Vanderbilt vs Berkeley

Vanderbilt University and University of California-Berkeley, two prestigious 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 Berkeley's (17.5%), a public research university in Berkeley, California. While both universities excel in various disciplines, Vanderbilt is known for its strong programs in engineering, music, and medicine, while Berkeley is renowned for its preeminent offerings in engineering, computer science, and environmental science. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of California-Berkeley	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Berkeley, California	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	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	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	14.4%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	N/A	1480 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		25.0%
Students submitting ACT score		32.0%
Total number of applicants	112,843	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	16,295	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	6,931	1,626
Yield rate	42.5%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $37,920 Out of state: $67,674	$79,538
Average net price	$17,652	$27,553
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	$54,840
Room & board	$20,236	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	52.0% Average amount $21,406	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	15.0% Average amount $4,586	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $7,122	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,814 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	13,222 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	16.9%	89.5%
International students	18.0%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	9,630	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California New Jersey Texas Virginia New York	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Computer and Information Science Legal Profession Health Professions	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.8%	93.4%
Dropout rate	6.3%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $171,936 Year 3: $191,597 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $167,052 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $125,250 Year 2: $125,388 Year 3: $161,399 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $126,367 Year 2: $128,868 Year 3: $160,666 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $160,390 Year 2: $142,470 Year 3: $143,984 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $119,358 Year 3: $143,516 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $107,442 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $112,973 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $74,750 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $104,601 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,600 Year 2: $85,760 Year 3: $103,738 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,282 Year 2: $65,387 Year 3: $102,543	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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