Bates College is found within the Mountain Seacoast Conservation Area in Lewiston, Maine. This location allows students to make use of the natural environment year-round, taking a quick ride to the nearby ski slopes during the winter months, renting hiking and camping equipment and venturing to the White Mountains, or partaking in the annual on-campus Puddle Jump into Lake Andrews in January, sponsored by the Bates Outing Club. Traditions like Puddle Jump are an important part of college life to Batesies – the affectionate term adopted by students at the school.
The Bates student population is extremely diverse for a college its size. In fact, its class of 2014 represents 35 states, 35 countries, with only 10% of students being residents of Maine. 100% of first-year students and 93% of the entire undergraduate body lives in college housing, keeping the student body close and integrated. With over 100 registered student organizations, students can choose from a variety of clubs, activities, and ways to de-stress on campus. Bates’s numerous on-campus resources include the perks of having an art museum, the Stephens Observatory, as well as the Edmund S. Muskie Archives & Special Collections Library, which collects, preserves, and exhibits historical documents materials about Bates College. However, the Bates campus is located only 35 miles from Portland, Maine’s largest city. Campus is a 45-minute drive to the historic, retail-friendly village of Freeport, as well, home to the headquarters of the wilderness and outdoors outfitters L.L. Bean. Boston is located 2 hours to the South of Bates.
