Whittier College vs Bowdoin College

Whittier College and Bowdoin College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Whittier College, nestled in the vibrant city of Whittier, California, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on community engagement. Bowdoin College, located in the charming town of Brunswick, Maine, is renowned for its rigorous academics and its commitment to undergraduate research. With acceptance rates of 68% and 11%, respectively, these colleges cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. While Whittier College excels in popular majors like Business, Psychology, and Biology, Bowdoin College offers strengths in Economics, Government, and English. Discover more about these colleges' unique offerings, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional details, in the comprehensive comparison table provided.

	Bowdoin College	Whittier College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Whittier, California
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	82.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	82.5%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	1120 - 1340
ACT range	N/A	23 - 28
Students submitting SAT score		11.0%
Students submitting ACT score		9.0%
Total number of applicants	9,325	2,884
Total number of admissions given out	822	2,379
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	277
Yield rate	62.9%	11.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	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	$61,014
Average net price	$26,727	$22,091
Tuition	$57,776	$48,924
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $8,216 Meal plan: $6,756
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	97.0% Average amount $32,645
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	65.0% Average amount $5,040
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	6.0% Average amount $17,379

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,325 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Graduate students	N/A	62 Men 25.8% Women 74.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,913	849
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	Social Sciences Education Family and Consumer Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	63.6%
Dropout rate	2.2%	3.6%
Transferred out	4.0%	31.9%
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	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $34,282 Year 2: $41,689 Year 3: $64,434 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,241 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $59,453 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,364 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $54,567 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,650 Year 2: $35,914 Year 3: $47,815 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,730 Year 2: $28,309 Year 3: $42,330 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,976 Year 2: $14,935 Year 3: $38,238 Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,267 Year 2: $26,715 Year 3: $37,247 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,562 Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: $35,879 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,185 Year 2: $16,015 Year 3: $34,329 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,103 Year 2: $27,765 Year 3: $30,273

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