Little Town, Lots of Fun

Introduction
Although Lewiston, Maine might not be the most glamourous college town, not to worry: there is plenty to do on campus. It might be hard to imagine, but everyone here is extremely friendly and nice. We live in the "Bates Bubble" and we love it. A great majority of the students are either varsity or club athletes or involved in the arts (choir/orchestra/theatre), so perhaps that's why it doesn't bother us that Lewiston doesn't have much to offer as a town. When we're not studying, we're out doing activities we love or supporting our friends. The Bates student graduates with a strong, well-rounded education.

However, there isn't much here for those interested in trade-oriented fields like Business or Communications. And again, if you are looking for a city with a crazy night life, you won't find that here. But honestly, I promise you, there's something wonderful about going to a small school that you just won't find elsewhere.

Campus Life and Social Life
Generally, students go out at Bates Thursday and Saturday nights. Sports teams are huge here, and Saturday nights after a big win, teams want nothing more than to celebrate on campus with their team and 100 closest friends. We don't have Greek life here, so sport houses are the closet we have to that sort of scene. There are quite a few off-campus houses that tend to throw parties on the weekends. A lot of times different clubs will throw dances to raise money.

In short, there is always something to do here on the weekends. Even if you aren't into the drinking scene, no big deal. Usually movies play on the weekends and there are concerts to go to, speakers, or a famous comedian performing on campus. The Chase Hall Committee is in charge of student activities and always trying to get guest stars to come and entertain on the weekends. And, if you are into the bar scene, well, Thursday nights are popular: we've got Oasis, Muddy Waters, "The Pub", etc. Although I can't say these compare at all to any trendy New York City lounges/clubs, at least we have somewhere to go, right? One last thing...school dances?? Yes, it seems kind of like high school but we do have them. 80's night, which is at the beginning of the school year, is said to be one of the best dances of the year. We have a Semi-Formal in the Spring called Gala where the school spends big big bucks to make over our gym for a night, including hiring two bands, ordering amazing catering....it's a good time. Academics
The workload at Bates honestly depends on your course schedule for the semester and your major. We have amazing Economics & Political Science Departments. Econ is a really popular major here for men (it's the closet thing we have to business). The Math and Biology Departments are also great. If you want a less challenging course, take religion here: it's interesting and not too much work. Psychology is a really popular major here, as is Rhetoric.

Student Body
The Bates student dresses pretty casually and is comfortable in his/her skin. A great majority of the students here went to Prep-school and are from "just outside Boston." The first week of school, you feel like everyone is from there. But there are a lot of students from elsewhere in New England and a ton from New York, Pennsylvannia, Maryland, Illinois, California, Texas, Florida, Utah, Colorado...pretty much all over the place. We also have a bunch of students from overseas which adds to the great diversity of the campus. The average student dresses in Polo/J.Crew/Abercrombie, wears Reefs in the Spring, Uggs in the Winter. Some people are into the preppy/trendy look while others like more punk clothes, maybe sports clothes, hippy, self-designed...pretty much anything, everyone is creative and no one really cares what other people are wearing either way.

In Closing...
Lewiston is not the safest city in the world. In fact, the school has a rather negative relationship with the Lewiston community. But we are trying to improve that. Our Education Department works with a lot of the kids in the local schools, and we are trying to build the relationship. Our campus security is wonderful, though, so students have nothing to worry about. Definite pluses, Portland and Freeport are close by and have great dining/shopping, if you need a getaway. Auburn, one town over, is also really building a lot...we have Walmart there, and if you come to Bates you will go broke there. They are putting in tons of new restaurants there as well.