Mount Holyoke College vs Bates College

Mount Holyoke College and Bates College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Mount Holyoke, a women's college, boasts a higher acceptance rate (63%) compared to Bates' (15%). While Bates students enjoy a slightly larger average class size, Mount Holyoke's smaller student body (2,200 vs. 1,800) fosters a close-knit community. Both colleges excel in academics, with popular majors including Economics, Biology, and English. However, Mount Holyoke has a higher graduation rate (89%) than Bates (86%). Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your aspirations.

	Bates College	Mount Holyoke College
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	South Hadley, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	52.3%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1300 - 1510
ACT range	N/A	31 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		24.0%
Students submitting ACT score		11.0%
Total number of applicants	7,319	3,971
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	2,077
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	608
Yield rate	43.6%	29.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$77,870	$73,438
Average net price	$26,231	$29,218
Tuition	$59,062	$56,300
Room & board	$16,658	Room/dormitory: $8,320 Meal plan: $8,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	100.0% Average amount $30,351
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	42.0% Average amount $4,906
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	7.0% Average amount $4,982

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	2,220 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	122 Men 13.1% Women 86.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	8.7%	23.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,816	2,171
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Social Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	85.0%
Dropout rate	2.3%	2.9%
Transferred out	5.8%	11.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,768 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,497 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $55,661 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,568 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $53,638 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,883 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $35,020 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,170 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,112 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,657 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,377 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $46,206 Education, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,986 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $46,152 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,150 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $44,038 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,403 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,356 Year 2: $36,852 Year 3: $35,497 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $34,113 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,168 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $33,868 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $30,295 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $30,137 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,160 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $29,034

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