Office of Admission

Lindholm House is home to the Office of Admission. Here, we host virtual and on-campus programming to help prospective students and their families explore and connect with the Bates community.

Media Gallery

A close look at Lindholm House in the fall.
next item

⭐ Admission & Financial Aid

Bates’ unique personality rests on the bedrock values of academic excellence, diversity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. We’re interested in students who work hard, are curious about the world beyond them, take intellectual risks, believe that education is not confined to a classroom, and get deeply involved in their community.

Application Checklist

Bates accepts both the Common Application and Coalition Application. In addition, applicants will submit secondary school transcript(s), one counselor recommendation, and two teacher recommendations.

Applicants may also submit optional materials, including an arts supplement, additional letters of recommendation, or test scores (see more below).

Financial Aid

Bates meets 100 percent of students’ financial need through a combination of grant aid, loans, and student employment. For the highly individualized Bates experience, we charge a single fee that includes tuition, room, board and fees. Costs for books, personal expenses and transportation are added to a student’s budget for the purpose of estimating financial need and awarding aid. We provide more than $37 million in grant aid to our students every year. Bates works closely with families to ensure that graduates have the lowest possible student loan debt — a dollar total that’s less than half the national average.

To learn more about financial aid at Bates, or to access our Quick College Cost Estimator, please visit our website at https://www.bates.edu/admission/student-financial-services/.

Optional Testing

Bates has been a national leader in the test-optional movement for three decades. In October 1984, the faculty voted to make standardized testing, such as the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and the ACT, optional for all students applying to Bates.

For applicants who would like their testing to be considered, Bates will accept both official and self-reported test scores. Bates College does “superscore” both the SAT and ACT. For more information on our optional testing policy, visit our website at: https://www.bates.edu/admission/optional-testing/

Application Options & Timeline

Bates offers three rounds of admission: Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. For students who decide that “Bates is my first choice!,” applying Early Decision (ED) is a great option. These rounds are binding: ED applicants who are admitted to Bates must withdraw all applications to other colleges. Financial aid awards are released alongside an admissions decision, and do not differ based on application round.

Early Decision I - Deadline of November 15 (applicants will receive admission decisions by December 20)
Early Decision II - Deadline of January 1 (applicants will receive admission decisions by February 15)
Regular Decision - Deadline of January 1 (applicants will receive admission decisions by April 1)

Campus Map

Next Stop