Bates College’s charms are many, and its highly selective admissions process underscores just how many students fall in love with this liberal arts college each year. While we’re still awaiting Class of 2030 admissions data, let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the historical acceptance rate at Bates to muster up our best prediction for how this most recent application cycle went. 

Bates College Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics (Classes of 2030 — 2016)

Bates College Class Year	Total Applications Received	Total Applications Accepted	Overall Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2029	9,960	1,433	14.39%
Class of 2028	10,027	1,334	13.30%
Class of 2027	8,937	1,164	13.02%
Class of 2026	8,273	1,137	13.74%
Class of 2025	7,319	1,267	17.31%
Class of 2024	7,696	1,085	14.10%
Class of 2023	8,222	998	12.14%
Class of 2022	7,685	1,367	17.79%
Class of 2021	5,316	1,166	21.93%
Class of 2020	5,356	1,213	22.65%
Class of 2019	5,651	1,231	21.78%
Class of 2018	5,044	1,282	25.42%
Class of 2017	5,243	1,267	24.17%
Class of 2016	4,906	1,304	26.58%

Bates’ Class of 2030 in Historical Perspective

Taken as a whole, the data above show that Bates’ acceptance rate has been declining for some time. While the 2010s brought a moderate degree of selectivity, with the acceptance rate hovering in the 20-26% range, Bates experienced a slow but steady increase in selectivity over time. Most recently, for the Class of 2029, the acceptance rate had dwindled to 14.39%, while the total number of applicants had risen to 9,960. Neither metric represents a record for the Bates admissions office (those distinctions go to the Class of 2028’s 10,027 applicants and the Class of 2023’s record-low acceptance rate of 12.14%), but the most recent data we have certainly does underscore these trends. 

Could the Class of 2029 be a good indication of what’s to come for the Class of 2030? We at Ivy Coach think so. This year could very well set a new precedent for selectivity or popularity, or, at the very least, represent a continuation of the downward trend in acceptance rates and the upward trend in applications over time. However, until the 2026-2027 Common Data Set for Bates is published this fall, our predictions are just that: predictions!

Demographic Breakdown of Bates College’s Class of 2030

We’re still awaiting the data covering the demographics of the ever-elusive Class of 2030. But in order to prepare ourselves for the arrival of this data, let’s review the demographics of the Class of 2029, which have been so helpfully published by Bates in the online Enrollment Profile:

Bates Class of 2029 Demographics

• Portion of the class receiving Bates grant aid 44%
• Portion of the class receiving Pell Grants 11%
• Average need-based grant $58,518
• Middle Atlantic 21%
• Midwest 6%
• New England 42%
• Southeast 5%
• Southwest and West 17%
• Outside of the U.S. 9%
• Number of countries represented (other than the U.S.) 26
• Number of U.S. states represented: 45+ Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
• Female-identified 51%
• Male-identified 49%
• U.S. students of color 23%
• First generation to college 11%
• Non-U.S. citizens 8%
• Public/charter high school 51%
• Independent/private high school 49%

Getting Started with Ivy Coach to Get Off the Bates College Waitlist

There’s still time to right the wrongs of your or your child’s Bates application if your family recently received a notification of being waitlisted to the Class of 2030. But we can only make a significant impact on the odds of admission if you move quickly. Start by filling out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll be in touch to delineate our Bates waitlist service, which involves the help of a member of our team of former elite college admissions officers. But remember, time is of the essence!