Barnard College vs Mount Holyoke College

Barnard College and Mount Holyoke College, both esteemed liberal arts colleges for women, offer distinct educational experiences. Barnard, located in the vibrant heart of New York City, boasts an acceptance rate of 12%, while Mount Holyoke, nestled in the historic town of South Hadley, Massachusetts, has an acceptance rate of 29%. Barnard's student body is more diverse, with 48% of students identifying as students of color compared to Mount Holyoke's 38%. Both colleges excel in academics, with Barnard's popular majors including social sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, and psychology, while Mount Holyoke's strengths lie in social sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, and English language and literature. Barnard's graduation rate is 89%, while Mount Holyoke's is 87%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions.
Barnard College logo

Barnard College

Mount Holyoke College logo

Mount Holyoke College

Overview

Location New York, New York South Hadley, Massachusetts
Campus setting City: Large Suburb: Large
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 97.0% 91.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 11.5% 52.3%
Application fees $75
Undergraduate: $60

Graduate: $50
SAT range 1425 - 1550 1300 - 1510
ACT range 32 - 34 31 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 30.0% 24.0%
Students submitting ACT score 21.0% 11.0%
Total number of applicants 10,395 3,971
Total number of admissions given out 1,192 2,077
Admitted students who chose to enroll 769 608
Yield rate 64.5% 29.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not 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 $80,693 $73,438
Average net price $28,366 $29,218
Tuition $57,734 $56,300
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $11,206

Meal plan: $7,280
Room/dormitory: $8,320

Meal plan: $8,260
Available payment plans
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

36.0%
Average amount $44,482
100.0%
Average amount $30,351
Students receiving federal student loan 32.0%
Average amount $1,946
42.0%
Average amount $4,906
Students taking out private loans 7.0%
Average amount $13,974
7.0%
Average amount $4,982

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 3,043
Men 0.3% Women 99.7%
2,220
Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students N/A 122
Men 13.1% Women 86.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students 70.3% N/A
International students 12.6% 23.1%
Campus local/setting City: Large Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 2,411 2,171
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 Mississippi Texas Mississippi New York California Connecticut Florida

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Public Administration and Social Service
  • Social Sciences
  • Education
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 10:1 10:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 92.8% 85.0%
Dropout rate 2.7% 2.9%
Transferred out 4.3% 11.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $65,217
  • Year 2: $70,456
  • Year 3: $87,791
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $48,807
  • Year 2: $47,846
  • Year 3: $67,484
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $43,701
  • Year 2: $50,856
  • Year 3: $60,852
Urban Studies/Affairs (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $47,271
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: $55,821
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $49,646
  • Year 3: $53,521
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $41,937
  • Year 3: $52,302
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $38,848
  • Year 2: $48,432
  • Year 3: $50,891
Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,983
  • Year 2: $39,648
  • Year 3: N/A
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $40,340
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $28,675
  • Year 2: $37,568
  • Year 3: N/A
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,377
  • Year 2: $45,696
  • Year 3: $46,206
Education, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $46,986
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: $46,152
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,150
  • Year 2: $35,060
  • Year 3: $44,038
Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $32,925
  • Year 3: $37,403
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $30,356
  • Year 2: $36,852
  • Year 3: $35,497
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $34,113
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,168
  • Year 2: $30,409
  • Year 3: $33,868
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $28,960
  • Year 3: $30,295
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $24,035
  • Year 3: $30,137
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $28,160
  • Year 2: $28,598
  • Year 3: $29,034

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