Bard College vs Spelman College

Bard College and Spelman College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Bard, a liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, boasts an acceptance rate of 48%, while Spelman, a historically Black women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, has a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 38%. Both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, with Bard excelling in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and Spelman excelling in STEM fields, business, and education. While Bard's student body is predominantly white, Spelman's student body is predominantly Black, creating unique and vibrant campus communities. With Bard's graduation rate at 82% and Spelman's at 79%, both colleges demonstrate a strong commitment to student success. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bard College	Spelman College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Atlanta, Georgia
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: 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
Students retention rate	87.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	50.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$40
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	5,167	11,176
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	5,673
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	794
Yield rate	15.3%	14.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,868	$48,244
Average net price	$24,318	$28,527
Tuition	$57,498	$25,249
Room & board	$16,760	$15,063
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	96.0% Average amount $10,839
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	76.0% Average amount $5,707
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	5.0% Average amount $13,717

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	2,417 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	76.0%
International students	14.7%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,400	1,401
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Georgia Maryland Texas California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Health Professions English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	76.2%
Dropout rate	9.9%	9.2%
Transferred out	18.3%	13.7%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,695 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $59,027 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,667 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $52,483 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,355 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $44,720 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,573 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $39,388 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,944 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $39,024 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,532 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,350 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,318 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,552 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,181 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,552 Year 3: N/A

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