Bowdoin College vs Bates College

Bowdoin College and Bates College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions in Maine, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowdoin, with an acceptance rate of 9%, boasts a diverse student body, with 52% female and 48% male students. Bates, with a slightly higher acceptance rate of 14%, has a more balanced gender ratio, with 49% female and 51% male students. Both colleges excel in academics, with Bowdoin's popular majors including Economics, Government & Legal Studies, and English, while Bates is known for its strengths in Psychology, Economics, and Biology. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions, including graduation rates, financial aid opportunities, and campus life.

	Bates College	Bowdoin College
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	Brunswick, Maine
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
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
Students retention rate	92.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	8.8%
Application fees	$60	$65
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	9,325
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	822
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	517
Yield rate	43.6%	62.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$76,310
Average net price	$26,231	$26,727
Tuition	$59,062	$57,776
Room & board	$16,658	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	54.0% Average amount $45,153
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	11.0% Average amount $4,767
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	1.0% Average amount $20,700

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	91.5%
International students	8.7%	7.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,816	1,913
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	93.8%
Dropout rate	2.3%	2.2%
Transferred out	5.8%	4.0%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $122,292 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $83,803 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,127 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $77,719 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,934 Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $60,473 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,244 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,658 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,454 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Bowdoin College vs Bates College

Bates College

Bowdoin College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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