You don’t have to visit a second time. On his application, he can list the 2021 visit (there’s a section for that on the Bates-specific section of the common app). If he’d like, he can also request an interview (would highly recommend this) and do a virtual tour (Bates tracks this activity). For the record, my D23 did not visit Bates in person but did have an interview and did a virtual tour, and she was accepted RD – at that point, she visited when making her decision (and now, she’s getting ready for move-in day on Thursday!). So I can’t chance your S, but I can assure you that not doing a second visit will have no influence on his application result. As you suggest, applying ED is the ultimate way to demonstrate interest.
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