Bates College vs Hillsdale College

Bates College and Hillsdale College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Bates, a liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, boasts a 13% acceptance rate and a diverse student body, with 48% female and 52% male students. Hillsdale, a private liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, has a higher acceptance rate of 58% and a more evenly split gender ratio, with 49% female and 51% male students. While Bates is known for its strengths in the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, Hillsdale is renowned for its focus on the liberal arts and Western heritage. Both colleges offer a variety of popular majors, including economics, political science, and history, but they differ in their graduation rates, with Bates boasting a higher rate of 88% compared to Hillsdale's 83%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine
Bates College logo

Bates College

Hillsdale College logo

Hillsdale College

Overview

Location Lewiston, Maine Hillsdale, Michigan
Campus setting City: Small Town: Distant
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system 4-1-4 Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 92.0% 94.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Undenominational

Admission

Acceptance rate 17.3% 23.7%
Application fees $60
Undergraduate: $35

Graduate: $25
SAT range N/A 1340 - 1510
ACT range N/A 30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score 22.0%
Students submitting ACT score 38.0%
Total number of applicants 7,319 2,994
Total number of admissions given out 1,267 709
Admitted students who chose to enroll 553 397
Yield rate 43.6% 56.0%
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 Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $77,870 $45,382
Average net price $26,231 $24,057
Tuition $59,062 $28,730
Room & board $16,658
Room/dormitory: $6,020

Meal plan: $6,120
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

36.0%
Average amount $50,509
100.0%
Average amount $20,535
Students receiving federal student loan 12.0%
Average amount $4,182
0.0%
Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans 3.0%
Average amount $23,825
34.0%
Average amount $10,497

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,821
Men 48.6% Women 51.4%
1,515
Men 50.6% Women 49.4%
Graduate students N/A 87
Men 67.8% Women 32.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
N/A
Out-of-state students N/A N/A
International students 8.7% N/A
Campus local/setting City: Small Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 1,816 1,124
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Physical Science
  • Social Sciences
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Psychology
  • Business
  • Social Sciences
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio 10:1 8:1
Institutional accreditation New England Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 91.7% 87.6%
Dropout rate 2.3% 8.3%
Transferred out 5.8% 3.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $55,768
  • Year 2: $69,338
  • Year 3: $73,497
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $51,273
  • Year 3: $55,661
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $50,568
  • Year 2: $38,289
  • Year 3: $53,638
Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $22,883
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $35,020
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $22,192
  • Year 3: N/A
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $30,771
  • Year 3: N/A
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $33,170
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $36,112
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,731
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,657
  • Year 2: $25,194
  • Year 3: N/A
N/A