Bowdoin College vs Hillsdale College

Bowdoin College and Hillsdale College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowdoin, a liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, boasts a 10% acceptance rate, while Hillsdale, a private liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, has a 45% acceptance rate. Bowdoin's student body is more diverse, with 49% female and 51% male students, while Hillsdale's student body is predominantly male, with 42% female and 58% male students. Both colleges offer a wide range of majors, with popular choices at Bowdoin including Economics, Government & Legal Studies, and English, and popular choices at Hillsdale including Business Administration, Economics, and Political Economy. With graduation rates of 94% for Bowdoin and 88% for Hillsdale, both colleges ensure that their students are well-prepared for their future careers. Explore the comparison table below to discover more about
Bowdoin College logo

Bowdoin College

Hillsdale College logo

Hillsdale College

Overview

Location Brunswick, Maine Hillsdale, Michigan
Campus setting Town: Fringe Town: Distant
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 97.0% 94.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Undenominational

Admission

Acceptance rate 8.8% 23.7%
Application fees $65
Undergraduate: $35

Graduate: $25
SAT range N/A 1340 - 1510
ACT range N/A 30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score 22.0%
Students submitting ACT score 38.0%
Total number of applicants 9,325 2,994
Total number of admissions given out 822 709
Admitted students who chose to enroll 517 397
Yield rate 62.9% 56.0%
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 Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $76,310 $45,382
Average net price $26,727 $24,057
Tuition $57,776 $28,730
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,630

Meal plan: $8,268
Room/dormitory: $6,020

Meal plan: $6,120
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

54.0%
Average amount $45,153
100.0%
Average amount $20,535
Students receiving federal student loan 11.0%
Average amount $4,767
0.0%
Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans 1.0%
Average amount $20,700
34.0%
Average amount $10,497

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,951
Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
1,515
Men 50.6% Women 49.4%
Graduate students N/A 87
Men 67.8% Women 32.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
N/A
Out-of-state students 91.5% N/A
International students 7.1% N/A
Campus local/setting Town: Fringe Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 1,913 1,124
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Natural Resources and Conservation
  • Mathematics and Statistics
  • Business
  • Social Sciences
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 8:1
Institutional accreditation New England Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 93.8% 87.6%
Dropout rate 2.2% 8.3%
Transferred out 4.0% 3.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
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
N/A