Bates College vs Bucknell University

Bates College and Bucknell University, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Bates, located in Lewiston, Maine, boasts a lower acceptance rate (13%) compared to Bucknell's (29%) in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. While Bates excels in the social sciences, Bucknell's strengths lie in engineering and business. Bates' student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate population of 1,800 compared to Bucknell's 3,600. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Bates at 93% and Bucknell at 90%. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' costs, financial aid, and other key factors that may influence your college decision.

	Bates College	Bucknell University
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	34.5%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1295 - 1450
ACT range	N/A	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		35.0%
Students submitting ACT score		17.0%
Total number of applicants	7,319	11,263
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	3,886
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	1,027
Yield rate	43.6%	26.4%
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	$77,870	$77,740
Average net price	$26,231	$38,170
Tuition	$59,062	$59,474
Room & board	$16,658	Room/dormitory: $9,192 Meal plan: $5,682
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	59.0% Average amount $37,752
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	32.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	7.0% Average amount $23,169

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	3,724 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	N/A	33 Men 30.3% Women 69.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	76.9%
International students	8.7%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,816	3,394
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Engineering Business Social Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	88.0%
Dropout rate	2.3%	0.6%
Transferred out	5.8%	11.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,768 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,497 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $55,661 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,568 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $53,638 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,883 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $35,020 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,170 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,112 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,657 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,290 Year 2: $66,147 Year 3: $82,360 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,437 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $80,333 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,748 Year 2: $69,002 Year 3: $76,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,343 Year 2: $49,683 Year 3: $69,149 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,231 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $68,732 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,607 Year 3: $66,842 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,041 Year 2: $55,102 Year 3: $63,698 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,358 Year 2: $49,136 Year 3: $60,608 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,507 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $57,352 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,905 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $55,173

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