Central College vs Bard College

Central College and Bard College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Central College, nestled in the heart of Pella, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community and a strong focus on undergraduate education. Bard College, located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, is renowned for its innovative academic programs and emphasis on the arts. With acceptance rates of 88% and 35%, respectively, these colleges cater to different applicant pools. Central College's popular majors include business, education, and health professions, while Bard College excels in the humanities, social sciences, and performing arts. Explore the comparison table to delve into further details about these institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	Bard College	Central College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Pella, Iowa
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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation		Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	74.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$25
SAT range	N/A	1000 - 1260
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		10.0%
Students submitting ACT score		67.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	2,202
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	1,641
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	340
Yield rate	15.3%	20.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,868	$34,302
Average net price	$24,318	$22,966
Tuition	$57,498	$19,250
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	100.0% Average amount $10,353
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	73.0% Average amount $5,605
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	13.0% Average amount $12,712

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.7%	0.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,400	1,405
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	66.1%
Dropout rate	9.9%	2.5%
Transferred out	18.3%	31.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,261 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,624 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,818 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,172 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,518 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,944 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,353 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,051 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,439 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,169 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $50,519 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $41,814 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,707 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,077 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $33,927 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A

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