Is Bates College in Lewiston Really the ‘World’s Most Expensive Form of Contraception’?

Remember when Tony Soprano took Meadow for college interviews in Maine?

I'm rewatching one of the most iconic TV series in history - The Sopranos. I hadn't watched all 8 seasons since the original run back in 1999. It brought me right back to the acting and storyline that for its time was riveting and shocking.

Then I came across Season 1, Episode 5 - College. There's the whole mafia part of the episode and killing bad guys at the hands of bad guys, but there's also the college tour part. Those colleges were in Maine. Meadow has an interview at Bates College in Lewiston with her dad Tony.

I had forgotten all about that and loved the reference to Bates College. Meadow knew she had the grades to get in, but it was the social life of Bates she was worried about. She says in the episode,

Socially, I don't know. This one girl told me there's a saying: 'Bates is the world's most expensive form of contraception.'

I damn near choked on my dinner. From Bates, they were going to Colby and I was curious if the episode was actually shot in Maine.

It was not. This is Bates College.

This is Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

All of the Maine scenes in that episode of the Sopranos were shot in rural New Jersey.  Forgetaboutit! It was a fun episode (and for mature audiences only!). There is a scene shortly after where Meadow (the daughter) asks her dad if he's in the mafia. But before that, they were listening to the radio where Waterville, Maine was in a commercial. It made me smile.