Vanderbilt vs Harvard

Vanderbilt University and Harvard University, two of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United States, offer students a world-class education and a wealth of opportunities. However, there are some key differences between the two schools that prospective students should consider when making their college decision. Vanderbilt has a lower acceptance rate (10.3%) than Harvard (4.5%), and its student body is more diverse, with a higher percentage of students from underrepresented groups. Harvard, on the other hand, has a higher graduation rate (97%) than Vanderbilt (93%) and offers a wider range of academic programs, including more doctoral degrees. To help you make an informed decision about which school is the best fit for you, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that highlights the key differences between Vanderbilt and Harvard.

	Harvard University	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1480 - 1580	1480 - 1570
ACT range	33 - 36	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	1,626
Yield rate	84.2%	48.3%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	$79,538
Average net price	$13,910	$27,553
Tuition	$51,143	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $59,840	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.5%
International students	23.9%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	12,874	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	93.4%
Dropout rate	2.0%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

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