Smith College vs Bard College

Smith College and Bard College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Smith, a women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, boasts a 44% acceptance rate and a student body of over 2,600 undergraduates. Bard, a coeducational college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, has a 49% acceptance rate and a more diverse student body of around 1,800 undergraduates. Both colleges excel in the humanities and social sciences, but Smith is known for its strength in the natural sciences and engineering, while Bard is renowned for its innovative programs in the arts and environmental studies. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover more about these colleges' unique offerings, including popular majors, graduation rates, and financial aid opportunities, and make an informed decision about which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bard College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Northampton, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	29.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$60
SAT range	N/A	1370 - 1530
ACT range	N/A	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score		34.0%
Students submitting ACT score		20.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	676
Yield rate	15.3%	37.3%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,868	$68,128
Average net price	$24,318	$29,569
Tuition	$57,498	$55,830
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.7%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,400	2,519
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures 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%	91.0%
Dropout rate	9.9%	3.6%
Transferred out	18.3%	5.1%
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	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,496 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,990 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $56,651 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,011 Year 2: $45,554 Year 3: $53,962 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,620 Year 3: $53,886 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,098 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,619 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,776 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $43,120 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $41,147 Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,006 Year 2: $18,566 Year 3: $41,145 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,954 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $40,411 Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $38,497

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