College of the Holy Cross vs Boston College

College of the Holy Cross and Boston College, both esteemed institutions in Massachusetts, offer distinct educational experiences. Holy Cross, a Jesuit liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community and a rigorous core curriculum, while Boston College, a prominent research university, provides a wider range of academic programs and a vibrant campus life. With Holy Cross's acceptance rate hovering around 33% and Boston College's at 26%, both institutions are highly selective. Holy Cross students predominantly pursue majors in the humanities and social sciences, while Boston College offers a more diverse selection of popular majors, including business, nursing, and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further distinctions, such as student body demographics, graduation rates, and financial aid opportunities, and determine which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Boston College	College of the Holy Cross
Overview
Location	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	Worcester, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
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	95.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	19.0%	42.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $75	$60
SAT range	1420 - 1530	1240 - 1420
ACT range	33 - 34	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	30.0%	40.0%
Students submitting ACT score	20.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	39,846	6,498
Total number of admissions given out	7,587	2,786
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,516	821
Yield rate	33.2%	29.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$76,606	$74,520
Average net price	$30,159	$29,198
Tuition	$60,530	$55,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,780 Meal plan: $5,822	Room/dormitory: $8,800 Meal plan: $7,280
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $48,693	63.0% Average amount $33,661
Students receiving federal student loan	33.0% Average amount $3,579	38.0% Average amount $5,151
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $2,200	13.0% Average amount $2,342

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,955 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	3,029 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	5,622 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	12.4%	3.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	7,602	2,619
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	Business Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Legal Profession	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	90.8%	92.6%
Dropout rate	2.5%	1.8%
Transferred out	6.4%	4.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,012 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $142,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,514 Year 2: $115,060 Year 3: $137,599 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $114,055 Year 2: $111,435 Year 3: $126,491 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,485 Year 2: $93,588 Year 3: $114,789 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,426 Year 2: $100,439 Year 3: $112,343 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,714 Year 2: $84,100 Year 3: $105,872 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,320 Year 2: $75,518 Year 3: $94,626 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,748 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $90,750 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,899 Year 2: $69,937 Year 3: $82,416 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,785 Year 2: $69,069 Year 3: $77,978	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,612 Year 2: $66,519 Year 3: $81,782 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,599 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $72,640 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,229 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $60,341 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,588 Year 2: $44,590 Year 3: $59,114 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,436 Year 2: $46,357 Year 3: $58,346 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,146 Year 2: $42,363 Year 3: $57,920 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,425 Year 2: $42,309 Year 3: $54,005 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,352 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $50,696 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,359 Year 2: $45,175 Year 3: $49,457 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,474 Year 2: $42,458 Year 3: $47,527

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