St Olaf College vs Bard College

St Olaf College and Bard College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St Olaf, rooted in the Lutheran tradition, boasts a higher acceptance rate (58%) compared to Bard's selective admissions (28%). While both colleges emphasize a well-rounded education, St Olaf excels in the sciences, with popular majors in biology, chemistry, and nursing, while Bard's strengths lie in the arts, with concentrations in film, photography, and music. St Olaf's student body is predominantly white (84%) and Midwestern, while Bard's student population is more diverse, with a significant international presence (15%). Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with St Olaf's at 84% and Bard's at 86%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions.

	Bard College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Annandale-On-Hudson, New York	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
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
Students retention rate	87.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation		Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	47.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1240 - 1430
ACT range	N/A	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		16.0%
Students submitting ACT score		39.0%
Total number of applicants	5,167	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	3,096	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	473	755
Yield rate	15.3%	24.5%
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	$72,868	$66,570
Average net price	$24,318	$27,729
Tuition	$57,498	$52,670
Room & board	$16,760	Room/dormitory: $5,720 Meal plan: $6,280
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $50,598	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,101	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $16,225	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,171 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	420 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.7%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,400	2,703
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Business Education Natural Resources and Conservation	Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.6%	85.0%
Dropout rate	9.9%	3.9%
Transferred out	18.3%	11.0%
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 Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,475 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $85,264 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,389 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $67,970 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,177 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $61,505 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,461 Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: $48,934 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,797 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $47,009 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,149 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $45,715 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,228 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $44,563 Sociology and Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,528 Year 2: $31,708 Year 3: $42,811 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,398 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,551 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,226 Year 2: $23,166 Year 3: $38,521

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