Amherst College vs Grinnell College

Amherst College and Grinnell College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, located in Massachusetts, boasts a lower acceptance rate (13.2%) compared to Grinnell's (20.4%) in Iowa. Amherst's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,851 compared to Grinnell's 1,680. While both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, Amherst is known for its strengths in economics, political science, and English, while Grinnell excels in biology, psychology, and environmental studies. With graduation rates of 94% and 92% respectively, both institutions ensure that their students are well-prepared for their future endeavors. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Amherst College	Grinnell College
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Grinnell, Iowa
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	93.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	10.5%
Application fees	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1370 - 1530
ACT range	32 - 34	30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	33.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	10,513
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	1,108
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	471
Yield rate	42.1%	42.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$80,050	$76,098
Average net price	$18,809	$37,423
Tuition	$60,700	$58,156
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $6,779 Meal plan: $7,572
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	100.0% Average amount $35,821
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	36.0% Average amount $3,952
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	12.0% Average amount $5,903

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	1,748 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	91.5%
International students	10.4%	19.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,000	1,450
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	86.9%
Dropout rate	2.5%	12.9%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,661 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $55,487 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,893 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $49,481 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,499 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $41,882 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,517 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,572 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $37,882 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: $37,613 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,718 Year 2: $19,227 Year 3: $29,237 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $28,680 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,658 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,239 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Amherst College vs Grinnell College

Amherst College

Grinnell College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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