Lawrence University vs Bowdoin College

Lawrence University and Bowdoin College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Lawrence, nestled in Appleton, Wisconsin, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized learning, while Bowdoin, located in Brunswick, Maine, emphasizes its rigorous academics and stunning coastal setting. With acceptance rates of 58% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract students with diverse backgrounds and aspirations. While Lawrence students commonly pursue majors in music, biology, and psychology, Bowdoin students often gravitate towards government and legal studies, economics, and English. Explore the detailed comparison table to uncover further distinctions between these two exceptional institutions, and discover which one aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Lawrence University
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Appleton, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	75.0%
Application fees	$65
SAT range	N/A	1230 - 1460
ACT range	N/A	27 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		24.0%
Students submitting ACT score		37.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	2,907
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,179
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	402
Yield rate	62.9%	18.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$65,445
Average net price	$26,727	$24,804
Tuition	$57,776	$52,101
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $5,814 Meal plan: $5,370
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 $39,841
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	57.0% Average amount $5,053
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	6.0% Average amount $16,464

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,483 Men 45.8% Women 54.2%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	73.1%
International students	7.1%	12.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,460
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	Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota Texas California

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences History Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	80.5%
Dropout rate	2.2%	19.0%
Transferred out	4.0%	N/A
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $54,035 Year 3: $51,421 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $35,410 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: $32,588 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,667 Year 3: $31,648 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $27,840 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $27,395 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $24,417 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,533 Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,113 Year 3: N/A

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