Bowdoin College vs Vanderbilt

Bowdoin College and Vanderbilt University, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowdoin, a liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 9%. Vanderbilt, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, has a more accessible acceptance rate of 12%. Both institutions excel in academics, with Bowdoin known for its strong humanities and social sciences programs, while Vanderbilt offers a wider range of majors, including engineering, music, and nursing. Bowdoin's student body is predominantly white and affluent, while Vanderbilt's is more diverse, with a significant international student population. With graduation rates of 94% and 91% respectively, both colleges ensure that their students are well-prepared for successful careers. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: 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%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	7.1%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	N/A	1480 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		25.0%
Students submitting ACT score		32.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	822	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	1,626
Yield rate	62.9%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$79,538
Average net price	$26,727	$27,553
Tuition	$57,776	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	N/A	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	89.5%
International students	7.1%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	93.4%
Dropout rate	2.2%	6.4%
Transferred out	4.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

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