Whitman College vs Bard College

Whitman College and Bard College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Whitman, nestled in Walla Walla, Washington, boasts a lower acceptance rate (29%) compared to Bard's (40%) in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. While Whitman's student body is predominantly White (73%), Bard's is more diverse, with 48% White, 17% Hispanic, and 13% Asian students. Both colleges excel in the humanities and social sciences, with popular majors like English, History, and Political Science. However, Bard offers a unique focus on the arts, with programs in Music, Dance, and Film. Whitman's four-year graduation rate stands at 80%, while Bard's is slightly lower at 77%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional colleges.

	Bard College	Whitman College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Walla Walla, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	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
Students retention rate	87.0%	89.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	59.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$50
SAT range	N/A	1295 - 1455
ACT range	N/A	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		21.0%
Students submitting ACT score		19.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	5,155
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	3,039
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	477
Yield rate	15.3%	15.7%
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	$72,868	$71,982
Average net price	$24,318	$35,627
Tuition	$57,498	$55,560
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $6,080 Meal plan: $7,720
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	91.0% Average amount $30,781
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	42.0% Average amount $4,853
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	2.0% Average amount $14,105

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	1,559 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	65.0%
International students	14.7%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,400	886
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Washington California Oregon Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	88.7%
Dropout rate	9.9%	1.6%
Transferred out	18.3%	8.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,261 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,624 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,818 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,172 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,518 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,944 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,353 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,051 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,596 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $64,407 Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $43,330 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,051 Year 2: $22,999 Year 3: $41,844 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,549 Year 2: $27,584 Year 3: $39,355 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,868 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,472 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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