Amherst College vs Bucknell University

Amherst College and Bucknell University, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, a small, highly selective college in Massachusetts, boasts an acceptance rate of 13.2% and a student body of around 1,800 undergraduates. Bucknell, a mid-sized university in Pennsylvania, has a more accessible acceptance rate of 32.5% and a larger student body of over 3,600 undergraduates. While both institutions excel in the humanities and social sciences, Amherst is known for its strengths in economics and political science, while Bucknell is recognized for its engineering and management programs. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions' differences in terms of student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors, and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Amherst College	Bucknell University
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	34.5%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1295 - 1450
ACT range	32 - 34	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	17.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	11,263
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	3,886
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	1,027
Yield rate	42.1%	26.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,050	$77,740
Average net price	$18,809	$38,170
Tuition	$60,700	$59,474
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $9,192 Meal plan: $5,682
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	59.0% Average amount $37,752
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	32.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	7.0% Average amount $23,169

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	3,724 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	N/A	33 Men 30.3% Women 69.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	76.9%
International students	10.4%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,000	3,394
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Engineering Business Social Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	88.0%
Dropout rate	2.5%	0.6%
Transferred out	3.6%	11.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,775 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $94,870 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,970 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $85,992 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,271 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $84,030 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $53,743 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,419 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $46,160 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,744 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,173 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,896 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $96,310 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: N/A Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,290 Year 2: $66,147 Year 3: $82,360 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,437 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $80,333 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,748 Year 2: $69,002 Year 3: $76,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,343 Year 2: $49,683 Year 3: $69,149 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,231 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $68,732 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,607 Year 3: $66,842 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,041 Year 2: $55,102 Year 3: $63,698 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,358 Year 2: $49,136 Year 3: $60,608 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,507 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $57,352 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,905 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $55,173

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Amherst College vs Bucknell University

Amherst College

Bucknell University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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