Bowdoin College vs Rice University

Bowdoin College and Rice University, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences to their students. Bowdoin, a liberal arts college located in Brunswick, Maine, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 9%. Rice, a private research university in Houston, Texas, is known for its strong academic programs and research opportunities, with an acceptance rate of 15%. While both institutions offer a wide range of undergraduate majors, Bowdoin is known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences, while Rice excels in engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences in student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors, helping you make an informed decision about which institution best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Rice University
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Houston, Texas
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
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%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	9.5%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $85
SAT range	N/A	1490 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		46.0%
Students submitting ACT score		29.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	29,544
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,802
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	1,226
Yield rate	62.9%	43.8%
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	$76,310	$71,745
Average net price	$26,727	$18,521
Tuition	$57,776	$52,070
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $10,100 Meal plan: $4,700
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	61.0% Average amount $51,036
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	9.0% Average amount $4,982
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	2.0% Average amount $24,340

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	4,247 Men 51.5% Women 48.5%
Graduate students	N/A	4,038 Men 63.9% Women 36.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	56.1%
International students	7.1%	25.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	3,533
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	Texas California New York Florida Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	92.3%
Dropout rate	2.2%	6.9%
Transferred out	4.0%	N/A
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $122,770 Year 2: $129,481 Year 3: $145,256 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,659 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $134,258 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,801 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $92,763 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $87,989 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $81,590 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,400 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $76,594 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: $61,295 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $59,421 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,232 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $52,284 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,009 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $46,363 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,474 Year 2: $30,119 Year 3: $45,615

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