Vanderbilt vs NorthWestern

Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University, two prestigious private research universities located in the vibrant cities of Nashville, Tennessee, and Evanston, Illinois, respectively, offer distinct educational experiences. Vanderbilt boasts a lower acceptance rate (10.3%) compared to Northwestern's (11.1%), indicating a highly selective admissions process at both institutions. While Vanderbilt's student body is slightly larger, both universities share a diverse and vibrant campus community. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northwestern University	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1480 - 1570
ACT range	34 - 35	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	1,626
Yield rate	62.8%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	$79,538
Average net price	$29,999	$27,553
Tuition	$60,276	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.5%
International students	17.8%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,409	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	93.4%
Dropout rate	4.2%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

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