Smith College vs Bowdoin College

Smith College and Bowdoin College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Smith, a women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on empowering women leaders. Bowdoin, a coeducational college in Brunswick, Maine, emphasizes experiential learning and civic engagement. With acceptance rates of 29% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract academically accomplished students. While Smith excels in social sciences and psychology, Bowdoin is known for its strength in economics and government. Explore the comparison table to discover more about these colleges' student demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences, and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	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	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	29.9%
Application fees	$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	9,325	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	822	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	676
Yield rate	62.9%	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	$76,310	$68,128
Average net price	$26,727	$29,569
Tuition	$57,776	$55,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
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	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	2,519
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	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	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	91.0%
Dropout rate	2.2%	3.6%
Transferred out	4.0%	5.1%
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	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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