Mercer vs Harvard

Mercer University and Harvard University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, stand apart in their offerings and student experiences. Mercer, a private Baptist university in Macon, Georgia, boasts a welcoming community with a focus on liberal arts education. Harvard, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is renowned for its academic rigor and global reputation. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Harvard University	Mercer University
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Macon, Georgia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	86.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	75.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1480 - 1580	1220 - 1400
ACT range	33 - 36	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%	26.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	17.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	7,201
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	5,430
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	950
Yield rate	84.2%	17.5%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	$56,162
Average net price	$13,910	$21,164
Tuition	$51,143	$38,446
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	Room/dormitory: $6,580 Meal plan: $6,858
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $59,840	100.0% Average amount $32,845
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	51.0% Average amount $5,473
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	16.0% Average amount $10,195

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	4,941 Men 34.6% Women 65.4%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	4,068 Men 31.4% Women 68.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	11.6%
International students	23.9%	2.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	12,874	3,025
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey	Georgia Florida Alabama South Carolina Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Health Professions Education Business Legal Profession Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	73.6%
Dropout rate	2.0%	4.8%
Transferred out	N/A	21.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,193 Year 2: $128,716 Year 3: $240,408 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $184,307 Year 2: $165,340 Year 3: $199,043 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $171,333 Year 2: $171,907 Year 3: $187,553 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $140,072 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: $163,896 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $151,371 Year 2: $174,023 Year 3: $163,512 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,508 Year 2: $117,916 Year 3: $129,281 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $121,832 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $102,707 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $121,771 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,905 Year 2: $98,670 Year 3: $107,389 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $68,745 Year 2: $71,486 Year 3: $106,375	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $102,958 Year 2: $115,064 Year 3: $119,786 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,104 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $108,135 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,605 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $99,907 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,042 Year 2: $85,538 Year 3: $90,728 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $86,601 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $88,650 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,345 Year 2: $70,736 Year 3: $77,709 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,717 Year 2: $71,127 Year 3: $75,469 Curriculum and Instruction (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,283 Year 2: $72,682 Year 3: $74,940 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,626 Year 2: $49,729 Year 3: $73,114 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,605 Year 2: $54,109 Year 3: $69,855

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