Wesleyan University vs Vanderbilt

Wesleyan University and Vanderbilt University, two prestigious private institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Wesleyan, located in Middletown, Connecticut, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 13%, while Vanderbilt, situated in Nashville, Tennessee, has a slightly higher acceptance rate of 14%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Wesleyan including social sciences, humanities, and biological sciences, and popular majors at Vanderbilt including engineering, social sciences, and business. Wesleyan's student body is predominantly White (56%) and female (54%), while Vanderbilt's student body is more diverse, with a larger proportion of Asian (14%) and Hispanic (10%) students and a more balanced gender ratio (51% female, 49% male). Wesleyan has a slightly higher graduation rate (92%) compared to Vanderbilt (90%). To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison
Vanderbilt University logo

Vanderbilt University

Wesleyan University logo

Wesleyan University

Overview

Location Nashville, Tennessee Middletown, Connecticut
Campus setting City: Large City: Small
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 97.0% 95.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 7.1% 19.4%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $50

Graduate: $95
$55
SAT range 1480 - 1570 1300 - 1510
ACT range 34 - 35 31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score 25.0% 51.0%
Students submitting ACT score 32.0% 27.0%
Total number of applicants 47,152 13,067
Total number of admissions given out 3,368 2,540
Admitted students who chose to enroll 1,626 910
Yield rate 48.3% 35.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not required
Recommendation letters Not required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $79,538 $82,245
Average net price $27,553 $20,535
Tuition $54,840 $61,449
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $12,000

Meal plan: $6,376
$17,531
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

64.0%
Average amount $49,730
40.0%
Average amount $58,925
Students receiving federal student loan 10.0%
Average amount $4,979
18.0%
Average amount $3,834
Students taking out private loans 2.0%
Average amount $27,798
2.0%
Average amount $27,881

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 7,111
Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
3,385
Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students 6,685
Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
196
Men 42.3% Women 57.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students 89.5% 90.3%
International students 11.7% 11.3%
Campus local/setting City: Large City: Small
Dormitory capacity 5,598 3,063
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Tennessee California New York Florida Texas New York California Connecticut New Jersey Pennsylvania

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Health Professions
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Business
  • Legal Profession
  • Social Sciences
  • Psychology
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio 8:1 8:1
Institutional accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 93.4% 91.0%
Dropout rate 6.4% 3.6%
Transferred out N/A 5.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
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
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $53,775
  • Year 3: $53,847
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $38,232
  • Year 2: $36,334
  • Year 3: $45,541

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