Private nonprofit · College
Bates College
Lewiston, Maine · Small city
- 13.3%
- Admit rate
- $29,351
- Avg net price
- 90%
- Graduation rate
- $69,498
- Median earnings
Bates College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Lewiston, Maine (small city setting), enrolling 1,760 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Bates College's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 13.3%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1420–1530
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 4.00
Enter a test score to see where you land against Bates College's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Bates College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine. Relations soon deteriorated over colonial expansion, and conflicts with colonists and epidemics of infectious diseases devastated the Androscoggin, which responded by migrating to New France from 1669 onwards. By 1680, the Androscoggin had been completely driven out of Maine. The Lewiston Public Library has played a major role in the emerging culture of Lewiston. It was renovated and expanded in 1996. The library is downtown on the corner of Lisbon Street and Pine Street and has over 150,000 items in its collection. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 31 miles to Portland, ME
- To the ocean
- 18 miles
- Nearest airport
- 25 miles to Augusta State (AUG)
How Bates College compares
More selective than 97% · #3 most selective of 15 in Maine
Higher than 94%
Higher than 95% · #2 of 17 in Maine
Higher than 88%
Higher than 83% · #4 of 17 in Maine
Cheaper than 17% · #15 cheapest of 17 in Maine
Lower than 92%
Lower than 83%
Larger than 54%
Percentiles compare Bates College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Maine.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women86549%
- Men89551%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White60%
- Black4.5%
- Hispanic9.7%
- Asian6.6%
- Other or multiracial19%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,760
- Student–faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 12%
- First-generation students
- 15%
- Students over 25
- 0%
- Median family income
- $86,734
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $106,974
- Endowment
- $446,804,807
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 505 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Maine8.3%
- Other U.S. states80%
- International12%
A national draw — only 8% of first-years come from Maine; 80% arrive from other states.
12% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 13.3%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1420–1530
- SAT average
- 1468
- SAT reading
- 710–750
- SAT math
- 710–780
- ACT composite
- 31–34
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 4.00
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $66,590
- Room & board
- $18,780
- Books & supplies
- $900
- Total cost of attendance
- $83,532
- Average net price
- $29,351
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 90%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 82%
- First-year retention
- 91%
- Transferred to another college
- 7%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $59,202
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $69,498
- Median debt at graduation
- $14,275
- Students with federal loans
- 14%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 81%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,737
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 99%
- Application fee
- $60
- Athletics
- NCAA Division III with football
- Football conference
- New England Small College Athletic Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 890 (512 men · 378 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (16)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 11.6 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 24
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 37
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,760 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$11,336/year × about 4.1 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 44% — get grant money from Bates College itself, averaging $52,664, which softens the sticker price.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 518 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $69,498
- Typical debt at graduation
- $14,275
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 21%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 73%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $2,216 (3%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 80°F
- Winter low
- 12°F
- Annual rain
- 45.2″
- Annual snow
- 65.1″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lewiston, ME US station (0.8 mi from campus).
What Bates College graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Bates College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Bates College side by side →
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut · Small city · 15 mi to Hartford
- Students
- 3,067
- Admission
- 16%
- Net price
- $30k
- SAT
- 1501
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $74k
Hamilton College
Clinton, New York · Midsize suburb · 37 mi to Syracuse
- Students
- 2,030
- Admission
- 14%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1506
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $78k
Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont · Distant town · 32 mi to Burlington
- Students
- 2,738
- Admission
- 11%
- Net price
- $31k
- SAT
- 1508
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $76k
Smith College
Northampton, Massachusetts · Small city · 15 mi to Springfield
- Students
- 2,544
- Admission
- 21%
- Net price
- $28k
- SAT
- 1500
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $64k
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, New York · Large suburb · 56 mi to New Haven
- Students
- 2,444
- Admission
- 19%
- Net price
- $39k
- SAT
- 1494
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $71k
Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesota · Distant town · 36 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 2,086
- Admission
- 20%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1517
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $76k
Colleges near Bates College
Maine College of Health Professions
Lewiston, ME · Private nonprofit · Associate · 239 students
Central Maine Community College
Auburn, ME · Public · Associate · 2,952 students
Unity Environmental University
New Gloucester, ME · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 6,483 students
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,873 students
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 964 students
Capilo School of Hair Design
Augusta, ME · Private for-profit · Certificate · 156 students
University of Maine at Augusta
Augusta, ME · Public · Bachelor's · 2,659 students
Spa Tech Institute-Westbrook
Westbrook, ME · Private for-profit · Certificate · 263 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.