My son will be a freshman at Bates this fall. When he was searching for schools to visit last year his must-haves included small school, strong academics, active outdoors club, friendly, non-competitive atmosphere, helpful professors, access to nearby hiking, and no frats. Bates continually came up on the top of the list. He did not originally intend to go that far from home but after visiting, he knew it was the perfect fit. I think Bates recognized this as well because although his grades and test scores are good (he is in the top 10% of his class), they are not at the top of what Bates accepts. He applied ED to show them how much he wanted to attend and crafted an essay that defined who he was.