Virginia Military Institute vs Harvard

When it comes to higher education, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Harvard University stand as two distinct beacons of academic excellence. VMI, a public military college, offers a rigorous education steeped in leadership and discipline, while Harvard, a private Ivy League institution, boasts a long-standing reputation for academic prestige and research prowess. With acceptance rates of 22% and 5%, respectively, these universities cater to different applicant pools. VMI's student body is predominantly male (98%) and military-affiliated (80%), while Harvard's student body is more diverse, with a 50:50 gender ratio and a significant international presence. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details on acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Harvard University	Virginia Military Institute
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	63.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	$40
SAT range	1480 - 1580	1080 - 1300
ACT range	33 - 36	22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	12.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	1,549
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	990
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	461
Yield rate	84.2%	46.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	In state: $33,182 Out of state: $61,836
Average net price	$13,910	$18,100
Tuition	$51,143	In state: $9,782 Out of state: $38,436
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	Room/dormitory: $3,102 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $59,840	91.0% Average amount $10,832
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	59.0% Average amount $3,385
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	11.0% Average amount $22,604

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	1,652 Men 86.2% Women 13.8%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	38.2%
International students	23.9%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	12,874	1,751
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey	Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland North Carolina New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Engineering Social Sciences Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences History
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	73.7%
Dropout rate	2.0%	4.4%
Transferred out	N/A	21.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,193 Year 2: $128,716 Year 3: $240,408 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $184,307 Year 2: $165,340 Year 3: $199,043 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $171,333 Year 2: $171,907 Year 3: $187,553 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $140,072 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: $163,896 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $151,371 Year 2: $174,023 Year 3: $163,512 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,508 Year 2: $117,916 Year 3: $129,281 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $121,832 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $102,707 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $121,771 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,905 Year 2: $98,670 Year 3: $107,389 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $68,745 Year 2: $71,486 Year 3: $106,375	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,118 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $60,559 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,215 Year 2: $44,942 Year 3: $59,186 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,030 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $57,955 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,302 Year 2: $39,305 Year 3: $55,311 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $45,094 Year 3: $55,205 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,487 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $52,930 Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,025 Year 2: $39,909 Year 3: $52,845 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,712 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $43,814 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,367 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,671 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A

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