Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Bowdoin's yield is 23 pts higher than Grinnell's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    Bowdoin grads earn $19.9K more ten years out than Grinnell's ($82,735 vs. $62,830)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  3. 3

    Grinnell costs about $13.3K less per year on average than Bowdoin ($37,528 vs. $50,795, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    Grinnell's grants cover 55% of its full price on average, vs. 40% at Bowdoin

    Aid generosity
  5. 5

    Bowdoin is 2.1× more selective than Grinnell

    Acceptance rate
  6. 6

    Bowdoin graduates 6 pts more of its students than Grinnell (94% vs. 88%)

    Graduation rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Bowdoin admits 6.8%, Grinnell 15%; Bowdoin's yield is higher, at 54%.

Acceptance rate
Grinnell15%
Bowdoin6.8%
Quad's selectivity
  • GrinnellHighly selective
  • BowdoinUltra selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1300–1600
Grinnell
1410–1540
Bowdoin
1470–1540
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • GrinnellSchool record required
  • BowdoinRigor, GPA, and rank very important

Who's on each campus

Grinnell and Bowdoin are about the same size; Grinnell has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Grinnell1.7K
Bowdoin1.9K
Pell Grant share
Grinnell18%
Bowdoin17%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Grinnell, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics at Bowdoin; both have 9 students per faculty member.

Students per faculty member
Grinnell9 to 1
Bowdoin9 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • GrinnellComputer Science13%
  • BowdoinEconometrics and Quantitative Economics16%

What each costs

Grinnell costs about $13.3K less a year than Bowdoin on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Grinnell$37.5K
Bowdoin$50.8K
Aid generosity
Grinnell55%
Bowdoin40%

What each pays off

Bowdoin's former students earn more, a median $82.7K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Grinnell$62.8K
Bowdoin$82.7K
Graduation rate
Grinnell88%
Bowdoin94%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • GrinnellGrowing+61%
  • BowdoinGrowing+91%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why