Dordt University vs Buena Vista University

Dordt University and Buena Vista University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Dordt, a private Christian university, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on faith-based education, while Buena Vista, a private liberal arts university, emphasizes experiential learning and career preparation. With acceptance rates of 85% and 75%, respectively, both universities welcome a diverse student body. Dordt's student population is predominantly White (89%) and female (59%), while Buena Vista's student body is more evenly distributed across gender (49% male, 51% female) and ethnicity (73% White, 10% Hispanic, 6% Black). Explore the comparison table below to delve into further details about these universities, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision.

	Buena Vista University	Dordt University
Overview
Location	Storm Lake, Iowa	Sioux Center, Iowa
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	73.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.0%	73.2%
Application fees
SAT range	963 - 1140	1050 - 1290
ACT range	18 - 25	21 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	8.0%	13.0%
Students submitting ACT score	57.0%	62.0%
Total number of applicants	1,749	1,595
Total number of admissions given out	1,154	1,168
Admitted students who chose to enroll	237	440
Yield rate	20.5%	37.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$53,162	$50,880
Average net price	$18,532	$26,662
Tuition	$37,518	$33,590
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,114 Meal plan: $5,256	$10,780
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $31,137	100.0% Average amount $21,062
Students receiving federal student loan	72.0% Average amount $5,750	54.0% Average amount $4,998
Students taking out private loans	29.0% Average amount $5,551	54.0% Average amount $4,378

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,506 Men 36.5% Women 63.5%	1,535 Men 52.6% Women 47.4%
Graduate students	453 Men 16.3% Women 83.7%	249 Men 35.3% Women 64.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	39.4%	66.1%
International students	0.5%	8.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	836	1,311
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Iowa Texas Nebraska Minnesota Arizona	Iowa Minnesota South Dakota California Michigan

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Computer and Information Science	Education Engineering Business Agriculture Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.8%	74.1%
Dropout rate	36.8%	25.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,501 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $61,003 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,278 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $52,709 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,249 Year 2: $45,455 Year 3: $48,387 Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,936 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: $46,768 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,901 Year 2: $47,494 Year 3: $46,501 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,530 Year 2: $35,416 Year 3: $45,327 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,042 Year 2: $40,089 Year 3: $45,181 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,301 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $44,742 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,198 Year 2: $35,416 Year 3: $43,790 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,262 Year 2: $37,819 Year 3: $37,074	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,563 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $65,494 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,054 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $52,771 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,495 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,652 Year 2: $34,746 Year 3: $35,321 Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,218 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: N/A Animal Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: N/A Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,381 Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,578 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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