I wanted to see if anyone could tell me about what students at Bates are like. What kind of student would fit in at this school?
Haha! There’s no one way to answer that. I truly think there is a huge variety of students at Bates.
There are some general characterizations, I guess. They tend to be involved, friendly, liberal, accepting, intelligent.
There are sports kids, creative kids, urban kids, preppy kids, nerdy kids, outdoorsy kids, hippie kids, intellectual kids, and many others.
My daughter attends Bates and is a sophomore. Without trying to pigeon-hole people, here are some brief descriptions. My kid is creative, studious, liberal, and shy. My friend’s child attends Bates and is gifted, quiet, and a bit nerdy. My daughter’s best friend is lively and super outgoing. Her other best friend was the valedictorian of her 3000 student high school and is very sweet and studious. My daughter’s roomie last year was a hippie chick who also played a club sport. A guy from our school was recruited for a sport and is very athletic and smart. My daughter’s boyfriend is clever and quirky. Another friend is preppy and into horse riding.
There is a sizable contingent of athletes at Bates, about 45%. However, there is not a rah-rah atmosphere, which might be good or bad, depending on what you are looking for. Students will turn out for important games. There are well-established and popular clubs, such as the Outing Club and Brooks-Quimby debate society. There are plenty of well-attended campus events. I sound like an advertisement, but I think because being inclusive is central to Bates, there is no one kind of Bates student.
Intellectually inquisitive. (Whatever it is and to whatever degree, I found spark among them.) Often engaged (the Center for Community Partnership fosters both service and community engagement in other ways, not quite internships, but involvement in city or state programs.)
Among D1’s friends were some so conservative she would warn me, a grown woman, to mind what I brought up. Lol. Some quite wealthy, some quite not. In our experience, those athletes and others mixed very well. At graduation, I was struck by how much there is “something for everyone,” how there is variety among students, but also a willingness to interact.
As we explored colleges, D1 liked to see the action in libraries or places where kids studied. Bates and Wesleyan topped, in this regard. Our anecdote is when she overnighted, after plenty of fun, later in the evening, kids broke off to go study.