@jyc1230 Bates has a more diverse student body. Preps, hipsters, jocks and geeky kids. In the dining hall they all seemed to congregate together. Colby is more like Bucknell and Colgate, more preppy but certainly not like the 1980s.
Bates is more urban so a more urban student body.
Bates is building two new dorms that will be open for the incoming class.
In terms of admittance, Bates will be harder for females, but about the same for males.