Quad

Head-to-head

Trinity
Bates

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Trinity grads earn $21.3K more ten years out than Bates's ($90,779 vs. $69,498)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Trinity's grants cover 43% of its full price on average, vs. 28% at Bates

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Trinity costs about $9.7K less per year on average than Bates ($50,148 vs. $59,892, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    Bates is 2.0× more selective than Trinity

    Acceptance rate
  5. 5

    Bates's yield is 10 pts higher than Trinity's

    Yield rate
  6. 6

    Bates graduates 9 pts more of its students than Trinity (92% vs. 83%)

    Graduation rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Bates admits 15%, Trinity 29%; Bates's yield is higher, at 34%.

Acceptance rate
Trinity29%
Bates15%
Quad's selectivity
  • TrinityVery selective
  • BatesHighly selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Trinity
1298–1470
Bates
1420–1530
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • TrinitySchool record and prep program required
  • BatesRigor, GPA, and rank very important

Who's on each campus

Trinity is a bit larger than Bates (2,146 vs. 1,760 undergrads) and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Trinity2.1K
Bates1.8K
Pell Grant share
Trinity14%
Bates12%

Majors and faculty

Political Science and Government leads at Trinity, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics at Bates; both have 9 students per faculty member.

Students per faculty member
Trinity9 to 1
Bates9 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • TrinityPolitical Science and Government, General16%
  • BatesEconometrics and Quantitative Economics12%

What each costs

Trinity costs about $9.7K less a year than Bates on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Trinity$50.1K
Bates$59.9K
Aid generosity
Trinity43%
Bates28%

What each pays off

Trinity's former students earn more, a median $90.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Trinity$90.8K
Bates$69.5K
Graduation rate
Trinity83%
Bates92%

How each has changed

Applications grew at Bates but held steady at Trinity; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • TrinitySteady−1%
  • BatesGrowing+99%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Bates College (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;Bates College Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2027 applicants;Bates College Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why