Bates College
Private College in Lewiston, ME. Six-year graduation rate 90%. Median 10-year earnings $69,498.
Ten-year median earnings of $69,498 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 90% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $14,275, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 90% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Admit rate 13% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 13% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. With 10,027 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 37% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 12% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 710–750 | 60 (12%) |
| SAT Math | 710–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 31–34 | 18 (4%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bates College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 90% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 91%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body is just 1,753, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,753 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $24,723 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $2,397 at the $0–30k band to $45,886 at $110k+. Only 41% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. Only 14% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 505 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $2,397 |
| $30–48k | $8,958 |
| $48–75k | $11,336 |
| $75–110k | $19,468 |
| $110k+ | $45,886 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 242 of these 1,753 students, totalling $1,272,736 — an average of $5,259 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Androscoggin County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)