Dickinson College vs Bowdoin College

Dickinson College and Bowdoin College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Dickinson, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (33%) compared to Bowdoin's (15%). With a larger student body, Dickinson provides a diverse community representing various backgrounds. Bowdoin, situated in Brunswick, Maine, excels in the sciences, with popular majors including biology, chemistry, and neuroscience. Dickinson, on the other hand, is known for its strengths in social sciences and humanities, with majors like political science, history, and English literature being highly sought after. While both colleges offer excellent graduation rates, Bowdoin's slightly higher rate (94%) may appeal to those seeking a strong track record of academic success. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowdoin College	Dickinson College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	Carlisle, Pennsylvania
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	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	48.1%
Application fees	$65	$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	9,325	6,366
Total number of admissions given out	822	3,061
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	677
Yield rate	62.9%	22.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,310	$77,300
Average net price	$26,727	$20,913
Tuition	$57,776	$58,158
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $7,866 Meal plan: $7,386
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	92.0% Average amount $39,555
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	41.0% Average amount $3,696
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	16.0% Average amount $9,232

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,180 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	N/A	6 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	12.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,913	2,118
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 Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	82.4%
Dropout rate	2.2%	17.6%
Transferred out	4.0%	N/A
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	International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,304 Year 2: $51,750 Year 3: $73,244 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,684 Year 2: $50,320 Year 3: $56,449 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $55,723 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $49,550 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,461 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $48,836 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,322 Year 2: $40,737 Year 3: $43,711 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $43,177 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,473 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $42,465 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $40,634 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,617 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $38,644

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