Vanderbilt vs UC Merced

Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, and University of California-Merced, a public research university in Merced, California, offer distinct educational experiences. Vanderbilt boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 10.3%, while UC-Merced is more accessible with an acceptance rate of 73.4%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with Vanderbilt excelling in fields like engineering, music, and medicine, and UC-Merced known for its strengths in engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences. While Vanderbilt's student body is predominantly White and Asian, UC-Merced's student population is more diverse, reflecting the demographics of California. With a graduation rate of 88%, Vanderbilt outperforms UC-Merced's 62% graduation rate. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of California-Merced	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Merced, California	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	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	79.0%	97.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.6%	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	27,793	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	24,068	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,410	1,626
Yield rate	10.0%	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: $28,870 Out of state: $58,624	$79,538
Average net price	$11,586	$27,553
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	$54,840
Room & board	$18,901	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $21,623	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $4,470	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $2,687	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,321 Men 47.7% Women 52.3%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	772 Men 55.8% Women 44.2%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.2%	89.5%
International students	8.7%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,634	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Alaska Idaho Missouri Texas	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Physical Science Social Sciences English Language and Literature Psychology	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	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	71.6%	93.4%
Dropout rate	5.0%	6.4%
Transferred out	22.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,675 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $68,164 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,936 Year 2: $51,392 Year 3: $67,761 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,771 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $57,642 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,420 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $53,045 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,245 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $50,288 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,755 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $49,047 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,917 Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $47,958 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,685 Year 2: $31,391 Year 3: $43,274 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,397 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $42,368 Cognitive Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,909 Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $40,928	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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