Bates College vs Merrimack

Bates College and Merrimack College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Bates, a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 14%, while Merrimack, a private Catholic university in North Andover, Massachusetts, offers a more accessible admissions process with an acceptance rate of 70%. Bates students pursue a wide range of majors, with popular choices including Economics, Biology, and English, while Merrimack students often major in Business Administration, Nursing, or Psychology. The student bodies at the two colleges also differ, with Bates having a predominantly white student population and Merrimack having a more diverse student body. Additionally, Bates boasts a higher graduation rate of 89% compared to Merrimack's 78%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more. Explore the table to discover which college

	Bates College	Merrimack College
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	North Andover, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
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%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	80.3%
Application fees	$60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	7,319	10,429
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	8,375
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	967
Yield rate	43.6%	11.5%
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	$64,774
Average net price	$26,231	$35,500
Tuition	$59,062	$43,842
Room & board	$16,658	Room/dormitory: $9,493 Meal plan: $7,323
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	99.0% Average amount $25,528
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	64.0% Average amount $5,356
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	16.0% Average amount $22,739

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	4,120 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Graduate students	N/A	1,332 Men 27.3% Women 72.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	8.7%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,816	2,713
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Education Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	69.0%
Dropout rate	2.3%	0.1%
Transferred out	5.8%	30.5%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,692 Year 2: $44,327 Year 3: $57,831 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,877 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $48,983 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,240 Year 2: $43,160 Year 3: $48,263 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,959 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $47,824 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,026 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $44,114 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,044 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: N/A Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,117 Year 2: $62,508 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,444 Year 2: $36,312 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,991 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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