Wesleyan University vs Harvard

Wesleyan University and Harvard University, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Wesleyan, a liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate teaching, while Harvard, a renowned research university, provides unparalleled academic resources and a diverse range of graduate programs. With acceptance rates of 13% and 5%, respectively, both universities are highly selective. Wesleyan's popular majors include the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, while Harvard offers a wider range of disciplines, including engineering, business, and law. Explore the comparison table to discover more about the student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences between these two esteemed universities to determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Harvard University	Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Middletown, Connecticut
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
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	96.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	19.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	$55
SAT range	1480 - 1580	1300 - 1510
ACT range	33 - 36	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	27.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	13,067
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	2,540
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	910
Yield rate	84.2%	35.8%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	$82,245
Average net price	$13,910	$20,535
Tuition	$51,143	$61,449
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	$17,531
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	40.0% Average amount $58,925
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	18.0% Average amount $3,834
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	2.0% Average amount $27,881

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	3,385 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	196 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	90.3%
International students	23.9%	11.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	12,874	3,063
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	New York California Connecticut New Jersey Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Social Sciences Psychology Ethnic Studies Visual & Performing Arts Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	91.0%
Dropout rate	2.0%	3.6%
Transferred out	N/A	5.3%
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	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $53,847 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,232 Year 2: $36,334 Year 3: $45,541

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