Bates College is a rigorous liberal arts and sciences college in the heart of Maine. We’ve had extraordinary success in athletics, seen fantastic achievements from our faculty, and have welcomed one of the academically prepared and most diverse incoming class we’ve ever had.

The Bates Admission team prides ourselves in practicing holistic review of our applicants, and to that end, we’ve been test-optional for nearly four decades. With a commitment to opportunity and excellence, we meet 100 percent of our students’ calculated financial need, and ensure that every student has the opportunity for a funded internship that aligns who they are with what they do. We look forward to learning more about your students.

Counselor Visits

Please complete this form if you’re a high school or independent counselor (or representative of a community based organization) interested in scheduling a visit to Bates. Note that Bates Admission gives priority to visiting student requests, and we do not provide tours or information sessions on some dates.

Submission of the form is not a confirmation. An Admission staff member will reach out to you within five business days after the submission with a confirmation for your requested date.

Counselor Events

Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin (CBB) Counselor Tour

About the Tour

The Colby Bates Bowdoin (CBB) Counselor Tour affords school and community-based organization (CBO) counselors the opportunity to explore our three liberal arts and sciences institutions, connect with our communities, and experience fall in Maine. Following the experience, counselors leave better able to inform and advise their students about these three selective colleges.

Program Details

Applications for the 2024 tour are now closed. More information regarding the 2025 tour can be found next year. All transportation and lodging will be paid for by the CBB consortium, and travel arrangements will be made with your input. The three-day program includes campus tours, panels with admission staff and current students, information sessions, and time to connect with other school counselors. With limited time and so much information, the robust schedule leaves little time for personal or other professional work.

Selection Process

The application constitutes your request to attend the CBB tour. All applications will be reviewed together following the application deadline; note that applicants are not selected based on when their application is submitted. Next, notification of selection will be sent via email. Please note that only one counselor per school or organization may attend the CBB tour. Recent participation from your school/district or organization will be considered when selecting final participants. Geography will also be a consideration. As such, counselors located within three hours of campuses are encouraged to contact the institutions to arrange individual visits whenever is most convenient.

Prologue to Bates

Prologue to Bates will be held on-campus this fall from
Sunday, October 13 – Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

As one of the first U.S. institutions of higher learning to admit women and people of color, Bates believes in opening doors. Prologue to Bates is a program that promises to be a unique and engaging few days of conversation and community for students. Together, we’ll talk about tips for the college application and financial aid processes, connect your students with current Bates Bobcats so they can get a sense of the student experience, introduce them to our devoted faculty and staff, and much more! Prologue is aligned with our larger Fall Visit Day, when students from around the country and the world come to visit and learn more about Bates.

All students intending to enter college in Fall 2025 who are US citizens, permanent residents, and undocumented/DACA students living in the US are welcome to apply. Preference will be given to students who are historically underrepresented from higher education, such as first-generation-to-college and low-income students. Bates will provide transportation to and from our campus, meals, and hotel accommodations.

Please see our Prologue to Bates page for the student application, more information on application requirements and answers to frequently asked questions. The deadline for students to complete their application for the 2024 event was Friday, August 9, 2024. Applicants will be notified of decisions by early-September.

Admission Fairs at Your Location

If you are organizing an event at your location that you believe would be a good fit for a Bates Admission member to attend, please share the details with us at admissionfairs@bates.edu.

Counselor Advisory Board

The Bates Office of Admission established a Counselor Advisory Board in 2022. More information about the purpose and composition of this select group of school counselors and college access advocates can be found on our Counselor Advisory Board webpage.

Ask the (College) Experts

We asked you about the commonly asked questions from your students and families. Your helpful insights, coupled with feedback from our programming led us to create of a series of (very) short videos affectionately called “Ask the (College) Experts”.

These videos are neither meant to provide all of the answers, nor are they meant to focus solely on Bates. Rather, it is our hope that these small bites of information will be a helpful starting point for you, your students, and your families as the college search process is navigated.

More videos are in the works, and will be released on our YouTube page. For now, we hope you enjoy our answers to some commonly asked questions. Share them widely!

Foundation Grants

In 2022, Bates was named a top producer of Fulbright Student awards among U.S. liberal arts colleges for the 11th straight year. The Fulbright Fellowship is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Bates has seen a sharp rise in the number of Fulbright Student grants awarded, from six in 2013 to the record-setting 24 in 2020.

Post-Graduate Plans

Six months after graduation, 99% of students in the Class of 2022 had secured employment, graduate school admission, a fellowship, or an internship. Our Center for Purposeful Work knows that enabling students to lead lives of meaningful work is at the heart of a liberal arts mission.

Bates at a Glance

Counselor Resources

We look forward to supporting you and your prospective students. Click through the resources below or connect with us today.