St Olaf College vs Bowdoin College

St Olaf College and Bowdoin College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St Olaf, a Christian college in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a strong music program and a focus on Scandinavian studies. Bowdoin, located in Brunswick, Maine, emphasizes environmental studies and offers a coastal location. With acceptance rates of 34% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract academically talented students. St Olaf's student body is more diverse, with 48% students of color compared to Bowdoin's 34%. Both colleges offer a wide range of majors, with popular choices at St Olaf including music, biology, and economics, while Bowdoin students often pursue government, economics, and biology. With graduation rates of 86% and 94%, both institutions ensure that their students are well-prepared for their future endeavors. Explore the comparison table to discover more about these exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic and personal aspirations.

	Bowdoin College	St Olaf College
Overview
Location	Brunswick, Maine	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	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	97.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.8%	47.4%
Application fees	$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	9,325	6,494
Total number of admissions given out	822	3,080
Admitted students who chose to enroll	517	755
Yield rate	62.9%	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	$76,310	$66,570
Average net price	$26,727	$27,729
Tuition	$57,776	$52,670
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,630 Meal plan: $8,268	Room/dormitory: $5,720 Meal plan: $6,280
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $45,153	100.0% Average amount $37,281
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,767	49.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $20,700	9.0% Average amount $15,087

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,951 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	2,988 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	7.1%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,913	2,703
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 Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.8%	85.0%
Dropout rate	2.2%	3.9%
Transferred out	4.0%	11.0%
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	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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