Saint Mary's College of California vs Bowdoin College

Saint Mary's College of California and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Saint Mary's, a private Catholic college in Moraga, California, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on liberal arts. Bowdoin, a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, is known for its rigorous academics and stunning coastal location. With acceptance rates of 78% and 11%, respectively, these colleges cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. While Saint Mary's students commonly pursue majors in business, psychology, and biology, Bowdoin students often choose government and legal studies, economics, and English. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' graduation rates, student demographics, and other key differences that can help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Bowdoin College	Saint Mary's College of California
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Moraga, California
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	88.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	70.1%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	9,325	3,523
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,469
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	421
Yield rate	62.9%	17.1%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$71,116
Average net price	$26,727	$25,022
Tuition	$57,776	$51,568
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	$16,300
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 $37,096
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	75.0% Average amount $5,473
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	3.0% Average amount $19,233

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,199 Men 42.0% Women 58.0%
Graduate students	N/A	966 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	13.9%
International students	7.1%	2.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,522
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	California Washington Colorado Oregon Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Education Business Psychology Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	73.1%
Dropout rate	2.2%	26.3%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,339 Year 2: $108,331 Year 3: $119,946 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,181 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $87,697 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $86,536 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,207 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $72,426 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,833 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $68,615 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,015 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $67,476 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,013 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $61,957 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,519 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $60,193 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,458 Year 2: $52,562 Year 3: $54,948 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,425 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $50,097

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