Whittier College vs Pepperdine

Whittier College and Pepperdine University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Whittier College, nestled in the charming city of Whittier, California, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention and undergraduate research opportunities. Pepperdine University, located in the vibrant city of Malibu, California, is renowned for its strong academic programs, faith-based education, and stunning campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Pepperdine University	Whittier College
Overview
Location	Malibu, California	Whittier, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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 and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	82.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.7%	82.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $70
SAT range	1260 - 1440	1120 - 1340
ACT range	25 - 30	23 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	19.0%	11.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	11,855	2,884
Total number of admissions given out	6,249	2,379
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,024	277
Yield rate	16.4%	11.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$80,152	$61,014
Average net price	$40,945	$22,091
Tuition	$59,450	$48,924
Room & board	$16,700	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)	96.0% Average amount $36,967	97.0% Average amount $32,645
Students receiving federal student loan	38.0% Average amount $5,171	65.0% Average amount $5,040
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $12,899	6.0% Average amount $17,379

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,708 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	1,325 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Graduate students	6,738 Men 30.2% Women 69.8%	62 Men 25.8% Women 74.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	46.9%	N/A
International students	8.3%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,579	849
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Texas Washington Colorado Arizona	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Psychology Legal Profession Education Multidisciplinary Studies	Social Sciences Education Family and Consumer Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.0%	63.6%
Dropout rate	16.6%	3.6%
Transferred out	N/A	31.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,699 Year 2: $92,733 Year 3: $106,087 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $64,518 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $93,293 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,829 Year 2: $96,691 Year 3: $91,701 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $66,898 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $90,146 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,350 Year 2: $62,508 Year 3: $75,589 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,825 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,546 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,559 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $70,082 International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,228 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $65,821 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,799 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $58,854 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,780 Year 2: $46,156 Year 3: $56,663	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

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Whittier College vs Pepperdine

Pepperdine University

Whittier College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About