Maine · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's

Bates

Lewiston, Maine. 1,753 undergraduate students. 33 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Bates

Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+13%

In-state tuition

In-state tuition at Bates College rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.1k → $66.6k).

PEER OUTLIER · TRENDING BETTER+54%

Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer

10-year earnings at Bates College are 54% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($69.5k vs $45.0k).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+13%

Out-of-state tuition

Out-of-state tuition at Bates College rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.1k → $66.6k).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+12%

Median federal debt at exit

Median federal debt at exit at Bates College rose 12% between 2017 and 2020 ($12.7k → $14.3k).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Maine

Each tile compares this institution to the Maine median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$69,498+17% · 6→10y
Maine median $44,433
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$59,202
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
90.6%+9% · '97→'24
Maine median 56.4%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$12,442+17% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
1,753+5% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
94.0%-4% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
13.0%-59% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$63,478+61% · '10→'24
out-of-state $63,478
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS

How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry

Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS

What loans cost relative to earnings

Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.

Institution-wide

2.4%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $12,442 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $69,498 (10y after entry).

SECTION 04 · LONG ARC

Ten-plus year arc

Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.

UNDERGRAD · 199620241,760
1,8761,61119962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997202489.7%
93%83%19972024
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$14,275
$19,000$8,12519972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
IN-STATE TUITION · 20102024+61%

Bates · in-state tuition rose

$41,360 → $66,590

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20102024+61%

Bates · out-of-state tuition rose

$41,360 → $66,590

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-80%

Bates · cohort default rate fell

1.6% → 0.0%

PELL SHARE · 20082024+51%

Bates · pell share rose

7.6% → 11.5%

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 20072020+27%

Bates · earnings_median_10yr rose

$54,800 → $69,498

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 20052020+43%

Bates · earnings_median_8yr rose

$48,700 → $69,879

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 20032020+45%

Bates · earnings_median_6yr rose

$40,900 → $59,202

SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY

6 programs with earnings, grouped

Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23

PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42

SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45

HISTORY · CIP 54

NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Bates

Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.

Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.

NET PRESENT VALUE
$525,248
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
graduationbreakeven · year 6year 0year 39
Cost per year
$8,602
HS-only baseline · ME
$36,200
Years to complete
4
CIP family
45

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Bates graduates earn $X” — not “Bates makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Bates caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.

Methodology →