Macalester College vs Bowdoin College

Macalester College and Bowdoin College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Macalester, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts a diverse student body with a strong international presence, while Bowdoin, situated in Brunswick, Maine, is known for its rigorous academics and stunning coastal location. With acceptance rates of 28% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract top students from around the world. While Macalester excels in social sciences and humanities, Bowdoin offers strengths in natural sciences and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' differences in graduation rates, student demographics, and other key factors, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Bowdoin College	Macalester College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Saint Paul, Minnesota
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
Students retention rate	97.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	31.3%
Application fees	$65	$40
SAT range	N/A	1340 - 1515
ACT range	N/A	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		35.0%
Students submitting ACT score		39.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	9,046
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,828
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	601
Yield rate	62.9%	21.3%
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	$76,310	$76,357
Average net price	$26,727	$30,939
Tuition	$57,776	$60,288
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	87.0% Average amount $42,832
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	39.0% Average amount $4,799
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	29.0% Average amount $4,321

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	13.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,332
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	89.7%
Dropout rate	2.2%	10.0%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,163 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,135 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,896 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,193 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,635 Year 2: $35,274 Year 3: $43,620 Geography and Cartography (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,253 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $39,047 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,368 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $36,933 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,116 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $34,521 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,444 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,129 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: N/A Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: N/A

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