Samford vs Vanderbilt

Samford University and Vanderbilt University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Samford, a private Christian university in Birmingham, Alabama, boasts a tight-knit community and a strong emphasis on faith-based education. Vanderbilt, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, is renowned for its academic rigor, world-class research facilities, and Division I athletics. 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 comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Samford University	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: 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 and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	89.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	83.9%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $35	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1100 - 1290	1480 - 1570
ACT range	23 - 29	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	22.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	66.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	4,217	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	3,537	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	920	1,626
Yield rate	26.0%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$53,100	$79,538
Average net price	$31,871	$27,553
Tuition	$34,410	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,150 Meal plan: $5,110	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $19,443	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	31.0% Average amount $5,320	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $19,317	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,607 Men 33.4% Women 66.6%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	2,151 Men 32.3% Women 67.7%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	73.0%	89.5%
International students	0.8%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,375	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Tennessee Texas Florida	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Legal Profession Business Education Family and Consumer Sciences	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	78.9%	93.4%
Dropout rate	20.9%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $109,542 Year 2: $120,880 Year 3: $122,995 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,811 Year 2: $99,380 Year 3: $104,909 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $86,528 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $88,884 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,304 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $67,171 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,217 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $64,364 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $47,785 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $61,547 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,967 Year 2: $54,851 Year 3: $57,875 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,355 Year 2: $54,948 Year 3: $54,480 Theological and Ministerial Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,947 Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $46,442 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,337 Year 2: $43,638 Year 3: $46,369	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

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Samford vs Vanderbilt

Samford University

Vanderbilt University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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