Virginia Military Institute vs Berkeley

Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and University of California-Berkeley (UC Berkeley) stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant campus life. VMI, a public military college in Lexington, Virginia, boasts a long-standing tradition of leadership and military training, while UC Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California, is renowned for its cutting-edge research and diverse academic programs. With acceptance rates of 22% and 17%, respectively, both institutions are highly selective, attracting top students from across the nation. While VMI's student body is predominantly male and leans towards STEM majors, UC Berkeley's coeducational student body pursues a wide range of disciplines, with popular majors spanning the humanities, social sciences, and engineering. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these esteemed institutions, including graduation rates, financial aid opportunities, and notable alumni, to help you make an informed decision about your academic

	University of California-Berkeley	Virginia Military Institute
Overview
Location	Berkeley, California	Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	14.4%	63.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	$40
SAT range	N/A	1080 - 1300
ACT range	N/A	22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		29.0%
Students submitting ACT score		12.0%
Total number of applicants	112,843	1,549
Total number of admissions given out	16,295	990
Admitted students who chose to enroll	6,931	461
Yield rate	42.5%	46.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $37,920 Out of state: $67,674	In state: $33,182 Out of state: $61,836
Average net price	$17,652	$18,100
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $9,782 Out of state: $38,436
Room & board	$20,236	Room/dormitory: $3,102 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	52.0% Average amount $21,406	91.0% Average amount $10,832
Students receiving federal student loan	15.0% Average amount $4,586	59.0% Average amount $3,385
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $7,122	11.0% Average amount $22,604

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,814 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%	1,652 Men 86.2% Women 13.8%
Graduate students	13,222 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	16.9%	38.2%
International students	18.0%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	9,630	1,751
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California New Jersey Texas Virginia New York	Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland North Carolina New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Computer and Information Science Legal Profession Health Professions	Engineering Social Sciences Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences History
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.8%	73.7%
Dropout rate	6.3%	4.4%
Transferred out	N/A	21.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $171,936 Year 3: $191,597 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $167,052 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $125,250 Year 2: $125,388 Year 3: $161,399 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $126,367 Year 2: $128,868 Year 3: $160,666 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $160,390 Year 2: $142,470 Year 3: $143,984 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $119,358 Year 3: $143,516 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $107,442 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $112,973 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $74,750 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $104,601 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,600 Year 2: $85,760 Year 3: $103,738 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,282 Year 2: $65,387 Year 3: $102,543	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,118 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $60,559 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,215 Year 2: $44,942 Year 3: $59,186 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,030 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $57,955 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,302 Year 2: $39,305 Year 3: $55,311 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $45,094 Year 3: $55,205 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,487 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $52,930 Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,025 Year 2: $39,909 Year 3: $52,845 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,712 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $43,814 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,367 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,671 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A

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