I’m interested in social sciences/humanities and am an international student. I was wondering if these two colleges uphold the same “name brand”? How similar are they?
Bates is much older and much better known nationally. Bates is also twice the size and grouped in the Little Ivies and part of NESCAC.
You will find a much different student body at Bates more like Pomona and CMC. Bates is very sporty with probably half the students on varsity teams.
The difference between Maine and Southern California culturally couldn’t be more different.
So while Pitzer is a great school it is not as well rounded as Bates and frankly not the same reputation at all.
Not sure, if you could answer this question - but how would you describe the student body at Bates compared to Pitzer? I was initially drawn to Pitzer because of its core values however I think it may be too far of a reach.
Bates is a very friendly and diverse school in terms of student type but as I said lots of athletes which is not the case for Pitzer. If Pitzer is a reach Bates will be harder.
bates has a higher acceptance rate though? especially for ED.
In social science fields such as sociology and anthropology Pitzer would be very strong and rightfully has been recognized in this article:
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/small-colleges/sociology-anthropology/
For economics (and probaby related public policy fields, i.e., government studies), Bates might be a stronger option:
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html
Both of these schools support popular psychology departments with excellent course breadth and depth.
For humanities such as English literature, Pitzer’s offerings seem appealing.
By standardized scoring profiles, Bates and Pitzer appear pretty similar:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
Pitzer is listed as one of the “20 Best Value Small Colleges for an Economics Degree”
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/small-colleges/economics
Why not apply to both and make a decision when you see where you get in?
^ Yes, either of these excellent colleges could be good for your interests, and aspects related to both finances and fit might become more obvious to you after you have heard back from them.
I was considering an ED to either because I love them both equally but am not likely to get in RD. I have visited Pitzer, but not Bates since I live abroad. I was mainly wondering in the differences of acceptance rates since Bates is better regarded and is ranked higher but at 25% RD and 55% ED while Pitzer is only 13.5 RD and 33% ED. So how would my chances at Bates be less than Pitzer?
If this is your only real question, they wouldn’t. This is the case not because of acceptance rates specifically, which indicate only part of the story, but because Bates and Pitzer overlap significantly across their admission criteria, making the schools approximately equivalent in selectivity.
Part of the distinction is that Pitzer is in an area with few similar LAC’s as compared to the Eastern half of the country which has a lot - so more West Coast applicants applying to nearby Pitzer results in a lower acceptance rate.
Both are great schools. I don’t think there’s a significant difference in terms of prestige. On one hand, you have the best college consortium in the US. On the other you’ve got what is probably the top academic D3 conference in the country. Knowing nothing much at all about you, I’d probably recommend Pitzer. It’s near a big urban environment, and it shares resources with four other first-rate colleges.
My son is at Williams, so I’m a big fan of the NESCAC schools including Bates. But for your average international student, I’d probably recommend Pitzer and the CMC.
I think Pitzer is harder to get into because admission also gets you access to the other Claremont consortium schools for classes, clubs, social life, etc. Bates will be easier to get into.
The acceptance rate for Pitzer is fiction. Kids on the west coast apply to more schools on average than the east coast and there are very few LAC’s out west and that area has a massive population, hence the acceptance rate. I would agree Bates would be slightly easier if you are good athlete but harder otherwise.
Pitzer has a lower acceptance rate, but that is misleading because the applicant pool it attracts is of lower quality/credentials. The typical Bates student has substantially higher SAT/ACT scores and high school grades/class rank than the typical Pitzer student, and as a result Bates will be harder to get admitted to for a typical student. Bates also has more academic strengths and a better name brand.
My source (published in 2016) lists Pitzer as having the higher SAT middle ranges:
Pitzer: 1250-1440
Bates: 1190-1416
This is a weird thread – Pitzer is at least as prestigious as Bates, with a lower admission rate and with higher SAT scores (as per @merc81 above). But one has gorgeous Maine winters and is freezing cold, the other is in the land of perpetual sunshine. If you really can’t decide which to apply to, go by your preferred weather! 
Agreed. I don’t think there’s a measurable distinction in prestige. These are both really great colleges.
Both great - it’s about location and vibe.