University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) vs Brandeis

Nestled in the heart of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and Brandeis University, situated in Waltham, Massachusetts, stand as two distinct beacons of higher education. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence and fostering intellectual growth, they offer unique experiences that cater to diverse student aspirations. UPenn, with its Ivy League prestige and urban setting, boasts a lower acceptance rate and a wider range of undergraduate programs, including highly ranked Wharton School of Business. Brandeis, on the other hand, offers a more intimate learning environment with a focus on social justice and interdisciplinary studies, reflected in its higher acceptance rate and popular majors like sociology and biology. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details about these universities, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Brandeis University	University of Pennsylvania
Overview
Location	Waltham, Massachusetts	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	98.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	39.1%	5.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $90
SAT range	1370 - 1530	1480 - 1570
ACT range	31 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	49.0%
Students submitting ACT score	17.0%	30.0%
Total number of applicants	9,796	56,332
Total number of admissions given out	3,834	3,304
Admitted students who chose to enroll	943	2,418
Yield rate	24.6%	73.2%
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	$75,006	$80,496
Average net price	$35,147	$14,578
Tuition	$59,408	$54,652
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,380 Meal plan: $7,070	Room/dormitory: $11,358 Meal plan: $5,946
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	83.0% Average amount $29,119	52.0% Average amount $50,778
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $3,948	9.0% Average amount $5,030
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $22,397	2.0% Average amount $27,160

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,591 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%	11,292 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%
Graduate students	1,967 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%	16,746 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	82.7%
International students	25.4%	22.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,950	6,400
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York New Jersey California Connecticut	Pennsylvania New York California New Jersey Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Education Legal Profession Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.5%	96.2%
Dropout rate	4.5%	2.8%
Transferred out	7.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,340 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $101,400 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,678 Year 2: $72,214 Year 3: $85,160 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,105 Year 2: $66,401 Year 3: $70,790 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,731 Year 2: $55,840 Year 3: $64,826 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,010 Year 2: $54,192 Year 3: $63,166 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,126 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,597 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $49,902 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,983 Year 2: $44,356 Year 3: $49,523 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,142 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $47,023 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,477 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $46,669	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $189,905 Year 2: $201,334 Year 3: $249,574 International/Global Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,528 Year 2: $182,280 Year 3: $234,875 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,404 Year 2: $198,043 Year 3: $227,605 Real Estate (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $119,383 Year 2: $169,894 Year 3: $224,847 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $186,571 Year 2: $177,119 Year 3: $218,410 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $245,155 Year 3: $214,930 Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $177,203 Year 2: $202,922 Year 3: $214,927 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $169,238 Year 2: $174,994 Year 3: $208,033 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $102,195 Year 2: $138,932 Year 3: $197,810 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $179,063 Year 2: $175,674 Year 3: $186,790

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Brandeis

University of California-Berkeley