<p>I don’t think there is doubt the Bowdoin is the best in Maine, but I think that Bates is better than Colby. Bates is more selective than Colby (in terms of acceptance rate). Bates also did better in the Wall Street Journal’s ranking in the ‘Best Feeder Schools.’ Bates was rated the best value last year by the Princeton Review, and has a really good study abroad program (better than Bowdoin’s too). Bates’ nature preseve (Morse Mountain-- on the coast of Maine) sounds really cool, it’s huge. I guess it is a matter of opinion, but I think Bates is quickly moving up in the rankings-- this year US news ranked it one below Colby, but I think next it will be just ahead. Bates is just a cool school-- the campus is actually much more historic than Colby’s-- Colby is an older school, but the Campus was moved to where it is now in the early 1900s. Bates is just cooler, I think. They are really similar, though-- I just like Bates better.</p>