Sterling College vs Bard College

Sterling College and Bard College, while both offering unique educational experiences, present distinct differences in their academic offerings, student demographics, and campus environments. Sterling College, nestled in the picturesque town of Craftsbury Common, Vermont, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on experiential learning, with a notable acceptance rate of 80%. Bard College, situated in the vibrant Hudson Valley of New York, emphasizes a liberal arts curriculum and a diverse student body, reflected in its acceptance rate of 48%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions, including popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Bard College	Sterling College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Sterling, Kansas
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Rural: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	55.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	47.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	N/A	996 - 1166
ACT range	N/A	18 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		12.0%
Students submitting ACT score		33.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	2,574
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	1,220
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	206
Yield rate	15.3%	16.9%
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	$72,868	$42,886
Average net price	$24,318	$22,377
Tuition	$57,498	$27,000
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $3,516 Meal plan: $5,608
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	100.0% Average amount $18,158
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	70.0% Average amount $5,750
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	8.0% Average amount $11,649

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	686 Men 59.0% Women 41.0%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	14 Men 14.3% Women 85.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.7%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,400	635
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Education Business
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	43.2%
Dropout rate	9.9%	25.2%
Transferred out	18.3%	30.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,261 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,624 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,818 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,172 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,518 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,944 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,353 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,051 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,167 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $34,697 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,026 Year 2: $36,745 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Bard College

Art Center College of Design