Bates College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Brunswick, Maine · Private nonprofit · Most selective · CDS 2025-2026
Bates College is a private nonprofit university in Brunswick, Maine that admits about 8% of applicants, making it a most selective school. The average family pays about $20,786 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Political Science and Government, Economics and Area Studies, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 93% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 6.4 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Bates College is a private institution located in Brunswick, Maine and one of the most selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Bates College admits fewer than 10% of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 8%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT around 1514. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $20,786 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Bates College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Bates College?
Successful applicants to Bates College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Bates College weight in admissions?
Bates College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2025-2026). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Class rank
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Standardized test scores
- • Interview
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Bates College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 750–790, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–35. Scores below the 25th-percentile mark are accepted occasionally, but the realistic submission target for most families is the school's middle-50 floor or higher.
| 25th percentile | 1470 |
| 50th percentile | 1510 |
| 75th percentile | 1540 |
| % submitting SAT | 34.76% |
| 25th percentile | 33 |
| 50th percentile | 34 |
| 75th percentile | 35 |
| % submitting ACT | 17.28% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 89.05% |
| Top 25% of class | 100% |
| Top 50% of class | 100% |
| % submitting class rank | 26.6% |
How much does Bates College actually cost?
Published tuition is $64,910 for in-state students and $64,910 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,690 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $20,786 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 16% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $71,070 |
| Room and board | $19,560 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $20,786 |
| Application fee | $65 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Bates College
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | November 15 |
| ED acceptance rate | 15% |
Will my child graduate from Bates College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Bates College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Bates College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Political Science and Government, Economics and Area Studies. Across all programs, Bates College confers roughly 384 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Political Science and Government program report a median income of about $83,716 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science and Government | 83 | $83,716 |
| Economics | 78 | $122,126 |
| Area Studies | 47 | — |
| Mathematics | 43 | $159,954 |
| Computer Science | 42 | $177,788 |
| Biology, General | 33 | — |
| English Language and Literature, General | 29 | — |
| History | 29 | — |
Is Bates College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Bates College disclosed 12 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 6.4 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 11 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Bates College?
About 95% of undergraduates at Bates College live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. In Greek life, 0% of men join a fraternity and 0% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Maine parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Bates College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Bates College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Bates College
What GPA do I need for Bates College?
Successful applicants to Bates College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Bates College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 750–790, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–35.
How much does Bates College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Bates College after grants and scholarships is $20,786 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Bates College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Bates College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Bates College?
Bates College accepts about 8% of applicants out of roughly 14,045 who apply each year. That makes it a most selective school.
Is Bates College test-optional?
Yes. Bates College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Bates College?
About 93% of students at Bates College graduate within six years, and 72% finish in four years. 98% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
Does applying Early Decision improve my chances at Bates College?
Bates College's Early Decision acceptance rate is about 15%, compared with its overall rate of 8%. Applying ED can meaningfully improve admission odds, but it is a binding commitment to enroll if accepted.
What does Bates College look for in applicants?
Bates College rates course rigor, class rank, GPA and the application essay as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Bates College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Bates College is a private nonprofit institution located in Brunswick, Maine.
What are the most popular majors at Bates College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Bates College by annual graduates are Political Science and Government, Economics and Area Studies. The school awards about 384 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Bates College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Bates College reported 12 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 6.4 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Bates College?
At Bates College, 95% of undergraduates live on campus, 0% of men are in fraternities, 0% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2025-2026 Common Data Set submitted by Bates College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.