Vanderbilt vs Lehigh

Vanderbilt University and Lehigh University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Vanderbilt, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, boasts a lower acceptance rate (10.3%) compared to Lehigh's (23.5%), indicating a more selective admissions process. With a larger student body, Vanderbilt fosters a diverse community, while Lehigh's smaller size promotes a close-knit atmosphere. While Vanderbilt excels in the humanities and social sciences, Lehigh emphasizes engineering and business. Both universities boast impressive graduation rates, with Vanderbilt's slightly higher (91%) than Lehigh's (89%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' unique strengths and determine which aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Lehigh University	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	City: Small	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	94.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	46.0%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1325 - 1490	1480 - 1570
ACT range	30 - 34	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	18.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	14,107	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	6,485	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,519	1,626
Yield rate	23.4%	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	$74,865	$79,538
Average net price	$31,539	$27,553
Tuition	$56,980	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,030 Meal plan: $6,300	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)	54.0% Average amount $39,972	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,954	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	19.0% Average amount $12,089	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,451 Men 54.0% Women 46.0%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	1,812 Men 53.1% Women 46.9%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.5%
International students	13.6%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,856	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.3%	93.4%
Dropout rate	12.4%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,409 Year 2: $74,142 Year 3: $96,587 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,252 Year 2: $78,552 Year 3: $94,991 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,434 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $93,797 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,418 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $87,192 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,069 Year 2: $75,623 Year 3: $86,603 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,293 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $86,360 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,520 Year 2: $70,324 Year 3: $83,095 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,490 Year 2: $71,351 Year 3: $82,322 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,444 Year 2: $72,325 Year 3: $80,631 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,497 Year 2: $69,710 Year 3: $80,502	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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