Bates College Supplemental Essays

Bates, a small liberal arts college in Maine, has no supplemental essays for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle!

Creative Portfolio

Bates does gives students the option to submit a creative portfolio in music, theater, art, dance, film, or creative writing. If you feel proud of your accomplishments in one of these areas, submitting a portfolio can give the admissions committee a sense of how you might contribute on campus.

Note that these portfolios are typically reviewed by faculty members in the respective discipline, i.e. by experts, so only submit a portfolio if you have strengths in that field. If you’re unsure, ask your teacher in that area (band director, drama teacher, voice instructor, etc.) whether they think you should submit one. Experienced arts teachers have a good sense of when a student should and shouldn’t do this.

Read the FAQ on the Bates Supplemental Portfolio here.

Additional Info

If students have a very strong interest in a particular school, I sometimes encourage them to send the admissions office a SHORT email explaining their interest, or to write a SHORT essay (1-2 paragraphs max; less than 250 words) and paste it in the Additional Info Section of the Common App.

Whether you choose an email or short essay, it should take the form of a short Why Our School essay; a guide for writing this type of essay is here.

CAUTION: Be judicious with this type of essay! Sending in unnecessary extra information not only annoys admissions officers, it can actually distract from other parts of your application, e.g. a strong Common App essay and teacher recommendations.

Remember that if Bates wanted to read an extra essay from every student, they’d ask for one. Submit extra materials only if they communicate a strong, genuine interest in the school, and if they add information not reflected in other parts of the application.

For more help with your Common App essay, supplemental essays, and your entire application, check out my new book Write Yourself In, available from your favorite library or bookseller. You can also subscribe to my Admitted newsletter for monthly updates and guidance.