Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $69,498 ten years after enrolling, more than at 83% of colleges; 92% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 3.4 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$14.3K
According to Bates College's most recent Common Data Set, 23% of its Class of 2025 graduates (497 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $35,206 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
93 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 6 more are enrolled at another college. (497 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
88 of 100 finish within 4 years, 93 within 6, and 93 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 88% | 93% | 93% |
| Started in college here | 88% | 93% | 93% |
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 96%, 7 points above students with no need-based federal aid (89%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients47 students
96% · 7 points above students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant36 students
94% · 6 points above students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan460 students
89% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White379 students
89% · 1 point below all students
- Asian24 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Hispanic/Latino36 students
86% · 4 points below all students
- Black25 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Two or more races30 students
93% · 4 points above all students
- International43 students
93% · 3 points above all students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Bates College. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;Bates College Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Bates College Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)