Houghton College vs Bowdoin College

Houghton College and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Houghton, a private Christian college in Houghton, New York, fosters a close-knit community with a strong emphasis on faith and service. Bowdoin, a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, is renowned for its academic rigor and commitment to intellectual exploration. While both colleges provide excellent education, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Houghton College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Houghton, New York
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Rural: Remote
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%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	79.1%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	N/A	1080 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	20 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		28.0%
Students submitting ACT score		6.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	1,008
Total number of admissions given out	822	797
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	204
Yield rate	62.9%	25.6%
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	$27,846
Average net price	$26,727	$24,502
Tuition	$57,776	$15,900
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $5,288 Meal plan: $4,568
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 $21,951
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	62.0% Average amount $5,120
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	18.0% Average amount $13,866

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	863 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%
Graduate students	N/A	32 Men 50.0% Women 50.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	4.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Rural: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,015
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	Liberal Arts Business Psychology Education Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	64.6%
Dropout rate	2.2%	13.2%
Transferred out	4.0%	22.2%
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	Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $16,932 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,222 Year 2: $24,872 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,411 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A

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