Amherst College vs Ave Maria

Amherst College and Ave Maria University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer contrasting educational experiences. Amherst, a highly selective liberal arts college, boasts an acceptance rate of 13.2% and is renowned for its rigorous academics, attracting students from diverse backgrounds. In contrast, Ave Maria, a private Catholic university, has a more open admissions policy with an acceptance rate of 88.6%, catering to students seeking a faith-based education. While both institutions offer a range of undergraduate programs, Amherst's popular majors include economics, political science, and English, while Ave Maria's strengths lie in nursing, biology, and theology. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover further distinctions between these two esteemed institutions, and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal values.

	Amherst College	Ave Maria University
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Ave Maria, Florida
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	76.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	64.0%
Application fees	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	N/A
ACT range	32 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	3,705
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	2,373
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	377
Yield rate	42.1%	15.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,050	$41,977
Average net price	$18,809	$18,643
Tuition	$60,700	$23,521
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $7,562 Meal plan: $5,528
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	100.0% Average amount $21,230
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	55.0% Average amount $5,696
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	9.0% Average amount $11,852

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	1,259 Men 45.1% Women 54.9%
Graduate students	N/A	43 Men 69.8% Women 30.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	10.4%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,000	1,244
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Health Professions Business Theology Social Sciences Education
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	60.9%
Dropout rate	2.5%	39.1%
Transferred out	3.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,775 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $94,870 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,970 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $85,992 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,271 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $84,030 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $53,743 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,419 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $46,160 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,744 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,173 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,896 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $96,310 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: N/A Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,648 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,766 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,250 Year 3: $34,401 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,800 Year 2: $30,988 Year 3: $30,767 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,762 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Theological and Ministerial Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,775 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: N/A

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Amherst College vs Ave Maria

Amherst College

Ave Maria University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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