Birmingham-Southern College vs Vanderbilt

Birmingham-Southern College and Vanderbilt University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning in the heart of the South, offer distinct educational experiences tailored to different aspirations. Birmingham-Southern, a liberal arts college nestled in the vibrant city of Birmingham, Alabama, boasts a close-knit community and personalized attention, while Vanderbilt, a prestigious research university in Nashville, Tennessee, captivates with its world-renowned faculty, cutting-edge facilities, and vast academic offerings. With acceptance rates of 68% and 10%, respectively, these universities cater to students with varying academic profiles. Dive into our comprehensive comparison table to explore their contrasting popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, and discover which institution aligns best with your unique academic goals and personal preferences.

	Birmingham-Southern College	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: 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	78.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	65.9%	7.1%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1090 - 1240	1480 - 1570
ACT range	22 - 28	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	7.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	54.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	2,461	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	1,622	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	244	1,626
Yield rate	15.0%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$33,790	$79,538
Average net price	$22,888	$27,553
Tuition	$18,850	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,900 Meal plan: $5,650	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $10,781	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	79.0% Average amount $3,074	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $13,570	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,058 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	N/A	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	38.4%	89.5%
International students	1.5%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,418	5,598
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	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Psychology Business Computer and Information Science Education	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	69.8%	93.4%
Dropout rate	4.8%	6.4%
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: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

Compare Similar Colleges

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Birmingham-Southern College vs Vanderbilt

Birmingham-Southern College

Vanderbilt University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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