Brandeis vs NorthWestern

Brandeis University and Northwestern University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Brandeis, a private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, boasts a strong liberal arts foundation and is renowned for its social justice and international studies programs. Northwestern, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, is known for its rigorous academics, particularly in engineering, business, and journalism. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Brandeis University	Northwestern University
Overview
Location	Waltham, Massachusetts	Evanston, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	99.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	39.1%	7.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1370 - 1530	1470 - 1570
ACT range	31 - 34	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	17.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	9,796	47,636
Total number of admissions given out	3,834	3,321
Admitted students who chose to enroll	943	2,086
Yield rate	24.6%	62.8%
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	$75,006	$83,838
Average net price	$35,147	$29,999
Tuition	$59,408	$60,276
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,380 Meal plan: $7,070	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	83.0% Average amount $29,119	57.0% Average amount $51,087
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $3,948	23.0% Average amount $4,625
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $22,397	2.0% Average amount $38,595

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,591 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
Graduate students	1,967 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	25.4%	17.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	2,950	4,409
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York New Jersey California Connecticut	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Computer and Information Science	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.5%	95.2%
Dropout rate	4.5%	4.2%
Transferred out	7.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,340 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $101,400 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,678 Year 2: $72,214 Year 3: $85,160 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,105 Year 2: $66,401 Year 3: $70,790 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,731 Year 2: $55,840 Year 3: $64,826 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,010 Year 2: $54,192 Year 3: $63,166 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,126 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,597 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $49,902 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,983 Year 2: $44,356 Year 3: $49,523 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,142 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $47,023 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,477 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $46,669	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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Brandeis vs NorthWestern

Brandeis University

Northwestern University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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