Occidental College vs Bowdoin College

Occidental College and Bowdoin College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Occidental, nestled in Los Angeles, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while Bowdoin, located in Brunswick, Maine, has a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 11%. Occidental's student body is more diverse, with 48% students of color compared to Bowdoin's 30%. Both colleges excel in academics, with Occidental's popular majors including Economics, Psychology, and Biology, and Bowdoin's strengths lying in Government and Legal Studies, Economics, and English. While Occidental has a slightly higher graduation rate of 86% compared to Bowdoin's 85%, both institutions ensure their graduates are well-prepared for their chosen career paths. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Occidental College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Los Angeles, California
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%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	38.2%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1340 - 1490
ACT range	N/A	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		29.0%
Students submitting ACT score		22.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	6,495
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,484
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	535
Yield rate	62.9%	21.5%
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	$77,878
Average net price	$26,727	$43,047
Tuition	$57,776	$57,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	100.0% Average amount $29,715
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	31.0% Average amount $4,603
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	17.0% Average amount $6,554

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	62.5%
International students	7.1%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,650
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	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	82.9%
Dropout rate	2.2%	4.1%
Transferred out	4.0%	12.6%
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: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Bowdoin College

Claremont McKenna College