NorthWestern vs Berkeley

Northwestern University and University of California-Berkeley, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, boasts a lower acceptance rate (9.1%) compared to Berkeley's (17.5%), a public research university in Berkeley, California. While both universities excel in various disciplines, Northwestern is known for its strengths in business, engineering, and journalism, while Berkeley shines in engineering, computer science, and environmental science. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northwestern University	University of California-Berkeley
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Berkeley, California
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	14.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1470 - 1570	N/A
ACT range	34 - 35	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	112,843
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	16,295
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	6,931
Yield rate	62.8%	42.5%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	In state: $37,920 Out of state: $67,674
Average net price	$29,999	$17,652
Tuition	$60,276	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	$20,236
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	52.0% Average amount $21,406
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	15.0% Average amount $4,586
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	6.0% Average amount $7,122

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	31,814 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	13,222 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	16.9%
International students	17.8%	18.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,409	9,630
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California New Jersey Texas Virginia New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Engineering Business Computer and Information Science Legal Profession Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	92.8%
Dropout rate	4.2%	6.3%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $171,936 Year 3: $191,597 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $167,052 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $125,250 Year 2: $125,388 Year 3: $161,399 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $126,367 Year 2: $128,868 Year 3: $160,666 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $160,390 Year 2: $142,470 Year 3: $143,984 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $119,358 Year 3: $143,516 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $107,442 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $112,973 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $74,750 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $104,601 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,600 Year 2: $85,760 Year 3: $103,738 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,282 Year 2: $65,387 Year 3: $102,543

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