Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Bard College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Bard College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 1,800 undergraduates. Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, has a more selective admissions process with a 35% acceptance rate, resulting in a smaller undergraduate population of around 2,000 students. While both colleges offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate programs, MCLA is known for its strengths in the social sciences, humanities, and teacher education, while Bard College excels in the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the unique characteristics of each institution, including graduation rates, popular majors, student demographics, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Bard College	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	63.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	91.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65	$50
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	5,167	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	167
Yield rate	15.3%	13.4%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,868	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$24,318	$14,902
Tuition	$57,498	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.7%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,400	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	58.4%
Dropout rate	9.9%	41.6%
Transferred out	18.3%	N/A
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,895 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,830 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,172 Year 2: $34,467 Year 3: $40,733 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,359 Year 2: $27,181 Year 3: $40,148 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $35,408 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,617 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,741 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,798 Year 2: $31,828 Year 3: $32,817 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,438 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $32,425 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,231 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $31,158 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,032 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,169 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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