Ripon College vs Bowdoin College

Ripon College and Bowdoin College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Ripon, nestled in Wisconsin, boasts a close-knit community with a 90% acceptance rate, while Bowdoin, located in Maine, is more selective with a 12% acceptance rate. Ripon's student body is predominantly White (78%) and female (58%), while Bowdoin's student body is more diverse, with 53% White, 13% Asian, and 10% Hispanic students, and a gender distribution of 49% male and 51% female. Both colleges excel in academics, with Bowdoin ranking higher in national rankings, but Ripon offering a wider range of majors, including popular choices like Business, Education, and Nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Ripon College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Ripon, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	79.8%
Application fees	$65	$30
SAT range	N/A	940 - 1160
ACT range	N/A	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		10.0%
Students submitting ACT score		62.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	2,486
Total number of admissions given out	822	1,983
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	247
Yield rate	62.9%	12.5%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$57,200
Average net price	$26,727	$21,734
Tuition	$57,776	$47,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $4,530 Meal plan: $4,560
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 $36,789
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	79.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	16.0% Average amount $13,915

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	810 Men 50.2% Women 49.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,913	952
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Social Sciences Education Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	62.0%
Dropout rate	2.2%	38.0%
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	Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,869 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $44,323 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $42,581 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,399 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $32,733 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,523 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,277 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,328 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,366 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A

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