Union College vs Harvard

Union College and Harvard University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Union, a liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate teaching, while Harvard, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is renowned for its academic rigor and world-class faculty. With acceptance rates of 29% and 5%, respectively, these institutions cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. Union's popular majors include Economics, Psychology, and Biology, while Harvard offers a wide range of disciplines, with Computer Science, Economics, and History among the most sought-after. Explore the comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Harvard University	Union College
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Schenectady, New York
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	47.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	$60
SAT range	1480 - 1580	1270 - 1450
ACT range	33 - 36	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	7,470
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	3,513
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	565
Yield rate	84.2%	16.1%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	$77,385
Average net price	$13,910	$39,101
Tuition	$51,143	$61,308
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	Room/dormitory: $8,370 Meal plan: $6,828
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $59,840	87.0% Average amount $36,604
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	48.0% Average amount $5,087
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	14.0% Average amount $20,017

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	2,096 Men 54.9% Women 45.1%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	23.9%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	12,874	2,049
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Social Sciences Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	84.5%
Dropout rate	2.0%	14.6%
Transferred out	N/A	0.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,193 Year 2: $128,716 Year 3: $240,408 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $184,307 Year 2: $165,340 Year 3: $199,043 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $171,333 Year 2: $171,907 Year 3: $187,553 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $140,072 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: $163,896 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $151,371 Year 2: $174,023 Year 3: $163,512 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,508 Year 2: $117,916 Year 3: $129,281 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $121,832 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $102,707 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $121,771 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,905 Year 2: $98,670 Year 3: $107,389 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $68,745 Year 2: $71,486 Year 3: $106,375	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,637 Year 2: $67,812 Year 3: $76,098 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,348 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $74,456 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,171 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $54,902 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,157 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $47,142 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,375 Year 2: $34,081 Year 3: $44,570 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,903 Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $41,845 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: N/A Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: N/A Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,392 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A

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