A review of Bates College, Lewiston, ME raises the curtain on a very reputable liberal arts college in Northern New England. Since its foundation in pre Civil War days in 1855 Bates has stood as a magnate for good students looking for a solid liberal arts education without a lot of fuss and feathers but with plenty of excellent opportunities for growth as students and as human beings. A review of Bates College, Lewiston, Me can help you to decide if this school meets your own criteria for what’s important in a college.
The Way it Starts is the Way It Is. Bates College was founded in Lewiston, Me in 1855 by a group of Northern abolitionists who despised the idea of slavery and applauded the concept of equality. It is no surprise that Bates College, since is inception, has stood with its doors open to all qualified students interested in a liberal arts education regardless of gender and in spite of diversity of religion, race or ethnicity.
Todays enrollment statistics furnished by Bates College, Lewiston, Me show that there is an almost equal number of men and women on campus. There is also on average between 12 and 15% of the student body that is made up of minority students . What dissuades some students from further exploring what is available at Bates College is that the total student body is made up of less than 2,000 student. This does mean that your opportunity for a endless parade of friendships does have finite limits . But it does not mean that you will be attending a school that has not learned how valuable and enriching it can be to support a diverse student body. If you look hard enough and long enough you can meet someone here from every state in the nation and
It’s Not Just the Curriculum its the Delivery . Some high school seniors look at Bates College and see a school which only offers a total of 32 majors. Compared to even other small sized colleges this number does not tend to impress, that is until one gives a serious look at the manner in which education is shared at Bates College.
To begin with students at Bates enjoy a 10:1 ratio of students to faculty. What this ends up meaning is that every student who comes to Bates will have at least one chance to work in a one to one educational relationship with a professor whether on a thesis, doing independent study or on some form of research. There really are not a lot of schools that list that on their educational resume. At Bates no student will ever be taught by a graduate assistant, another rarity among colleges and universities today.
Professors are involved in the Service Learning projects and include them as options within their established curriculum. More than half of the students who attend Bates have a chance to incorporate a Service-Learning activity or project as part of their academic training.
Finally the overall results of a Bates education point to post graduate success, high rates of enrollment in graduate programs and post graduate employment. An incredible statistics provided by Bates establishes that 89% of Bates grads who applied to medical or osteopathic schools were accepted.
Activities for All. When your student body numbers less than 2,000 students it helps to find ways to get them involved in on campus activities that help people to mix in and learn from one another. That may be exactly the result of the Bates Outing Club. Everyone belongs to the Bates Outing Club and all have the opportunity to participate in many off campus activities throughout the year.
Students here are also keen on sports with a large number of students choosing to get involved in club or varsity sports. Bates plays at the NCAA Division III level and offers more than a dozen sports each for men and women. There are also approximately 75 student organizations, clubs and groups covering as many areas of interest as students bring forward.
With more than 90% of Bates Colleges small student body living on campus there really are lots of chances to get to know and to learn from other members of the Bates community.
The Down Side. The excellent education offered at Bates College is not without its down side. A review of Bates College, Lewiston, Maine may lead you to discover that going to school in Maine can be a wonderful adventure especially if you enjoy outdoor life, the woods, the seashore and the mountains. But Bates College is located in Lewiston which with its twin city Auburn is viewed as the second largest metropolitan area in Maine. Problem is that the entire population there only amounts to about 60,000 people. You will not find the big city life that you might enjoy in New York, DC or Boston. There is a trade off involved in going to Bates College and your choice really must take into consideration the kind of lifestyle that gives you a comfort zone.
The other part of the downside of selecting Bates College is that a Bates education does not come cheaply. The total package of tuition, room, board and all other expenses will run you more than $40,000 per year. There are hefty aid packages available to those who qualify.
Despite the location and cost of Bates College, should you be fortunate enough to be among the one out of three applicants that is admitted each year, you should know that you have been accepted to one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation.
