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Yes! The Office of Admission welcomes prospective students and their families Monday – Friday, except when noted. The office is also open on select Saturdays in the fall and spring. We encourage you to register in advance when possible, but we also accept walk-ins. The Office of Admission is open Monday – Friday, 8:30am-4:00pm.

Register for a campus visit or other on-campus events.

We have a lot going on! Click to register for any of these live, virtual events.

• Virtual Information Session: Foundational information about the college, along with admission and financial aid tips. An admission dean or counselor will be joined by a current student.
• Bobcat Chats: Casual, student-only conversations about the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ student experience. These occur as a Zoom meeting, so feel free to turn on your camera!

A great starting point is our Ask a Student webpage. Learn about current students and find contact information so that you can reach out to them. They are excited to connect with you!

If you have specific questions about the college search process or your application, please contact your regional admission representative. We’ll also be visiting you at high schools and college fairs throughout the year! See the locations and dates on our page.

• On-Demand Information Session
• ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ News
• ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on Social Media
• Explore Pages

Visit our application checklist page for complete details. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College does not charge an application fee to apply.

You can reply to your offer of admission by logging into your . Please note the candidate reply deadlines, which can be found on our timeline page.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College is proud to partner with QuestBridge, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education. If you are interested in our partnership with QuestBridge and applying to the National College Match program, visit this page to learn more.

If you have applied to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ as a QuestBridge Match finalist, non-finalist, or non-participating finalist and have questions, visit this page for answers to frequently asked questions.

Only required application materials appear on your application checklist. Submitted optional application materials do not.

Our office takes approximately two weeks to process and satisfy all required application materials—including submitted test scores. After two weeks, if you still do not see your documents showing up as received on your checklist, please email admission@bates.edu for additional assistance.

Please visit our international student frequently asked questions page.

Yes, Early Decision I and Early Decision II options are binding. If you are admitted through Early Decision to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, you must immediately withdraw applications to other institutions and enroll at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Due to the binding nature of Early Decision, you are not permitted to apply to other binding Early Decision programs.

While your application and financial aid materials must be submitted by the application deadline, your supporting materials can follow soon after. Supporting materials include the required school transcripts and profile, letters of recommendation, and (if applicable) early decision agreement. Optional supporting materials are your standardized test scores or arts supplement. You can check what is missing from your application on your . Please know that during our busiest application processing times, it can take up to two weeks for materials to be reflected in your portal. Thank you for your patience.

The Office of Admission wishes all those affected by natural disasters and extenuating circumstances — including public health situations, strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires — a quick and safe recovery as you return to some sense of normalcy. We know that many students and educators’ personal and academic lives will be disrupted by these events when they occur, and we will want to work with you to ease the pressures on the college search and application process. We seek to be supportive and are eager to provide personalized guidance as needed. Please contact us as needed.

If you experience technical difficulties in submitting your application to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, please contact the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir directly.  For other concerns, email admission@bates.edu to communicate your intent to apply as well as a description of your situation. Each inquiry will be addressed on an individual basis.

If you experience technical difficulties in submitting your application to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, please contact the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir directly. For other concerns, email admission@bates.edu to communicate your intent to apply as well as a description of your situation. Each inquiry will be addressed on an individual basis.

Rest assured, we understand that many schools’ internal deadlines may not align with our own. If formal mid-year grades are not available by the due date listed on our application checklist page, please have your school counselor send a progress report of your grades thus far. We look forward to receiving your grades when they become available. Grade reports should be sent electronically by your school counselor electronically to admission@bates.edu.

No, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ does not offer direct admission. Direct admission refers to a college admission process where a school proactively offers admission to qualified students before they formally apply.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ does not offer rolling admission. Rolling admission is a college application process that reviews applications as they are received, rather than waiting for a deadline. See this page for our admission rounds and timelines.

When applying to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College as a first-year or transfer student and completing the profile section on the Common Application or Coalition Application, applicants will see questions asking for their race and ethnicity. Answering these questions is optional. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College application readers do not see or use this data when reviewing student applications for admission.

Answers about race and ethnicity that an applicant shares on their application are hidden from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Admission during the consideration for selection. That means, when application readers review an application from the Common App or Coalition App, race and ethnicity data will not be visible as they are reading applications.

In accordance with the Supreme Court ruling, after the selection and enrollment process is complete, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Office of Institutional Research, Analysis & Planning will use self-disclosed race and ethnicity data from the Common App and Coalition App for state and federal reporting, institutional metrics, and for statistical and research purposes.  
For more information, see information provided by the and .

Yes, some Early Decision applications are denied, and others are deferred for consideration in the Regular Decision pool. Some regular decision applicants are denied.

All things ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ athletics can be found at . To complete a form for athletic recruitment, find the link to “Recruit Me.” Go Bobcats!

If you have questions that are specific to you and your application to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, please contact either your regional admission representative, or the Office of Admission at 207-786-6000 or admission@bates.edu.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has been test-optional since 1984, and maintains that testing is not reflective of each applicant’s future success at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and beyond. We firmly believe in our policy and respect each student’s choice regarding the submission of test scores. The middle 50% of those who submitted testing last year can be found on our optional testing page.

Applications will be reviewed throughout the next few months, so the sooner you can get your scores to us, the sooner your application can be reviewed. Please see further details on standardized test score submission. As a reminder, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is a test-optional college, so SAT and ACT scores are not required!

The ACT and the College Board (who administers the SAT) both have frequently asked questions pages. For guidance about the ACT, , and for guidance about the SAT, .

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ will accept both official and self-reported test scores. Please see further details on score submission.

