Birmingham-Southern College vs Harvard

Birmingham-Southern College and Harvard University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, stand at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of size, location, and selectivity. Birmingham-Southern, a private liberal arts college nestled in the heart of Alabama, offers a close-knit community with a focus on undergraduate education, while Harvard, an Ivy League research university in Massachusetts, boasts a global reputation for academic excellence and groundbreaking research. With acceptance rates of 68% and 5%, respectively, these universities cater to different student profiles. Birmingham-Southern's diverse student body comprises individuals from various backgrounds, while Harvard's student population is more internationally diverse. Explore the comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the best fit for your academic aspirations.

	Birmingham-Southern College	Harvard University
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
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	78.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	65.9%	4.0%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105
SAT range	1090 - 1240	1480 - 1580
ACT range	22 - 28	33 - 36
Students submitting SAT score	7.0%	54.0%
Students submitting ACT score	54.0%	31.0%
Total number of applicants	2,461	57,786
Total number of admissions given out	1,622	2,318
Admitted students who chose to enroll	244	1,951
Yield rate	15.0%	84.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$33,790	$78,028
Average net price	$22,888	$13,910
Tuition	$18,850	$51,143
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,900 Meal plan: $5,650	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $10,781	56.0% Average amount $59,840
Students receiving federal student loan	79.0% Average amount $3,074	3.0% Average amount $5,180
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $13,570	2.0% Average amount $8,080

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,058 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%
Graduate students	N/A	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	38.4%	N/A
International students	1.5%	23.9%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,418	12,874
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Tennessee Florida Texas	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Psychology Business Computer and Information Science Education	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	7:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	69.8%	96.7%
Dropout rate	4.8%	2.0%
Transferred out	24.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,374 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $50,065 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,048 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,580 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: N/A	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

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Birmingham-Southern College vs Harvard

Birmingham-Southern College

Harvard University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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