Sweet Briar College vs Bowdoin College

Sweet Briar College and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Sweet Briar, a women's college in Virginia, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on liberal arts education, while Bowdoin, a coeducational college in Maine, emphasizes interdisciplinary studies and research opportunities. With acceptance rates of 73% and 11%, respectively, these colleges cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. Dive into our comprehensive comparison table to explore further contrasts in popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Bowdoin College	Sweet Briar College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Sweet Briar, Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	71.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	80.0%
Application fees	$65	$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	9,325	1,192
Total number of admissions given out	822	954
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	177
Yield rate	62.9%	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	$76,310	$34,330
Average net price	$26,727	$22,711
Tuition	$57,776	$22,120
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	$13,880
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	93.0% Average amount $17,220
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	44.0% Average amount $4,949
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	2.0% Average amount $6,248

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	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	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	5.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,913	561
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Business Psychology Education Engineering Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	41.7%
Dropout rate	2.2%	16.7%
Transferred out	4.0%	41.7%
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	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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