schools is similar but not exactly the same.</p>
<p>They’re all lovely schools, but at some time, it may become important to know which the student likes better.</p>
<p>My dear cousin attended Colby and S’s best friend attends Bates. S liked Bowdoin best.</p>
<p>You’ll find your way. As we walked around Bates I saw his best friend there in my mind’s eye. We brought the application back, he filled it out, and voila.</p>
<p>It’s a lot of fun to go. Maine has a flavor all her own.</p>
<p>For both of my kids, we flew into Portland, rented a car and drove up to Freeport. We stayed there (visiting LL Bean after dinner) and then the next day drove up to Colby first thing in the morning. After a morning at Colby we drove to Bowdoin. Neither of my boys wanted to visit Bates. From Bowdoin it is a very quick trip back to the airport in Portland. You should schedule an interview at both of these schools - it “counts” in the admissions process.</p>
<p>We spent 2 days in Portland this summer, and had such a good time! Portland is like this wonderful infusion of ‘urban’ and ‘arty’ (but in a good way) into ‘Maine’ (which is mostly the very antithesis of urban and arty). We’ve been to Maine countless times in our lives - I’ve been to Mt. Desert alone more times than I can remember - but never spent any time in Portland. What a revelation. It was great! Also, you can find pretty good priceline hotel deals in Portland - like maybe $60 for a good room in a Clarion. Brunswick, on the other hand, is a very nice town, but hotel accomodations are pricey and tend towards the musty/1950’s motel ethos (for about $100/night) or cutesy B&b ($100 and up). </p>
<p>SO…stay in Portland and drive to the colleges.</p>
<p>We have visited Maine many times. We did stop in at Bowdoin this summer, although we stayed much further south. We usually always go to Freeport while we are there, not just for LLBean, but other outlets. Portland has a very nice art museum, which is worth a visit if you have time. In the fall some of the nicest hotels in Maine have low rates for the off season. We love the seashore in Maine, and used to go every summer for years. Have a nice visit.</p>