Sweet Briar College vs Bates College

Sweet Briar College and Bates College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Sweet Briar, a women's college in Virginia, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on interdisciplinary learning, while Bates, a coeducational college in Maine, emphasizes experiential learning and civic engagement. With acceptance rates of 75% and 15%, respectively, these colleges attract students with diverse backgrounds and academic interests. While Sweet Briar's popular majors include psychology, business, and education, Bates students commonly pursue economics, biology, and political science. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' student demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences, and make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your aspirations.

	Bates College	Sweet Briar College
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	Sweet Briar, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	71.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	80.0%
Application fees	$60	$40
SAT range	N/A	1020 - 1260
ACT range	N/A	23 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		18.0%
Students submitting ACT score		14.0%
Total number of applicants	7,319	1,192
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	954
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	177
Yield rate	43.6%	18.6%
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	$77,870	$34,330
Average net price	$26,231	$22,711
Tuition	$59,062	$22,120
Room & board	$16,658	$13,880
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	93.0% Average amount $17,220
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	44.0% Average amount $4,949
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	2.0% Average amount $6,248

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	452 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Graduate students	N/A	2 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	8.7%	5.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,816	561
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Business Psychology Education Engineering Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	41.7%
Dropout rate	2.3%	16.7%
Transferred out	5.8%	41.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,768 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,497 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $55,661 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,568 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $53,638 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,883 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $35,020 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,170 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,112 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,657 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,189 Year 3: $44,499 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,212 Year 3: N/A

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