Lake Forest College vs Bard College at Simon's Rock

Lake Forest College and Bard College at Simon's Rock, while both offering unique educational experiences, present distinct differences in their academic offerings, student demographics, and campus environments. Lake Forest College, located in the charming town of Lake Forest, Illinois, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a larger student body, providing a more traditional college experience. Bard College at Simon's Rock, nestled in the picturesque Berkshires of Massachusetts, offers an early college program for highly motivated high school students, resulting in a lower acceptance rate and a smaller, more intimate learning community. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	Bard College at Simon's Rock	Lake Forest College
Overview
Location	Great Barrington, Massachusetts	Lake Forest, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
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	72.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	80.1%	64.4%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	N/A	1130 - 1345
ACT range	N/A	26 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		26.0%
Students submitting ACT score		15.0%
Total number of applicants	216	4,358
Total number of admissions given out	173	2,808
Admitted students who chose to enroll	111	417
Yield rate	64.2%	14.9%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$82,201	$66,400
Average net price	$37,869	$25,126
Tuition	$59,518	$50,100
Room & board	$16,618	Room/dormitory: $5,540 Meal plan: $5,958
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $38,315	100.0% Average amount $38,182
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $5,245	43.0% Average amount $5,895
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $23,602	4.0% Average amount $15,800

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	328 Men 36.6% Women 63.4%	1,661 Men 41.7% Women 58.3%
Graduate students	N/A	29 Men 34.5% Women 65.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	45.4%
International students	11.0%	15.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	443	1,236
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Illinois Arizona California Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Computer and Information Science	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	69.6%	73.0%
Dropout rate	19.1%	4.8%
Transferred out	11.3%	22.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	N/A	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,498 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $58,948 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,662 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $50,604 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,515 Year 2: $40,647 Year 3: $46,215 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,630 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $42,995 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,945 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $37,497 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,373 Year 2: $23,807 Year 3: $32,580 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,153 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,832 Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,544 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,197 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Lake Forest College vs Bard College at Simon's Rock

Bard College at Simon's Rock

Lake Forest College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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