William & Mary (W&M) vs Brown University

When it comes to choosing the right college, William & Mary and Brown University stand out as two exceptional options. Both institutions offer a rigorous academic experience, a vibrant campus culture, and a strong commitment to undergraduate education. However, there are some key differences between the two schools that prospective students should consider. William & Mary has a slightly higher acceptance rate and a larger student body, while Brown is known for its more selective admissions process and smaller class sizes. Additionally, the two universities offer different popular majors, with William & Mary excelling in fields like business, public policy, and engineering, and Brown being particularly strong in the social sciences, humanities, and arts. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences in greater detail, covering aspects such as acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates.

	Brown University	William & Mary
Overview
Location	Providence, Rhode Island	Williamsburg, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	93.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	5.5%	36.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1460 - 1570	1360 - 1520
ACT range	33 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	46,568	17,475
Total number of admissions given out	2,568	6,386
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,705	1,684
Yield rate	66.4%	26.4%
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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$82,570	In state: $40,624 Out of state: $63,850
Average net price	$25,028	$18,399
Tuition	$60,944	In state: $17,434 Out of state: $40,089
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,054 Meal plan: $6,292	Room/dormitory: $8,490 Meal plan: $5,246
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	46.0% Average amount $55,420	44.0% Average amount $21,700
Students receiving federal student loan	9.0% Average amount $5,159	22.0% Average amount $5,132
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $27,008	4.0% Average amount $27,548

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,349 Men 48.1% Women 51.9%	6,543 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%
Graduate students	3,347 Men 50.0% Women 50.0%	2,974 Men 42.7% Women 57.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	96.5%	35.2%
International students	18.6%	6.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,013	4,755
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Mississippi New Jersey Texas	Virginia New Jersey Maryland Pennsylvania New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Engineering	Business Legal Profession Education Social Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.8%	91.0%
Dropout rate	3.7%	2.1%
Transferred out	N/A	6.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $130,101 Year 2: $153,718 Year 3: $184,762 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $105,532 Year 2: $88,506 Year 3: $97,037 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,171 Year 2: $73,769 Year 3: $91,029 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,583 Year 2: $75,921 Year 3: $80,783 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,028 Year 2: $63,302 Year 3: $78,949 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,505 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $74,894 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $60,843 Year 2: $61,294 Year 3: $73,224 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,882 Year 2: $50,105 Year 3: $65,953 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,247 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $63,507 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,186 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $62,581	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,208 Year 2: $71,202 Year 3: $87,886 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $64,972 Year 2: $66,087 Year 3: $81,526 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $85,399 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $80,518 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,897 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $80,071 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,977 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $69,021 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,979 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $57,485 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,630 Year 2: $44,117 Year 3: $51,824 Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,566 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $50,454 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,517 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $48,118 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,414 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $47,651

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.

Brown

University of California-Berkeley