Spelman College vs Bowdoin College

Spelman College, a historically Black women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bowdoin College, a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, offer distinct educational experiences. Spelman boasts a 58% acceptance rate, while Bowdoin's is a highly selective 11%. Both institutions excel in academics, with Spelman's popular majors including Biology, Psychology, and Business Administration, and Bowdoin's strengths lying in Economics, Government & Legal Studies, and English. While Spelman's student body is predominantly African American (89%), Bowdoin's is more diverse, with 49% White, 15% Asian, and 12% Hispanic students. Spelman's graduation rate stands at 75%, while Bowdoin's is slightly higher at 93%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two esteemed institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Spelman College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Atlanta, Georgia
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
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%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	50.8%
Application fees	$65	$40
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	11,176
Total number of admissions given out	822	5,673
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	794
Yield rate	62.9%	14.0%
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	$48,244
Average net price	$26,727	$28,527
Tuition	$57,776	$25,249
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	$15,063
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	96.0% Average amount $10,839
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	76.0% Average amount $5,707
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	5.0% Average amount $13,717

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,417 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	76.0%
International students	7.1%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,401
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	Georgia Maryland Texas California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Health Professions English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	76.2%
Dropout rate	2.2%	9.2%
Transferred out	4.0%	13.7%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,695 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $59,027 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,667 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $52,483 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,355 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $44,720 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,573 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $39,388 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,944 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $39,024 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,532 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,350 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,318 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,552 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,181 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,552 Year 3: N/A

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