Bowdoin College vs Bard College

Bowdoin College and Bard College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowdoin, nestled in Brunswick, Maine, boasts a lower acceptance rate (9%) and a higher graduation rate (94%) compared to Bard's 30% acceptance rate and 85% graduation rate. While Bowdoin's student body is predominantly White (68%) and affluent, Bard's student body is more diverse, with a significant international presence (20%). In terms of academics, Bowdoin excels in STEM fields, with popular majors including Biology, Economics, and Computer Science. Bard, on the other hand, is known for its strength in the arts, with popular majors such as Film and Electronic Arts, Creative Writing, and Music. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bard College	Bowdoin College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Brunswick, Maine
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	97.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	8.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$65
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	5,167	9,325
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	822
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	517
Yield rate	15.3%	62.9%
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	$72,868	$76,310
Average net price	$24,318	$26,727
Tuition	$57,498	$57,776
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	54.0% Average amount $45,153
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	11.0% Average amount $4,767
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	1.0% Average amount $20,700

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	91.5%
International students	14.7%	7.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,400	1,913
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	93.8%
Dropout rate	9.9%	2.2%
Transferred out	18.3%	4.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,261 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,624 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,818 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,172 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,518 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,944 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,353 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,051 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $122,292 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $83,803 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,127 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $77,719 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,934 Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $60,473 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,244 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,658 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,454 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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