Bennington College vs Bowdoin College

Bennington College and Bowdoin College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Bennington, known for its progressive approach, boasts an acceptance rate of 58%, while Bowdoin, with its rigorous academics, maintains a highly selective acceptance rate of 11%. Bennington's student body is diverse, with 49% female, 46% male, and 5% non-binary students, while Bowdoin's student body is predominantly male, with 44% female and 56% male students. Popular majors at Bennington include visual and performing arts, literature, and social sciences, while Bowdoin students commonly pursue majors in economics, government and legal studies, and English. With graduation rates of 80% for Bennington and 94% for Bowdoin, both colleges ensure that their students are well-prepared for their post-graduate endeavors. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and

	Bennington College	Bowdoin College
Overview
Location	Bennington, Vermont	Brunswick, Maine
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
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	84.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.9%	8.8%
Application fees	$85	$65
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	1,726	9,325
Total number of admissions given out	1,155	822
Admitted students who chose to enroll	249	517
Yield rate	21.6%	62.9%
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	$80,648	$76,310
Average net price	$35,569	$26,727
Tuition	$58,848	$57,776
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,350 Meal plan: $7,860	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $43,739	54.0% Average amount $45,153
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,083	11.0% Average amount $4,767
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $33,561	1.0% Average amount $20,700

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	771 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	113 Men 20.4% Women 79.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	91.5%
International students	15.5%	7.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	769	1,913
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Maine Connecticut New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures English Language and Literature Public Administration and Social Service	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.8%	93.8%
Dropout rate	7.5%	2.2%
Transferred out	24.8%	4.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,354 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $33,127 Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $14,867 Year 2: $17,950 Year 3: $15,066 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: N/A Literature (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,202 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,302 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,599 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	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

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