California Lutheran University vs Bowdoin College

California Lutheran University and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. California Lutheran University, nestled in the vibrant city of Thousand Oaks, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 75%, welcoming a diverse student body of over 4,000 undergraduates. Bowdoin College, located in the charming town of Brunswick, Maine, is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 11% and a smaller undergraduate population of around 1,800. While both institutions excel in liberal arts education, California Lutheran University is known for its strong programs in business, education, and nursing, while Bowdoin College is renowned for its strengths in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' unique offerings, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Bowdoin College	California Lutheran University
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Thousand Oaks, California
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Midsize
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%	83.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	81.9%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1090 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	23 - 28
Students submitting SAT score		17.0%
Students submitting ACT score		5.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	4,041
Total number of admissions given out	822	3,311
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	492
Yield rate	62.9%	14.9%
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	$69,251
Average net price	$26,727	$24,065
Tuition	$57,776	$45,500
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $8,130 Meal plan: $6,840
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	98.0% Average amount $30,924
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	53.0% Average amount $5,462
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	5.0% Average amount $23,023

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,592 Men 46.8% Women 53.2%
Graduate students	N/A	1,174 Men 38.3% Women 61.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	17.2%
International students	7.1%	6.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,517
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	California Washington Hawaii Colorado Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Business Education Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	73.8%
Dropout rate	2.2%	4.9%
Transferred out	4.0%	20.8%
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	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $95,459 Year 2: $108,092 Year 3: $110,763 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,377 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $88,791 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,491 Year 2: $75,011 Year 3: $76,443 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,247 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $73,469 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,706 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $62,953 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,621 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $59,516 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,707 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $56,640 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,014 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $55,305 Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,687 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $52,964 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,541 Year 2: $36,275 Year 3: $52,663

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Bowdoin College

Claremont McKenna College