Bard College vs University of Puget Sound

Bard College and University of Puget Sound, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Bard, a liberal arts college in New York, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 32%, while Puget Sound, a private university in Washington, maintains a slightly higher acceptance rate of 65%. Both institutions offer a diverse range of academic programs, with Bard emphasizing interdisciplinary studies and Puget Sound showcasing strengths in the sciences and professions. Bard's student body is predominantly female (58%), while Puget Sound's is more evenly balanced (49% female, 51% male). With graduation rates of 86% and 82% respectively, both colleges ensure that their students are well-prepared for their post-graduate endeavors. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bard College	University of Puget Sound
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Tacoma, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Midsize
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	87.0%	88.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	88.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1150 - 1370
ACT range	N/A	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		31.0%
Students submitting ACT score		20.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	5,025
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	4,437
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	409
Yield rate	15.3%	9.2%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,868	$73,134
Average net price	$24,318	$28,221
Tuition	$57,498	$55,390
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $7,450 Meal plan: $6,500
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	99.0% Average amount $31,818
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	40.0% Average amount $5,021
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	4.0% Average amount $19,731

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	1,866 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	307 Men 21.5% Women 78.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	74.7%
International students	14.7%	0.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,400	1,726
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington Oregon Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Health Professions Education Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	74.2%
Dropout rate	9.9%	3.7%
Transferred out	18.3%	22.1%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,730 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $84,211 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,526 Year 2: $73,769 Year 3: $75,695 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,518 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $66,616 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,899 Year 2: $54,331 Year 3: $62,873 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,324 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $58,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,383 Year 2: $41,789 Year 3: $52,400 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,980 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $49,196 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,816 Year 2: $31,848 Year 3: $43,453 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,720 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $42,288 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,004 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $41,574

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