Cornell College vs Bowdoin College

Cornell College and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Cornell, a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention and experiential learning. Bowdoin, a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, is renowned for its rigorous academics, vibrant campus life, and commitment to civic engagement. While both colleges share a dedication to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comparison table below to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Cornell College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Mount Vernon, Iowa
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
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%	78.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	81.1%
Application fees	$65	$30
SAT range	N/A	1155 - 1405
ACT range	N/A	24 - 30
Students submitting SAT score		28.0%
Students submitting ACT score		58.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	2,836
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,300
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	366
Yield rate	62.9%	15.9%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$62,735
Average net price	$26,727	$22,667
Tuition	$57,776	$47,100
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $4,868 Meal plan: $5,688
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	100.0% Average amount $37,745
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	57.0% Average amount $5,607
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	16.0% Average amount $9,357

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,046 Men 52.5% Women 47.5%
Graduate students	N/A	9 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	3.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,060
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Business Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Philosophy and Religious Studies
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	63.8%
Dropout rate	2.2%	10.9%
Transferred out	4.0%	25.4%
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	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,721 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $40,862 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,040 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $38,658 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,951 Year 2: $23,340 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,103 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,478 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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