Still deciding? I’m a Vassar alum and my son is going in the fall, but Bates was probably his #2 and we spent a full day on campus. Different schools but both great! My son preferred being closer to NYC, beautiful more self-contained campus and library, the residential setup (9 houses, usually stay in a house for 3 years, amazing house “spirit” and instant community), having things walkable to campus which Bates didn’t have (several blocks right around Vassar have small grocery store, coffee shop, bookstore, sushi, Italian, pizza, 2 bars, etc) and he missed that at Bates. Bates had awesome orientation program. Didn’t love the required senior thesis. Both had central dining hall which he loved. Vassar has large college center, and the one at Bates was under construction when we visited. My son does ski, but he’s not a outdoorsy/hiker type so wasn’t sure Bates was best fit but did like it a lot. Both seem like great group of students with close faculty relationships. You can’t go wrong!
In all honesty, the senior thesis is an invaluable tool for students to use after they graduate. It is an intensive project that requires collaboration, time management, shows original thought, is assessed for ethical standards, reviewed by a committee, and probably most importantly, showcases a student’s unique ideas and skill sets. My daughter featured it prominently in her various applications and was asked about her thesis in job interviews and her master’s program interview.
Anyway, I had to throw that in because I think most students actually enjoy that process. Vassar is a great school too, of course.
Oh no doubt. As I parent I can see the real value, but since my son already favored Vassar, the “and no thesis!” concept was just a little cherry on top for him. He’s a math/stats kid so I’m sure a thesis would have been some kind of cool research project that he would have really enjoyed, but his 16yo self put that in the “con” category for Bates when he visited. 
There are actually a lot of walkable things near Bates for food/drinks. Maybe not as many as Vassar, but there’s La Ronj cafe and the Den (both center of campus), Dunkin (2 blocks), Dairy Joy ice cream and a pizza place (2 blocks), Kim’s (store and late night food) (across from campus), Blue Goose (tavern - late night hangout - 3 blocks), Walgreens (2 blocks). You can walk to downtown where there are a lot of restaurants but it is a longer walk (15 minutes maybe?). We’ve been to campus quite a bit – eaten at many Lewiston restaurants (Forage, Davincis, Orchid, Fishbones, Baxters – all very good!). I think Vassar has things clustered more together in that one area whereas the places closest to Bates are sometimes a bit more “hidden.” The Den was also closed for renovation for a year or two.
just wanted to let you know (you were really helpful) that I ultimately settled on Vassar (open curriculum was the deciding factor - was a really difficult choice though!)
You can’t go wrong with Vassar and Bates - congrats on the decision! All the best!!
Any waitlist news? Our son is a baseball player in a highly competitive high school environment and top 5 in his class academic student. We know the Bates waitlist is not one that yields offers very often so any news is appreciated.
We heard of one on here and another who is a family friend (who got in off the WL). I’m sure it’s been moving. Don’t know when they close the class - early June? Best of luck! Maybe try reaching out to admissions to ask if the waitlist is still open and if it’s too late to send updates?
My kid got off Bates’ waitlist at the beginning of July. If your student is truly interested, make sure they let admissions know that it’s their first choice. Send any updates along too.
definitely not an expert, just someone who got off the WL a bit earlier, but reaching out to an admissions officer with questions about life at Bates might be helpful, as well - I know they weigh interest in the college pretty heavily, and it seemed to work for me, at least