Wheaton College (Massachusetts) vs Bowdoin College

Wheaton College and Bowdoin College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Wheaton, nestled in Norton, Massachusetts, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention, reflected in its smaller class sizes and lower student-to-faculty ratio. Bowdoin, situated in Brunswick, Maine, stands out for its rigorous academics, coastal location, and strong alumni network. While both colleges share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Norton, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	82.1%
Application fees	$65	$60
SAT range	N/A	1160 - 1360
ACT range	N/A	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		21.0%
Students submitting ACT score		4.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	3,724
Total number of admissions given out	822	3,056
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	493
Yield rate	62.9%	16.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$74,850
Average net price	$26,727	$28,867
Tuition	$57,776	$57,700
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $7,850 Meal plan: $6,820
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	100.0% Average amount $41,156
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	58.0% Average amount $5,078
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	14.0% Average amount $15,391

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,701 Men 38.3% Women 61.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	5.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	1,768
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Education Computer and Information Science Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	72.9%
Dropout rate	2.2%	11.8%
Transferred out	4.0%	15.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $122,292 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $83,803 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,127 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $77,719 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,934 Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $60,473 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,244 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,658 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,454 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,007 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $55,038 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,034 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $52,206 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,967 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,555 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,761 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $40,190 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,709 Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: $37,883 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,304 Year 2: $27,048 Year 3: $37,007 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,711 Year 2: $27,126 Year 3: $35,987 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,457 Year 2: $23,693 Year 3: $30,411 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,450 Year 2: $36,134 Year 3: N/A

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