LACs: Bates vs. Colby vs. Whitman

Calibearmomof2
Mon, 12 Apr 2021 01:27:13 +0000

Hi…no expert, but D17 went to Whitman and S21 headed to Bates. He was very drawn to the collaborative nature of Bates.
I can’t tell you much about CS at Whitman, not in D17’s wheelhouse. The campus is kind of remote, but in a really lovely smaller town. Walla Walla actually made the Wine Spectator’s top ten list of places to visit a few years back. There are some terrific (parent priced) places to eat should you be visiting and several places that serve an unbelievable breakfast (more affordable).
Whitman is the friendliest campus I’ve ever visited. Stop and look at a map—someone will ask if they can help. D17 was interested in art, so we headed to the art building when we visited. A senior walking by offered to take her on a tour of the senior studios and an art professor came into the hall, asked about her interests and showed her some of his new work.
There is a great outdoors program, a super indoor climbing wall. They send a bunch of kids to grad school…there is a lot to like, but I can’t really speak to CS. I think some students have expressed concern that the administration is putting too much money into CS and hard science at the expense of some liberal arts programs (maybe a dance major being eliminated next year?) I’m happy to answer (or ask my daughter) if you have any specific questions.
S21 was planning to apply to Colby also—but decided Bates a better match for his personality and applied ED. Maybe it was our tour guide, or the presentation, but we didn’t get the same collaborative feeling at Colby as we got at Bates.