Affording Bates
A Bates education is broadly defined and highly personalized. In addition to an interdisciplinary, general-education curriculum, Bates offers a diverse menu of options to every student, who choose among them to shape individual learning experiences throughout their four years. Teaching and learning are not confined to the classroom, but transpire onstage and in the art studio, in the residence hall and on the playing field, through study abroad and opportunities unique to Maine, in student organizations and around the dinner table in Commons.
Bates 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.
Bates’ commitment to affordability and accessibility is a direct extension of the ethical vision that inspired the college’s founders: an education that is open to all will ensure that future leaders and problem-solvers emerge from every walk of life and are able to collaborate with people representing diverse cultures and viewpoints.
Professor of Sociology Emily Kane meets this morning with students in her First Year Seminar, “Inequality, Community, and Social Change,” a course in which students explore community-engaged efforts to advance social change and the role of colleges and universities in those efforts..This morning between 9 a.m. and noon, members of the Class of 2023 gathered with their First Year Seminar classmates and instructor, who will also be their students’ first-year adviser. They spent their time discussing the course as well as their academic advising..Swipe left to see some moments the classroom with Kane and her students and with Lecturer in Environmental Studies Ethan Miller ’00, who met with his students in his First-Year Seminar “Life Beyond Capitalism,” a course that draws on tools from economic anthropology and geography to examine myriad, existing noncapitalist livelihood practices in contemporary industrialized societies." width="900" height="600" /> 
2019A student bikes down Alumni Walk in front of Pettigrew Hall." width="900" height="600" /> 
A Single Fee
For this highly individualized educational experience, Bates charges a single fee that includes tuition, room, board and fees. The 2024-25 fee for attending Bates is $85,370. Costs for books, personal expenses and transportation are added to a student’s budget for the purpose of estimating financial need and awarding aid.
Financial Aid
We provide more than $40 million in grant aid to our students every year. Nearly half of our students receive financial aid, and the average financial aid award, including grant, loan and work, is more than $58,000. Our entire financial aid budget supports students with demonstrated financial need.
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