William & Mary (W&M) vs Virginia Military Institute

William & Mary and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) are two distinct institutions of higher learning in Virginia, each offering unique educational experiences. William & Mary, founded in 1693, is a public research university with a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs. VMI, established in 1839, is a public military college known for its rigorous academic curriculum and strong emphasis on leadership development. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	William & Mary	Virginia Military Institute
Overview
Location	Williamsburg, Virginia	Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	36.5%	63.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $50	$40
SAT range	1360 - 1520	1080 - 1300
ACT range	31 - 34	22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%	12.0%
Total number of applicants	17,475	1,549
Total number of admissions given out	6,386	990
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,684	461
Yield rate	26.4%	46.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $40,624 Out of state: $63,850	In state: $33,182 Out of state: $61,836
Average net price	$18,399	$18,100
Tuition	In state: $17,434 Out of state: $40,089	In state: $9,782 Out of state: $38,436
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,490 Meal plan: $5,246	Room/dormitory: $3,102 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	44.0% Average amount $21,700	91.0% Average amount $10,832
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $5,132	59.0% Average amount $3,385
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $27,548	11.0% Average amount $22,604

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,543 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	1,652 Men 86.2% Women 13.8%
Graduate students	2,974 Men 42.7% Women 57.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	35.2%	38.2%
International students	6.2%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	4,755	1,751
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia New Jersey Maryland Pennsylvania New York	Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland North Carolina New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Legal Profession Education Social Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies	Engineering Social Sciences Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences History
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.0%	73.7%
Dropout rate	2.1%	4.4%
Transferred out	6.3%	21.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,118 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $60,559 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,215 Year 2: $44,942 Year 3: $59,186 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,030 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $57,955 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,302 Year 2: $39,305 Year 3: $55,311 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $45,094 Year 3: $55,205 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,487 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $52,930 Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,025 Year 2: $39,909 Year 3: $52,845 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,712 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $43,814 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,367 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,671 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A

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William & Mary (W&M) vs Virginia Military Institute

William & Mary

Virginia Military Institute

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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