Yes! We will consider your best section scores from different testing dates for the SAT or the ACT.

Your arts portfolio does not need to be complete in order to submit your application to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. In fact, supplementary art materials are uploaded after submitting your application to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and receiving a PIN (via email) for online access to your . You can also find more detailed guidelines as to the submission of each of these arts supplements.

Applicants may submit portfolios up until the following dates:
Early Decision I: November 20
Early Decision II: January 15
Regular Decision: January 15
Transfer Applicants: March 6

Any applicant may submit an arts portfolio as part of their application to demonstrate their interest in participating in the creative community on campus.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Admission does not require interviews as part of our application review process. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ offers optional and informational alumni conversations as an opportunity to learn more about ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, but they are not evaluative interviews. For more information about alumni conversations, visit this page.

Alumni will be in touch as they become available in your area. Due to the high number of requests, we cannot guarantee an Alumni Conversation. Conversations are not interviews, and they are both optional and informational — meaning you’re not being evaluated during the conversation as part of your eventual admission decision. For more information about alumni conversations, visit this page.

Please visit our student financial services frequently asked questions page.

We recommend starting with the MyinTuition College Cost Estimator, which just takes a few minutes to complete! ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students regardless of citizenship status. We provide more than $47 million in grant aid to our students every year, and the average need-based grant for enrolling students in the Class of 2029 was $58,518. The average federal student loan debt for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students who graduated in 2025 was $13,279 – less than half the national average.

If you would like to change your financial aid status before the release of your admission decision, email admission@bates.edu. For those intending to apply for financial aid, please review our financial aid requirements. The intent to apply for need-based financial aid must be indicated prior to the release of your admission decision.

Please visit our international student frequently asked questions page.

Admitted students with complete financial aid applications will receive their financial aid award with their offer of admission.

No. If you are admitted to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ through either round of Early Decision, you will receive a financial aid package that is the same as what you would receive as a student admitted through Regular Decision. Financial aid awards are never dependent upon admission round at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

Yes. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ requires applicants who are eligible citizens or noncitizens to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to calculate an applicant’s eligibility for federal financial aid. Visit the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ financial aid FAQ page for more information.

For more information about the FAFSA, please visit the . These can also help you .

Requirements for international students can be different, depending on your situation. Please visit our international student frequently asked questions page for details.

Once you submit your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email. After processing, you’ll get another email with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to check your application status. This process may take up to two weeks.

To see dates for each application round, including deadlines and notification dates, please visit this timeline page.

You can view your application status and your admission decision by logging into your .

You can view your application status and your admission decision by logging into your .

You are able to reset your password using your email address and date of birth on the login page. If you continue to experience difficulties, email admission@bates.edu.

Yes, you can reapply to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, as either a first-year or transfer applicant depending on your previous admission decision and your current circumstances. Please see this page for more details.

You can submit your U.S. $300 enrollment deposit through your

If you have any concerns about paying your enrollment deposit, please email admission@bates.edu.

The deadline for enrollment depends on your application’s round (i.e., QuestBridge, Early Decision, Regular Decision, or Transfer rounds). Visit our apply page for more information on deadlines.

*Requests for Regular Decision Reply Deadline Extensions

For students offered admission to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the candidate reply deadline date remains as listed on our website. However, if a student needs additional time to evaluate an offer from another institution that has extended its deadline, please contact ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Admission to request an extension of our reply deadline. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is committed to making this educational experience accessible and affordable to all admitted students, regardless of family financial circumstances, and offers need-based financial aid to eligible students.

The Admitted Student webpage is a great starting point! There you’ll find more information about the college; upcoming events exclusively for admitted students and families; and ways to connect with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community.

Please contact Student Financial Services at sfs@bates.edu or 207-786-6096.

Admitted students who wish to request deferred admission should do so in writing by June 1.  Explore our webpage on requesting a gap year, and direct any inquiries to admission@bates.edu.

Log into your and register your offer to remain on the waitlist. The deadline to register to remain active on the waitlist is May 1 for first-year applicants and May 20 for fall transfer applicants.

While we do not require additional materials for applicants on the waitlist, you are welcome to send an email with recent updates and your most recent transcript. First-year applicants should write to their regional admission representative, and transfer applicants should write to the Admission office at admission@bates.edu.

Yes. Explore our Visit ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ webpage to learn about our in-person, virtual, and on-demand offerings.

No. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ does not rank active applicants on the waitlist.

If space in the class remains after May 1 for first-year students, or the reply deadline for transfer students, the Admission Committee will undertake a holistic review of applications and select applicants based upon academic preparation, involvement and impact, interest in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and on occasion, financial need.

Any waitlist activity typically occurs after the universal Candidate Reply Date of May 1 for first-year applicants, or the reply date for transfer applicants. The Admission Committee makes every effort to notify active waitlist candidates by June 30. August 1 is our final notification date.

Every year is different. The Admission Committee has extended as low as zero to an average of seventeen offers of admission from the waitlist in the last five years. At this time, the Office of Admission cannot estimate how many students will remain active on the waitlist this year. On average, 743 students remained active on the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ waitlist for each of the last five years.

Active applicants on the waitlist need to be prepared to accept an offer of admission to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on a very short timeline, usually within 48 hours.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College meets the calculated financial need for those waitlist candidates offered admission. Please ensure that your financial aid application is complete by checking your .

Yes. On-campus housing is guaranteed for four years for all ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students.

Yes. Accept one offer of admission and enroll with a deposit (usually non-refundable) by the enrollment deadline of that institution, as the timeline for your decision at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ cannot be definitively predicted.