Birmingham-Southern College vs NorthWestern

Birmingham-Southern College and Northwestern University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Birmingham-Southern, a private liberal arts college in Alabama, boasts a tight-knit community with a 65% acceptance rate and an average class size of 15. Northwestern, a prestigious private research university in Illinois, is highly selective with a 9% acceptance rate and larger class sizes, averaging around 25 students. While both schools offer a diverse range of majors, Birmingham-Southern emphasizes the humanities and social sciences, while Northwestern excels in engineering, business, and the arts. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the differences in student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Birmingham-Southern College	Northwestern University
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	Evanston, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	78.0%	99.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	65.9%	7.0%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1090 - 1240	1470 - 1570
ACT range	22 - 28	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	7.0%	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	54.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	2,461	47,636
Total number of admissions given out	1,622	3,321
Admitted students who chose to enroll	244	2,086
Yield rate	15.0%	62.8%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$33,790	$83,838
Average net price	$22,888	$29,999
Tuition	$18,850	$60,276
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,900 Meal plan: $5,650	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $10,781	57.0% Average amount $51,087
Students receiving federal student loan	79.0% Average amount $3,074	23.0% Average amount $4,625
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $13,570	2.0% Average amount $38,595

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,058 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
Graduate students	N/A	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	38.4%	N/A
International students	1.5%	17.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,418	4,409
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Tennessee Florida Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Psychology Business Computer and Information Science Education	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	69.8%	95.2%
Dropout rate	4.8%	4.2%
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	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046

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Birmingham-Southern College vs NorthWestern

Birmingham-Southern College

Northwestern University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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